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?
Ah yes… Washington… kind of goes hand n hand with the whole parking thing. Who wants to walk 10 blocks along Washington, from their parking spot to whereever. Two blocks? One block? Perhaps if the in between were more interesting people might not be so bothered by the hike.
There aren’t that many cars on Washington St. most of the day, but it isn’t safe to cross becasue those trucks go through stop lights at high speed, and if you are in the way, too bad. Many of the sidewalks are too narrow and close to the street. There is no good solution other than a skywalk system like Des Moines has, but I hate to mention it because you just know Peoria can’t do something like that efficiently and tastefully.
Perhaps the question isn’t what to do about Rt 24 in terms of moving it, but why IDOT is so persistant that Rt 24 is to be a no parking and a 4 to 6 lane expressway. Many a US route in the state and country do no exhibit the same throughway appearance and behavior that Rt 24 does through Peoria.
Perhaps elected leadership needs to apply the proper pressure to indicate that the City knows what it wants and understands what it needs.
Washington St would be more pedestrian friendly if Peoria’s public works department was more pro-active and supportive of the Heart of Peoria plan. The HOP plan also recommended getting rid of one-way streets and reducing the length of red lights.
Crosswalks should be more visible with cross hatch stripes or raised pavement. Crosswalk signals should change when a pedestrian pushes the crosswalk button. Driving lanes should be narrower to reduce speeds of traffic.
The photo in the Journal Star shows an idiot crossing in the middle of the block. (Did he get a jay-walking ticket, or is anyone from Cat exempt from the rules?) Create a barrier along the middle of the street to prevent people from jay-walking if this is reason the street is perceived to unfriendly to pedestrians.
Property owners should have to pay for landscaping or decorative lighting by special assessments just like any other neighborhood.
I believe US Rt 24 is considered one of the major routes, so maybe that is why they would like it to be a 4/6 lane road.
As for what to do with it, to avoid the “barrier” between downtown and the riverfront… Short of moving it across the river, I don’t know what.
The city should stand up to IDOT and tell them to get on board with some urbanism for downtown. There’s nothing wrong with allowing parking on a 6 block stretch of that road from hamilton to state.