The image shows what the current state of Washington street is, and what it could look like. Some thoughts:
- this is a section of Washington Street at 68' wide. But not all sections are that wide, nor do they support a 6' median. But, we are not supposed to take this view as the literal implementation of the plan.
- the pathway/sidewalk on the right is a nice feature, and because it's grade-separated, it looks really safe.
- both bike lanes look like safety is a priority
- the median planted with a tree makes the whole street look much more aesthetically pleasing. I wonder if they are thinking about capturing any runoff in that median?
- it's not really fair to call it a "Parking Lane" in the existing view because it is actually a bike lane currently, albeit a really poor one. Apparently the city places a sign off to the right indicating it's for bikes, but someone keeps taking it down. That said, this bike lane contains an average about 15 cars a day parked in it, because as we all know, there is no parking in Five Points.
What do you think of the proposed design? Do you think it's safe? Do you think it works? What do you think the impacts will be?
Parking is legal on the south end of Washington Street between India Street and the ”No parking beyond this Point” sign part way up the hill. The current proposed bike plan would eliminate those 28 parking spots (635’ long parking lane divided by 22’ per parking spot = 28 parking spots); and 4 more on Washington Street between India Street and the trolley station, for a total of 32 spots.
ReplyDeleteReplacement parking needs to be added to the area or this project won’t work, because as we all know, there is no parking in Five Points.
Sometimes it's way more than 28 spots. Sometimes it's like 50 because Bar Dynamite turns into a nightclub on the weekends and everyone just ends up parking on Washington Street, and the cars stretch all the way up the canyon. I'm amazed no one has ever been hurt parking all the way up there, especially at night when they have to walk down the street, in the street, as there's no sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteI think there are many opportunities for more parking at Five Points. If anyone would like to help me scout out the opportunities by foot, and then load them on a map, please send me an email.
Belinda
PS, yes I stand corrected,the cars have a special permission to park in the bike lane at the bottom portion, but in general, cars cannot park in bike lanes. Streets need to be shared with pedestrians, public transport, cyclists, cars/parking, etc. The more density we create, the more we need to balance the needs of everyone.