According to the Journal Star’s “Word on the Street” column, Second District Council Member Barbara Van Auken “wants Main to be considered a priority again.” While I welcome efforts to move Main Street back onto the priority list, I have to wonder what is meant by “priority.” The same amount of money for Main Street improvements has been budgeted in 2010 as was budgeted in 2009: $0. Lack of funding was the reason given for moving Main off the priority list in the first place back in November 2008.
The article goes on to explain that, specifically, she’d like to see additional parking and property redevelopment along the stretch from University to Methodist. “[Additional parking is] an inexpensive thing we can do on the short term and hopefully slow the traffic down, making (exceptions) for the so-called rush hours in the morning and afternoons.” I presume she’s talking about on-street parking, given that only on-street parking would have a traffic calming effect. I agree that adding parking on Main is relatively inexpensive and easy to do (plus it would make Main more pedestrian-friendly and offer easier access to businesses). But why then was it not done last year? Why did she support the addition of off-street surface lots in the West Main form district instead?
“‘I’m trying to work with all of those property owners to the maximum extent possible to redevelop that entire block and look at some of the parking issues and some (improvements) of the facades and that sort of thing,’ Van Auken added.” Great, but facade improvement and property redevelopment are private investments, not public ones. In fact, several businesses have already improved their Main Street facades. When is the city going to do its part in improving the streetscape?
Public Works Director Dave Barber was also interviewed for the article. Notably, the paper said he “estimates it will cost $12 million” to make “a considerable impact on Main.” The figure includes the cost to “reduce the street’s lanes, landscape it and make it more pedestrian friendly.” In November 2008, the estimate for this same work was $10 million. So the estimated costs have risen 20% in 14 months. The longer we wait, the more expensive it becomes.
I appreciate the pro-revitalizing-Main-Street rhetoric, but frankly I’m tired of talk. All we’ve done is talk for seven years. Let’s see some action. Let’s see some money appropriated for it. Let’s see an RFP go out to perform the work. And don’t tell me we don’t have the money. Any city that can afford to give $39.3 million to a hotel developer (downtown Marriott), lease its prime real estate for $1 per year for 99 years (Sears block), tear up its railroad infrastructure (Kellar Branch), and turn its industrial park into a greenfield for low-wage big-box stores (Pioneer Park) obviously has money to burn.
When it comes to priorities in Peoria, actions speak much louder than words.
“making (exceptions) for the so-called rush hours in the morning and afternoons.”
Kind of sounds like she is talking about parallel parking. The last time there was ‘parking’ along Main, it was parallel. It was TERRIBLE. The right most lane was still allowed to have traffic running down it, but you could park there if you wanted. Yeah…..right. Taking your life into your hands, praying not to get rear ended. Very few people ever parked there. So few, that folks got used to no one parking there. So when someone did… well.. you got a lot of surprise breaking, squealing of tires from those drivers in autopilot mode, and a noticeable increase in rear end accidents.
Barber, on the other hand, seems to get what folks along Main really want which is angled //// parking (versus |||| )
More parking on Main sounds like busy work to make it appear the City is doing something.
The City is quick to blame District 150 for its demise but there is plenty of blame to go around. The Main Street area is a gem that the City has allowed to tarnish. Even when businesses like One World, Avanti’s, and Starbucks have invested in the area, the City has not committed the same with investments to infrastructure to complete the package. Disappointing!
One of the things the West Bluff Council had recommended was to try “shutting down” one lane of traffic through the use of orange cones. That would let people get used to one lane of traffic and the city use it as a study for further work. Guess even that was too expensive for the city.
Frustrated…. yeah talking about Main street is busy work. They have been talking about Main St. for decades. Little here a little there but nothing very substantive. Nothing that makes a fundamental change in the dynamic along that corridor.
The quick and dirty fix for Main is to break out the road paint and draw a bunch of parking lines on the road. That would solve some of the parking issues for current and would be businesses on Main but fail to make it very attractive. What is desired is to make a harder definition of narrowing the road space by bringing parts of the curb closer to the center of the road. Then you would plant trees, maybe put in benches, or even public art.
‘Uptown’ Normal did a great job of this years ago. They took otherwise straight roads, narrowed them. They alternated clusters of parking on each side of the road, creating little jogs along the way~~~. Those jogs along with the parking slowed traffic down and improved the area to help more businesses thrive.
To address buses stopping along a 3 lane road… you would create pull off lanes every four or five blocks or so in lieu of parking spaces. So maybe a pull off in front of campus town, where the bench currently sits. Maybe another pull off in front of the small public parking lot on the south side of Main further down the road.
I haven’t seen study that Barber is talking about — but I find it hard to believe that we can’t make an impact for less than $12 MIllion (or even $10 Million). Sounds like we’re going for the cadillac approach. I think that smaller on-going investments (that we can afford) can have an impact as much as a wholesale redo of the entire area in advance of private development. We need to time our investments to go with the private investment ….
Help me here. The City has put money into Main street. (Grant money and taxpayer money are the same BVA) A few years back, all the sidewalks were replaced, made wider in some places, ornamental lighting was installed with fancy baskets, and CILCO removed the poles and ugly lines off the street. Off street parking lots were built. Then the whole thing was put out as the “New Ren-Park” and a new building was built to help new businesses come and grow on Main. You all talk about parking on the street. Where? Not in front of Campustown nor in front of any business on the north side of Main to University. Traffic there is already tight to make a right onto University at One World because of the “forever” red light there. Traffic doesn’t travel all that fast over the speed limit (30mph) and if you allow parking (parallel) like there was years ago, well, then it is dangerous just to get into or out of your car as the lanes aren’t wide enough. Don’t even think of snow removal with that type of parking as no matter what the City did, somebody would be parked and block the plows. What? Restrict parking then? That’s not good for businesses. Then there are the businesses. How many are there really? Cash store. Auto parts warehouse. Small strip mall. All with their own lots already. Campustown which has it’s own lot and if they would enforce the parking for their customers, then the lot wouldn’t be full of Bradley students at class. Let’s not forget the crossing light at the new parking deck which is used mostly to cross the street located less than a block from Farmington Road’s light. This backs up and causes traffic. Two lanes of cars rushing to beat the next light. Avanti’s has it the toughest because of people who turn left off of University into their lot across 3 heavy used lanes and that is because of the Uplands blocking alleys, restricting left turns into their area during heavy traffic times so going around the block can be an art if not impossible or legal.
Nope, BVA is offering up lip service. Then after more delays and no funding, she can blame anybody she wants and the dear people will vote her in again. The cycle continues and people wonder why we have the kind of idiot spending on our council we have. What is really wanted here is the neighborhood residents around this area want a green strip in the middle of a 25 mph 2 lane Main Street lined with trees and dancing lepercons and outside cafe’s (which don’t work in this climate)and wifi coffee stops. That would be wonderful but it isn’t feasible nor should ALL taxpayers pay for it.
Yes… YES… I want dancing Leprechauns!!!
The newer sidewalks, power poles, and burying the utility lines were all planned and paid for before Ren Park.
Yes they were and who paid for that? It was all about improvements to Main and Ren-Park.
Give ’em free tax money!!
main sreet was 2 Lanes with parking and side walks.they changed it to what it is today .Who in right mind would walk there ? Maybe the “gun toting Ex council woman”?
All viable business along there were Killed off! PLANNING ??
Another TIF for D.Joseph companies?
Or is this a smoke screen / and the illogical Sheridan triangle SNEAKS Thru??Another of her BVN projects .millions when City is broke!
that would bail out the MTY furniture store ,which no one in right mind would buy now!Million $ + ??
it was over built for area back then and now.City could buy it and use as a warming /cooling center? Charter School ?? How would they do there in middle of that area?
Let’s become part of EAST Peoria ,Their Hotels are getting all the buisiness,including Peoria organizations outings! Basically Pere’ is gone now?!
Where does the museum fit into all of this?
Here’s a quick and dirty fix that could actually make the city money: On Main from University to the hill, restripe the street without two lanes in each direction. No widening, no constricting, just restriping. The right lane becomes a parking lane, with a caveat of no parking during rush hours (7am-10am and 3pm-6pm). Post signs and you’re done. During rush hours and times when there are no parked cars, the natural flow of traffic will provide two lanes in each direction. This greatly expands parking in the area between 10am and 3pm, and opens up a new revenue stream if vehicles need to be ticketed/towed after 3pm. This sort of setup is very common in larger cities and works pretty well.
I cannot imagine how on-street parking could even begin to work on this busy thoroughfare, which carries cars, huge delivery trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles every day. It sounds crazy to me. More off-street parking would be welcome. And don’t get me started about the delivery vans that stop alongside One World right after the light causing slamming breaks and swerves or the nut jobs who think it makes sense to try to run left into Avanti’s in busy traffic.
Tulip, I agree about the delivery vans and–just saw one of those “nut jobs” trying to make that left turn (out of Avanti’s) with vans, school buses, and heavy traffic on both sides of University.
Those delivery vans should know better than to be making deliveries during peak traffic/business hours. Complain to the store managers. They have it in their power to insist/demand that those trucks come at different times.
I see the liquor deliveries blocking Main St., right near Sheridan on a daily basis. What do you do with them if you take a lane away? And trying to get in and out of Campus Town on Main St., is a nightmare.
There is an alleyway…. and alleyways were made especially for this purpose.
CJ,
there were funds allocated Main Street. tepliz council passed 5 years of dedicated CDBG funds for main st, which would haved started taking effect after the election. Start there, follow the money trail after Teplitz did not get re-elected.