Thursday, September 24, 2020

Tactical Urbanism Comes to Hudson

On Saturday, October 3, Arterial and Street Plans, the two urban design firms working on the DRI project now known as Hudson Connects, will be building two pedestrian demonstration projects, and the public is invited to help. The projects will showcase ways to improve pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility. They will be implemented at two locations: Warren and Front, and North Second and State.

The demonstration project at Warren and Front streets will include three large painted curb extensions, which will slow down turning vehicles, allow people walking and rolling in wheelchairs to be more visible to motorists, and shorten the crossing distances from one side of the street to the other. Temporary sidewalk ramps will also be installed so that those with physical disabilities, strollers, luggage, etc., will have an easier time moving from the street to the sidewalk and back again. The project will use inexpensive and temporary materials that will be removed after city leaders, residents, and the consultant team have had a chance to assess the merits of the changes.

The demonstration project at North Second and State streets will include painted curb extensions as well as high visibility crosswalks to enhance driver awareness. A painted sidewalk along the north side of State Street will encourage cars to slow down while also connecting pedestrians from the North Second and State Street intersection with the entrance to Bliss Towers park and playground, where there is currently no sidewalk. Midblock curb extensions will be paired with the existing crosswalk on State Street, so that people walking or rolling are more visible and have less distance to cross. This project will use more durable materials and be intended to last for several months to a year.

The projects will test potential permanent improvements to these intersections. Feedback will be collected over the coming weeks and months in order to assess what project elements work well and what may need to be reconsidered should one or both projects be included as priority projects to be built with DRI funds in 2021.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help install either of these projects should send an email to john@streetplans.org.
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5 comments:

  1. The DudeSeptember 24, 2020 at 7:28 PM

    Speaking of transportation safety, action should be taken to make Fairview Avenue safer for pedestrian and bicyclists. Dozens of people walk and bike on the shoulder of Fairview Avenue every day to go shopping. As a cyclist, I can attest that it is treacherous and requires steely nerves.
    The shoulder should be repaved to make a smooth surface and a designated bike lane created. A sidewalk should be constructed all the way from Hudson to Walmart.
    People who cannot afford cars -- or who cycle to stop climate change -- deserve better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TTSeptember 25, 2020 at 9:25 AM

      State DOT is responsible for maintaining Fairview/rte 9 road and shoulder in Greenport. DOT does not touch Fairview/rte 9, indeed the entire truck route, thru Hudson. That's all DPW. Fairview in Greenport is indeed pretty bad, but DOT is receptive and responsive to complaints about dangers for cyclists, as I have found. B Huston

      Delete
    2. HolstSeptember 25, 2020 at 9:28 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  2. man bites dogSeptember 25, 2020 at 8:44 AM

    Fairview Ave is Not Hudsons Problem.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The DudeSeptember 25, 2020 at 3:47 PM

    Climate change is everyone's problem. Walking and bicycling are concrete actions that reduce carbon emissions. We need to create infrastructure that encourages people to drive less.

    ReplyDelete

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