MyWHaT

The leave-it-basically-as-is reconstruction project of 8th Street begins today. 8th Street from Garfield to Woodmere will be closed from April 12th to June 23rd (PDF).

The project remains a missed opportunity. Despite a huge public effort and an enormous amount of political capital spent, once finished, this short section will basically look much like it did on April 11th, with the inclusion of two shiny new turning lanes at Barlow.

We need to be clear, there was no compromise.

Citizens got wind of the project much too late. The mechanism for checking that street projects match the will of the neighborhoods (as expressed through 2 master plans, calls from neighborhood associations, countless public input) simply failed. For at least 20-25 years, the public has been asking that the design of 8th street be changed. It runs through the heart of the city and it is precisely because it is an important cross-town route that we need it to serve more than one function.

One small victory out of this might be that the planning commission moved to increase its oversight of road projects. Last week, thanks to their input, they received improvements on some 2010 projects and tonight the city commission will discuss one of them that requires considerable more expense to add curb, gutter, and sidewalks along Barlow Street. Barlow is one of the most heavily traveled by walkers and cyclists. As Mayor Bzdok explains on Plan for TC, this project is a crucial litmus test for the city in how seriously & equitably they will implement the master plan?

What is happening on 8th Street

Most of what the city requested in their last-minute attempt for 8th Street was declined by MDOT, with both the state agency and the FHWA pointing to each other as to why changes couldn’t be made. The city used two fingers to point at both of them as an excuse. The alternative concept was dismissed and, in particular, the response for bike lanes was basically the same egg-headed reply that there is a trail 2 blocks south. It seems more than a few people can’t quite grasp how adding bike lanes to 8th street is one small part of a greater vision to 1) encourage more active transportation 2) help implement the community vision for complete streets 3) encourage economic growth through this corridor. (This has all been nicely wrapped into song, included below).

What might be considered ‘improved‘ once the paint is dry:

• The cross-walks at Rose St. and at Garfield Ave.
• “Share the Road” signage (it is the law)
• Two pedestrian signs at Grant St.
  
• Some additional crosswalk elements at Fern and Prospect

None of this fits into what can be considered a serious attempt to create a complete street and so sooner, rather than later, this section and the rest of 8th Street will again require citizen attention. None of the above will serve to transform the complaints along this street of speeding, noise, and safety concerns.

While 8th Street moves plenty of motor vehicles, it can also be designed to encourage use by pedestrians and bicycle commuters. It can be designed to enhance the mix of uses along its corridor. It can be designed to be more than a thoroughfare.

In the future, it will be. But it will take a huge YIMBY effort…(Yes in my backyard)

And yes, there are still plenty of ‘8th Street: Walk it, Bike it, Drive it-slow‘ stickers available. We must use it how we intend it to be used if we are ever to reclaim it.

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Monday’s Quote (and a little rant)

I am perfectly willing to risk the attacks of the traffic planners when I insist that the solution to coexistence of the human and automotive population does not lie in the taming and training of people, but in the taming of the motorcar.

Victor Gruen, The Heart of Our Cities: The Urban Crisis: Diagnosis and Cure (1964)

Gruen leads into this quote by describing how mankind readily domesticated the dog, the cow and the horse to make them fit our human needs. In the 1960′s, he was one of the voices questioning why we couldn’t similarly domesticate the car. Instead, we attempt to control people and design entire swaths of public & private space to accommodate motor vehicles.

Here’s the rant

Thus, when we approach trying to calm traffic and improve human-level access along 8th St., Division St. Grandview Parkway and what other public right-of-way on the day’s docket, instantly we hear self-limiting calls for access in a few, select places. Places where people can be ‘guided to’ to get safely across without hindering the flow of traffic.

It’s as if a compromise will make the “loud ones” go away & win over the mild, more reasonable citizens. Excuse me? It’s not just about safety. That’s assumed. We want ACCESS on a human scale. We want choices and not to be herded like cattle. If anything should be herded it should be the humans in cars. And, if a cattle prod is needed, I’m all for it. If I choose to drive, prod me along to where you want me to go at the speed & manner desired.

And for sanity’s sake, please charge me an appropriate price for occupying valuable real estate when I park.

This is about reclaiming the streets

Cars are great for certain tasks, however, they need not dominate our landscape as some left-over 2 to 4 ton wild dinosaur. Tame the beast. The base assumption that our current 100-year old habit of excessively moving around in individual motorized transport pods is somehow a sacred right, a necessity and indefinitely affordable is absurd. This idiocy is constantly revealed in the continuous call for more roads, wider roads and more public right-of-way dedicated to one single use. The same people complaining about taxes & government take-overs are often the first to be calling for bypasses, new roads and free parking. Talk about socialism. We can’t even afford our current roads and they want more!

Let’s really talk about taking our country back; let’s start with our public right-of-ways. I suggest a very concrete notion of taking the country back; RECLAIM the STREETS, beginning with the one you’re on.

Let’s discuss the reclaiming over tea or coffee.

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