I guess the Burnside Plan seems reasonable...
but one way couplets make me nervous; they tend to be managed on the same principles that guide Burnside now, i.e. get the traffic through, and turn into some kind of urban freeway that is degrading to the street and streetlife.
Burnside today is unique for its narrowness, its triangular intersections, its congested feel. It feels like a city! (Read William H Whyte...The City for his views on narrow sidewalks, etc.) East Burnside is coming to life without a big project.
Why doesn't PDOT just slow the traffic down...set the signals for 12 MPH, just like Downtown..., add a few curb extensions where possible, and have new construction set back a couple of feet for a bit more sidewalk (see 34th & Hawthorne for what a couple of feet will do!). This would cost a lot less money, preserve the dense, congested character of the corridor and make life easier for those of us on foot.
Lenny Anderson
re: BLOG: Smoldering Argument over West Burnside Couplet
I guess the Burnside Plan seems reasonable...
but one way couplets make me nervous; they tend to be managed on the same principles that guide Burnside now, i.e. get the traffic through, and turn into some kind of urban freeway that is degrading to the street and streetlife.
Burnside today is unique for its narrowness, its triangular intersections, its congested feel. It feels like a city! (Read William H Whyte...The City for his views on narrow sidewalks, etc.) East Burnside is coming to life without a big project.
Why doesn't PDOT just slow the traffic down...set the signals for 12 MPH, just like Downtown..., add a few curb extensions where possible, and have new construction set back a couple of feet for a bit more sidewalk (see 34th & Hawthorne for what a couple of feet will do!). This would cost a lot less money, preserve the dense, congested character of the corridor and make life easier for those of us on foot.
Lenny Anderson