Traffic in the Old Northeast - Round II |
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| November 23, 1998 | ||||
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By Timothy J. Baker Some seven years ago, the North Shore Neighborhood
Association wanted the city to install what would now be called
"traffic calming" devices at speeding trouble spots
throughout the neighborhood. |
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Five
years later came somewhat of a change of heart. No, these traffic
calming measures were not accepted, but officials were amenable
to stop signs as a means of slowing down traffic on residential
streets where the incidence of speeding was just too high. So, the NSNA adopted a traffic plan that called for stop signs to be added throughout the neighborhood. The plan was approved by city officials, by several votes of the neighborhood association, and by the City Council. Now, things seem to have come full circle. As they say, it's deja vu all over again. At the November general membership meeting, city traffic officials presented a variety of ideas for calming traffic on Beach Drive NE, North Shore Drive NE, 22nd Avenue NE and 1st Street N between 22nd and 30th Avenues. The proposals included traffic circles, traffic islands, median strips, raised intersections and neckouts that would narrow driving lanes. None of these ideas was firm enough to be called a proposal. However, in the next few months the officials will be working with the NSNA Traffic Committee to come up with firmer plans. The street most likely to be considered first is Beach Drive NE. That is scheduled for repaving in the middle of 1999. Ray MacKenzie, who is the neighborhood liaison for the Traffic and Parking Services Dept., said that traffic calming measures would probably be installed as part of the repaving project. A year ago, the driving lanes on Beach and North Shore were narrowed, the speed limits were reduced, and bike lanes were added. Officials hoped that those measures would be sufficient to slow down traffic. They have not worked well enough, though, according to Mr. MacKenzie and his boss, Angelo Rao, who also attended the November meeting. Also likely to be considered in the near future is 22nd Avenue NE. One possibility for slowing traffic there would be a traffic circle at 1st Street NE to replace the existing traffic signal. The most difficult problem politically is perhaps 1st Street N. Almost two years ago, the NSNA membership voted overwhelmingly in favor of Phase II of the Neighborhood Traffic Plan, which called for several stops signs between 22nd and 30th Avenues. The plan was approved by the city administration. Subsequently, the City Council voted twice to approve changing the designation of the street to allow the installation of the signs. (The change in designation was from a "collector" street to a local street.) Despite all this, the signs have never been installed and at the November meeting Mr. Rao and Mr. MacKenzie both said they thought that the traffic calming measures they were tinkering with would work better than stop signs. During a question-and-answer session, some neighborhood residents favored the traffic calming approach, while others clearly wanted the city to go forward with the plan that has already been approved and install stop signs. Of particular concern was the intersection of 1st Street N and 30th Avenue, the site of Coffee Pot Park. The city soon will be making major improvements to that park, aimed at attracting more families and children. Because of that, people want that corner to be especially safe. Early next year, the NSNA will be undertaking a survey of all residents in the neighborhood. President Lane Lastinger told the membership that the survey will include questions about traffic calming and stop signs. So, if you are interested, make sure to answer the questionnaire. If you want to be part of the Traffic Committee, call committee chair Rob Wertz at 824-8522 or co-chair Bruce Denson at 821-1131. |
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