Archive

Archive for February 23, 2011

The Pros/Cons Of The Boardman Lake Avenue Road Project

February 23, 2011 17 comments

Updated 11:18 for clarity.

Below is a condensed list of reasons to & not to build the West Boardman Lake Avenue.

It’s not a complete list and I avoid some of the more philosophical, nuanced and promised arguments. It is a list pulled from the studies, community discussions and the stated outcomes/impacts. If you have items to add, please provide a comment and/or send me a message. This is an evolving list. Tonight’s meeting and subsequent community discussion will likely add and subtract from it.

Please note: The list’s focus is on the road because that is the only item that’s been drawn to this date and really the main point of contention. Also, I separate the recreational trail from the road as they can and will happen separately.

Reasons TO build: West Boardman Lake Ave. may…

  • …reduce vehicles per day (VPD) in parts of Old Towne Neighborhood.*
  • …fulfill a 20 year goal for some City residents.
  • …facilitate the moving of MDOT’s rail wye at 14th Street and Cass.
  • …facilitate east/west motorized traffic through the City. **
  • …provide incentive for additional new commercial and residential development.***
  • …increase revenue to the City by nature of being classified a major street.

Reasons NOT TO build: West Boardman Lake Ave. may…

  • …induce more motorized traffic, measured in trips and miles.*
  • …encourage east/west motorized traffic through City neighborhoods. **
  • …have limited infill/development opportunity. ***
  • …degrade east/west walkability.
  • …have limited design options (influencing both aesthetics and speed) due to limited space (35-ft) and use of non-local funding.
  • …(will) require annual maintenance costs and reduce available funds potentially applied to current streets.
  • …stress 14th Street and 8th Street corridors with increases in vehicles & miles driven.
  • …create a barrier between the City and one of its most important amenities (lake and trail).
  • …create increased need to manage stormwater pollution from a roadway.
  • …limit ability to create a place for recreation & social exchange along Boardman Lake.
  • …counter the values expressed by 86% of residents who expressed that they’d rather see investments in existing infrastructure before building new roads. (GV Values, pg 10 Fig.6)

____________

* From the most ambitious numbers provided by the consultant, BLA is projected to handle between 16-20,000 VPD. The current high counts for Cass St. and Union St. total around 21,000. If we use the projected counts, the City  will see an increase of 5,200(+/-) vehicle trips per day for a total of 26,200-vpd.  If the projections are correct, the plan is that Union St. will see 3,200-vpd and the goal for Cass St. is 3000-vpd.

Here is how I calculated the induced demand:  (3,200(Union) + 3000(Cass) + 20,000(BLA)) - (2100) = 5,200 induced trips with the new road. This is without challenging the assumed reduction rates and consideration of behavioral changes that have known patterns of occurring with increased capacity, chief among them even more miles driven. The majority of the increased demand will come from new traffic generated through the corridor because the cost of driving through that area will dramatically be decreased-we are subsidizing driving rather than restricting it. (See Hinge Line for an explanation of how motorized traffic acts like a gas and expands into excess capacity.)

* * These items may be viewed either-way, depending on how your perception and belief in the role the City plays in providing for motorized traffic that is primarily just going through the City to avoid Grandview Parkway.

** * Something that will hopefully be answered during this round of public input is the real infill opportunities that exist, as well as the impact on the streets when that development occurs.

Related Posts:

_

_

Would you like to contribute to this blog? $10…$25…$50 or $100?

NOTE: For the time being, before a comment appears the author must have a previously approved comment. Click through to read the full comments policy.

Meeting Ron Where A Train Depot Once Stood

February 23, 2011 Leave a comment

Tonight • 7pm

Governmental Center Cafeteria

Tonight is the first of two public meetings dubbed the West Boardman Lake Development project (the second is on March 22). It’s difficult to know what to expect.

Will it primarily be about the proposed avenue? Or, will the process be allowed to seriously consider alternative visions for the area that may include a street or portions of streets?

Over the last month I’ve spent a lot of time walking through this corridor. It’s a treasure even without any development. It provides a place away from the streets and our motorized habits. It’s place where people are compelled to interact; the social capital potential is strong here.

Meeting Ron

During this month, I met an older gentleman walking his dog on 4 separate occasions in the exact same spot: the space just east of Oryana along the trail and next to the bench. It’s a place that overlooks Boardman Lake, the trail, the bridge and its a place where people are encouraged to actually stop and talk to someone they don’t know. I even recalled his correct name (finally) by the 3rd meeting (sorry, Ron).

The original Pere Marquette depot

This meeting space happens also to be right in the path of the proposed West Boardman Lake Ave.

If the road goes in, those recent conversations with Ron would have likely not occurred as up to 20,000 cars would be going by at speeds 35-40-mph (yes, we keep hearing that speeds will be kept to 25-mph, but so far the design does nothing to achieve that). It’s also interesting to point out that near this space was at one time the Pere Marquette depot with a small public square in front of it. I can only imagine the conversations and meet-ups that happened.

I’m not opposed to development and change; I embrace both. However, I’m a proponent of development and change that is intentional and not driven by a desire for a quick-fix to perceived issues. When I say intentional, I mean that it’s a choice that the community has made after thinking through the known and unknown consequences. We are attempting to do that here, but the risk remains that the process will be geared towards a particular favored outcome.

I’m not sure about others, but I’m preparing myself for tonight’s meeting with an open mind and an open heart. I trust that the known facts will be presented and that the remaining questions won’t be ignored. I look forward to seeing the community come together and trust I’ll meet Ron for the 5th time.

See you tonight at 7-PM in the Governmental Center Cafeteria.

NOTE: I’ll have a follow-up post this morning with a list of pros and cons for the proposed avenue.

Related Posts:

_

_

Would you like to contribute to this blog? $10…$25…$50 or $100?

NOTE: For the time being, before a comment appears the author must have a previously approved comment. Click through to read the full comments policy.