Shared Streets: What Did You Think?
The trial/rehearsal weekend of Hudson Shared Summer Streets is now over. I must admit my personal experience of the experiment was limited. On Saturday, I drove onto Warren Street, sometime between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., to pick up some wine I'd ordered from Hudson Wine Merchants. I entered Warren Street from Third Street and exited on Fourth Street. Except when the car was parked in front of HWM while a retrieved my wine, I traveled at 5 mph. (Not a remarkable achievement. I have much experience driving my little car in Pride Parades, not to mention years of driving the golf cart carrying the Queen of Winter Walk through festive holiday crowds.) On Saturday, after the rain, there were no pedestrians on the street, but the one or two other cars on the block were not traveling at 5 mph. One actually passed me.
Tonight, Future Hudson released two surveys: one for Hudson residents and visitors and one for Hudson business owners. Because a decision has to be made fast about how to move forward, you are asked to complete the survey in the next 48 hours. To facilitate your doing so, here are the links again.
Just as a reminder of what Hudson Shared Summer Streets is all about, here is this message from Future Hudson.
The goal of the Shared Summer Streets program is to begin a process of opening up Warren Street to businesses, residents and visitors to practice safe, physical distancing.
It has two primary components:
The first is a permitting process to help the City facilitate the expansion of businesses into parking spaces which are valid throughout the week.
The second is the Shared Streets concept which calms traffic by closing Warren Street to thru traffic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Help with the process by completing the appropriate survey.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK
We visited Rhinebeck last week for a 3pm Thursday lunch. East and West Market streets are expanded into the parking spaces. We found parking in 1 of the municipal lots. The experience was OK for the most part. The sidewalks are still tight with people practically brushing by with fewer visitors on an off day/time. We will avoid busier times. Rhinebeck,in non pandemic days is usually over crowded, so don't expect much difference on a weekend. Hudson is similarly normally crowded. Parking is a nightmare in both towns. Really, what's the plan? Once in awhile, someone's not wearing a mask. A young man with a stroller, aggressively pushed through the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Just 1 observation in 1 given moment in our towns. Are the city and businesses ready with a plan about unruliness?
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