A pedestrian-friendlier Washington Street?

Ironically, Tarter’s article (“Destination Downtown,” 7/4/06) is about the push to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly. One could be excused for wondering why this is necessary when there is such a plethora of parking on every block. But leaving that aside for a moment, let’s look at one of the suggestions being floated:

“It’s fundamental that we make (Washington Street) more pedestrian-friendly,” said City Manager Randy Oliver indicating the six-lane road creates a barrier between Downtown and the riverfront.

Okay, that’s not an intrinsically bad idea. But when DPZ Consultants (authors of the Heart of Peoria Plan) looked at our street grid, they designated downtown streets as either “A” grade or “B” grade. “A” grade streets were suitable for slowing down traffic and making more pedestrian-oriented, whereas “B” grade streets were suitable for service entrances and other more automobile-oriented purposes.

Guess what they designated Washington Street? Yep, “B” grade. Their reasoning was that, since so many parking garages open onto it, it was already being used as a service street. Plus, it’s a state route (Route 24), which carries a fair amount of truck traffic through town.

The state route designation adds even more complexity than that. Not long ago, Steve Van Winkle wanted to add diagonal parking along a portion of Washington Street and the state denied his request. When I met with Van Winkle at one of the recent charrettes, I asked him about that, and he stated that Route 24 would most likely have to be moved before Washington could be made more pedestrian friendly.

So, the question becomes, where do we put Route 24 so that it doesn’t “create a barrier between downtown and the riverfront”? Or would it be better to leave Washington as a “B” grade street, but try to do little things (that meet state approval) to make it marginally more pedestrian-friendly?