At the meeting of the Public Works Board on Thursday, after a lengthy but inconclusive discussion about how property owners can get credit for past repairs to their sidewalks, the Justin Weaver, mayor's aide and ADA coordinator, led the board through a review of the plans for the "pedestrian plaza" at the western terminus of Warren Street, at the entrance to Promenade Hill. This is the illustration that was the basis of that review. (Click on image to enlarge.)
David Marston, who is a member of the Public Works Board, commented that he liked the wildflower plantings. One has to wonder who will be charged with the design and maintenance of these beds.
The work on the connectivity plan, which is the City's major project funded by the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative), is suspended for the winter, but it expected to be completed in the spring.
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I'm afraid that none of this - the bumpouts, plaza, plantings, etc -- will slow cars and trucks down on the hills of Front street where speeding is a problem that HPD doesn't do much, if anything, to prevent. Actually, I think the narrower street (5, 6 feet?), thanks to the useless and unneeded bumpouts, will cause more crashes, possibly, of course, involving pedestrians and bicyclists and visitors arriving by, and headed to, the train. This approach might be worthwhile on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, but here it is a waste of time money and effort that just makes things worse. And that's not the naysayer in me. That's the realist.
ReplyDeleteSadly, Bill is right. --jogger
ReplyDeleteStudies regularly show that narrower streets slow down driver speeds and make these roads safer for everyone who uses them - bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. Bumpouts shorten crosswalks which is a boon for slower walkers and also provide greater line of sight for drivers to see pedestrians who are about to cross.
ReplyDeleteWhat will potentially minimize the benefits of this project are if the lack of all way stops at Front/Warren and Front/State remain.
Have taxpayers asked that this needs to happen? Have there been too many accidents at this intersection? The illustration shows a lot of people traffic which seems out of place at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIn short, no, taxpayers did not ask for this. We (City Hall) asked a consultant to improve things and this is what someone agreed to. We did not ask for narrower, more colorful streets with vegetation. And yes, if the consultant had actually wanted to make things safer at Warren & Front, a new pair of stop signs would be on Front Street right now. (Of course, Rob Perry could get this done on his own if he wanted to.) But the consultant group people don't live in Hudson and probably don't care if the street is dangerous. As long as it looks good, modern, "improved," fand they can say it's safer because of this and that yada yada.
DeleteThis seems like a solution looking for a non existing problem ... why is it I have no particular sense of speeding cars in this city??? What's the data to support more spending for visual nonsense.
ReplyDelete