I was at the public hearing as well, and I can only express disappointment at how adamant the City’s Engineers were that their design for Forest Hill is what is best for those who live along the corridor. Speaker after speaker stood up and expressed legitimate concerns over the City’s designs and many suggestions were put on the table for the City to consider. It is obvious that the community will need to continue to speak out if we ever hope to get the Engineers to change their minds.
I heard a number of good ideas yesterday; some of them include (1) forcing traffic to stop at a T when exiting the RMA and heading west, so that drivers will not have to look back over their shoulders when trying to merge into traffic (this is where MOST of the accidents occur); (2) slowing the speed limit down on the corridor to recognize that it is a residential neighborhood; (3) placing a stoplight at Rettig road to assist drivers and cyclists in making a left turn; (4) removing the planned median altogether, or having a flush median so that residents are not prohibited from left turns onto Forest Hill; (5) actually designing safe and thoughtful pedestrian crossings (what they have in mind now is a JOKE; it hurts me to just describe what they expect pedestrians crossing the street to endure); (6) design bike lanes that protect cyclists either by delivering full 5′ lanes that are well marked and contain no gutter or by giving cyclists a dedicated lane next to the sidewalks; and (7) include traffic calming mechanisms so that drivers are encouraged to keep their own speed down (don’t design a road that’s main purpose is to make cars go faster).
I feel it was obvious from last night’s meeting that the City wants to build a road for traffic, coming from somewhere else, to drive as fast as possible through this corridor — this road is designed for them and not for the neighbors and cyclists that want a very different road.
More thoughts can be found on the Hills & Heights Blog:
http://hillsandheights.org/2010/11/11/forest-hill-avenue-improvement-meeting-summary/
I heard a number of good ideas yesterday; some of them include (1) forcing traffic to stop at a T when exiting the RMA and heading west, so that drivers will not have to look back over their shoulders when trying to merge into traffic (this is where MOST of the accidents occur); (2) slowing the speed limit down on the corridor to recognize that it is a residential neighborhood; (3) placing a stoplight at Rettig road to assist drivers and cyclists in making a left turn; (4) removing the planned median altogether, or having a flush median so that residents are not prohibited from left turns onto Forest Hill; (5) actually designing safe and thoughtful pedestrian crossings (what they have in mind now is a JOKE; it hurts me to just describe what they expect pedestrians crossing the street to endure); (6) design bike lanes that protect cyclists either by delivering full 5′ lanes that are well marked and contain no gutter or by giving cyclists a dedicated lane next to the sidewalks; and (7) include traffic calming mechanisms so that drivers are encouraged to keep their own speed down (don’t design a road that’s main purpose is to make cars go faster).
I feel it was obvious from last night’s meeting that the City wants to build a road for traffic, coming from somewhere else, to drive as fast as possible through this corridor — this road is designed for them and not for the neighbors and cyclists that want a very different road.
More thoughts can be found on the Hills & Heights Blog:
http://hillsandheights.org/2010/11/11/forest-hill-avenue-improvement-meeting-summary/
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