I’m doing an unscientific survey, and I hope you’ll help by leaving a comment with your answer, even if you don’t normally comment (perhaps especially if you don’t normally comment):
Do you drive down Main Street on a regular or semi-regular basis? In other words, is it a normal route for you to take someplace like work, church, friend’s or family’s home, downtown or socializing, etc.? If so, what would you do if the city were to narrow Main Street from five to three lanes, slowing traffic down to 25 or 30 miles per hour?
Answer any way you want, but here are some options to get you thinking: Would you keep your same route and just drive the slower speed (maybe leave home a little earlier to compensate for it)? Would you look for an alternate, faster route? Would you cut through the surrounding neighborhoods to try to somehow gain time? Would you take Martin Luther King Drive as an alternate route (either now, or if it were improved)? Would you just not go out at all if it involved driving in that area? There are other options; these are just a few to prime the pump.
I would take the same route and slow down. For full disclosure, I also live in the Uplands. I obviously drive that route frequently!
I just drive Main St occasionally; slowing me down would make no difference and it shouldn’t for anyone. Mainis the only real access street in that area so where else you going to go? What is the big problem in going 20 mph rather than 30-35 mph? The slower the traffic all over town the safer it will be for everyone.
I drive 25 on Main Street anyway, so I wouldn’t be going any slower, nor would I take an alternate route unless the traffic at the University light got so outrageously backed up that I would be forced to, which at that point, others would too, thus possibly alleviating the issue.
A good alternate route to reach downtown instead of Main is Columbia Terrace, at least from the Uplands. I don’t normally take University down the hill to get to downtown, but it is an option I would consider if traffic got too congested.
Think back to when I74 was shut down. People found alternate routes and the fear of mind-numbing traffic jams never materialized.
On the flip side- will people cut through the neighborhoods more than they do now? Without a doubt.
I absolutely detest streets with 20-25 mph speed limits, but I detest congestion even more. If you lower the speed limit below 35 you are going to get a lot more congestion. Would that lead me to avoid Main St., yes, it would. Which will also lead to increased traffic on other streets.
We live in West Peoria and take Moss to Union Hill to get downtown everyday. I avoid Main St. as often as I can, especially during rush hours. Main and University intersection is just a mess when trying to get into the turn lane on Main in front of BU. I think the 20 mph is appropriate around BU, but seems senseless for the rest of Main St.
CJ, I am on Main St. alot. I work in W. Peoria. I have two routes, Nebraska to Sterling and up the back way to work or Main St. I generally chose Main St to/from work home and from work doing the day to the courthouse and surrounding counties. I go 30mph as it’s the speed limit, I am passed frequently by cars going much much faster. I think many of the other drivers utilizing Main are going to head down Sheridan N or S to either Moss, Columbia Terrace or N. on Sheridan through the triangle area and out North. From the other end, they will take Moss from Western. The Uplands has quite a few stop signs, but I do see a number of people cutting through there to Columbia Terrace. From work, Main is the most feasible route to many of the places that I have to go to because of my job, so my route would not be effected much.
The speeds are much slower than in my neck of the woods as there are alot of park cars on both sides of most streets and a number of stop signs. We have parking generally on one side of the street and long stretches w/o stop signs. Driving through Bradley is a pain so that is a natural barrier.
Re: the walkable neighborhoods. In my opinion, the Uplands, Moss, and the Arbor District are already walkable. The sidewalks on Main could be a little wider, but at least the sidewalks are in good repair. Walking along Main is a little disconcerting due the amount of traffic. Comparing to walking along Sheridan, which has the same speed limit, but a much higher rate of speed by people ignoring it. or along University where the sidewalks are narrow, high flow of traffic speeding and the sidewalks themselves are pretty crappy. McClure has lower speed limit as well, but the sidewalks are so dangerous, they are not walkable.
I live on Farmington Rd, so I use Main St. to get to and from town on an almost daily basis. However, if they narrow Main St., I will look for alternative routing. The street is congested enough as it is and narrowing it would cause more. The sidewalks are in but there are a lot of things in the way. Light poles, trees, bus benches, etc. The sidewalks are narrow and if you walk along them you get splashed with street debris and water, snow, salt, etc. I personally can’t see the advantage of narrowing a main artery through the town. Doing this will make my commute longer and harder and at the price of gas today that I don’t need. I believe that we should be more walkable but at what price?
I use Main Street sometimes, but not every day. It is usually smooth sailing when I use that road.
I don’t think anyone likes congestion. It’s hard to say how much of an impact 25 miles and hour would have. I would probably forget if they change it and end up with a speeding ticket.
I already avoid Main Street as much as possible. Take the University Street hill down to John Gwynn (?) or Columbia Terrace to Hamilton. Restricting Main Street would just reinforce my behavior.
I use main often. I’d slow down, but man, when I hit that hill to get to downtown…watch out! just playn. Safety first.
I would just drive slower, it takes no time at all at any speed to traverse this little town. I am never in that big of a hurry, hell it’s Peoria not Chicago, and five minutes will not kill me.
It would tend to make me want to avoid the area (and its businesses) all the more. If you want the area to get development dollars, you can’t drive away the potential customers for those businesses.
Another question that should also be asked, I think, is if Main were narrowed and a slower speed limit enforced, would you consider public transportation?
Make Main Street a divided roadway two lanes east and two lane west with a tree lined center median. Have limited cross overs at designated traffic zones – slow speed down to 30 and enforce it. You could begin the median a just eas of farmington road and end it just before Methodist.
I live a block off of Min and use it everyday. If it is slowed, I’ll just drive slower.
Sorry, mdd, but I call bulls%&t. If anything, the businesses along Main Street struggle because:
1) The people driving by do so at such a fast speed that they never notice the businesses; and
2) There is no where to park when you do want to patronize one. (The parking lot behind One World is often full, and no one wants to walk a few blocks along the “highway”.)
Given the width and speed of Main Street, you’d likely need a see of parking in front (more for sight-lines to the business rather than actual usable parking) and huge post signs.
For every pass-through commuter like mdd that would avoid the area altogher will be someone who will actually go TO Main Street to frequent the businesses.
Oh, I didn’t answer CJ’s question: I go thru the Main/University intersection every day to go to work downtown. If the left turn lane onto Main is backed up, I just go straight on the go thru Southtown to downtown. If Main were narrowed, I’d like just take my alternate all the time.
And just reducing the speed limit won’t do anything as long as there is no enforcement. The current speed limit isn’t enforced now.
I drive on Main occasionally (once every month or two). I used to drive it more frequently when I lived in Peoria proper (once every couple of weeks). I don’t mind slowing by 5-10 mph, as long as any increase in stop/go congestion is accounted for in that 5-10 mph effective speed reduction.
I’m with Sud O. Nym re business impact. Traffic on Main moves too fast for me to notice businesses, spot a reasonably-close place to park, maneuver through traffic to get to that parking place, etc. Maybe my eyes are old beyond their years or maybe I actually pay attention to the road while I’m driving (the horror!), but my meager spending at Main-street business would probably be less meager if traffic was slower and/or parking was more plentiful/obvious (all else being equal).
Parking and negotiating your way safey in and out of parking is a hassle, but the real reason is you have to want to shop at the stores there. If we want to go to One World, we do, or the Viet. restaurant, etc. otherwise, there isn’t much there that I would go to on a regular basis. Other’s will have restaurants and shops that they may hit from time to time, but not a regular draw. That close to Bradley and the with the density of the population and the income levels in that part of town the right combination of shops would do fantastic no matter what the driving and parking conditions. When we go to Chicago the parking is a nightmare, the drive and traffic a pain, etc, but we go where we want to go regardless. There is plenty of traffic at the title loan place and I drive by it several times a day. don’t hear those customers complaining. So with that, what is the real solution? I would guess, attracting stores that the locals want to spend thier money at and they will come, regardless of traffic, etc. Those are merely bonuses to make the area more attractive. I think the same thing of the Sheridan Triangle. There are nice shops there, but not ones that I need to go to on a regular basis. In both areas, the businesses there need available parking. Residents need to feel safe walking the streets (crime and traffic wise) and the shops must appeal to the local dollars. Sounds like the Economic Development bunch need to spend time looking at that vs. luring in the next mini mall or box store for the north end in order to solve those issues.
If you reduce Main St., to two lanes and put in parking along side the curb, how are you going to get in and out of the parking spaces? You pull up along side the car in front of the spot, stop and put your car in reverse and try to back into the space. No way can you do this with only one lane of traffic going each way. Then there is the bus system. It stops at many stops along Main St., if there was only one lane for traffic it would block up traffic for blocks and blocks. Right now as you approach University on Main you can see traffic backed up clear past Mc Donald’s on some days and at certain times. Getting in and out of Jimmy Johns or across the street to the shopping center is a nightmare now, imagine it with less access having only two lanes.
It matters how you narrow it too. On street angled parking is different then just narrowing it for sidewalks.
I do drive down Main and to me it is mostly as it has been the last 30 years…not a real problem. Sure I may stay in a turn lane for 2 red lights these days but I suppose I am patient compared to other drivers. If this street changes I will most likely avoid it if conjestion gets worse and thereby not visit One World or Avanti’s or Panda.
Sud O. Nym, which businesses on West Main St. are you suggesting are struggling? All the ones I visit seem to be doing well.
And have you ever parked in Campustown in order to patronize One World Cafe or Lin Hing? I always have and with no problems.
But all this is most laughable, I am sorry. Main should never be brought to 3 lanes from 5 lanes just to become “stylish” or ped-safe. This is as stupid as ideas get. I remember when they did something similar to a portion of Chicago’s State St. Business suffered and eventually forced the city to revert back to the original plan. Fulton St. in Peoria between Adams and Jefferson back in the 70’s. Does anyone recall that plan? It failed miserably as an incentive to increase business and bring pedestrian traffic to the downtown area.
The only outcome to constricting and impeding vehicle traffic flow on Main St. will be an eventual overall reduction in traffic flow on Main St. You’ll always have the Bradley student customers during the school year but the summer months will kill biz when it is ingrained that Main St. is a traffic bottleneck to avoid.
Aren’t there current studies underway over Main and University traffic? I think so but not in connection with this supposed plan.
If Main is the most direct route, I usually drive it, but not at around 8 AM or 5 PM. Like any other street, I will just deal with the reality of the road, speed limit, flow of traffic and drive defensively to avoid as many idiot drivers and jaywalkers as possible!
I’d drive slower or take MLK. An improved MLK would be an great supplemental connection from Western to downtown if exanded and improved.
“The parking lot behind One World is often full, and no one wants to walk a few blocks along the “highway”.)”
We’ve probaly eaten at One World hundreds of times at various times and have always found parking in their lot.
I don’t think Main should be narrowed. And in that section of business (One World, Campustown) are people really driving that fast anyway? At off times, you may be able to speed on Main. I guess when I’ve traveled Main it’s been busy traffic-wise and no one is really speeding.
I think the problem is with the lights and not the speed. The light at Main & University is horrible if you are turning. I know I drive faster after I’ve sat through two lights. If traffic actually flowed, the speed is irrelevant. Going 25 and moving is far better than 30 and stop and go (or is it stop, stop, go). If they narrow Main they HAVE to make improvements on other streets. And they have to do it before they narrow Main.
I can just see it now. On street angled parking and there is this huge long bed pickup truck parked with the front up to the curb, or er, almost up to the curb with the tailend of the truck with dualies sticking halfway out into the only lane on Main St. Have you ever noticed how people park in parking lots that have this type of parking? For some reason they can’t seem to get their tail ends in the parking slot so it doesn’t stick out in the driving lane. Even little cars have this problem. It would be a nightmare on Main St.