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FacebookDayton street plan won't gobble parking spots
Thursday, April 05, 2007
DAYTON — — The final recommendation for reconfiguring Dayton's downtown streets, to be unveiled today, will propose converting 16 blocks from one-way to two-way traffic and eliminate only six parking spaces.
It will also recommend putting pairs of northbound and southbound bike lanes on either side of Main Street, and another set of lanes in both directions on Fourth Street from the Great Miami River to Jefferson Street.
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"We think it's pretty important that we've got this incredible bikeway system that downtown is the center of," said John Gower, the city's director of community development. "We're thinking about downtown being different than it has been in the last 40 to 50 years."
The proposed design will be presented by consultants Tetra Tech Inc. at two meetings today, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room of the Cooper Building at 4 South Main St.
It is drastically scaled back from the two design alternatives presented in December. Those designs would have slightly eased future traffic congestion but would have eliminated up to 83 percent of the city's 1,180 on-street parking spaces.
The original proposals were met with vocal opposition from downtown business owners.
Comments
By Bob
April 5, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this
I don’t know if the conversion from one-way to two-way streets will help or hurt. On the one hand, I think two-way cuts in half the available lane space on the street for traffic flow . . but the one-way streets (where you can’t make left turns at some intersections and have to circle around if you miss a turn) are inconvenient and potentially frustrating. I like the idea of having free (or cheap and convenient) parking downtown, maybe a free parking garage or with a nominal fee.
By watchman
April 5, 2007 1:15 PM | Link to this
maybe the meter maids can switch from their gasoline powered cars with the orange lights blocking traffic flow to bicycles. perhaps that would keep traffic flowing… and help them shed a few pounds. as it is they have a great job now… ride around downtown, take a long lunch in the suburbs, hurry back to block what little traffic remains there, discourage downtown on-street parking and keep sinclair students in check who are about the only ones left down there. show me the way out of town!
By watchman
April 5, 2007 1:13 PM | Link to this
maybe the meter maids can switch from their gasoline powered cars with the orange lights blocking traffic flow to bicycles. perhaps that would keep traffic flowing… and help them shed a few pounds. as it is they have a great job now… ride around downtown, take a long lunch in the suburbs, hurry back to block what little traffic remains there, discourage downtown on-street parking and keep sinclair students in check who are about the only ones left down there..
By daytonian
April 5, 2007 12:34 PM | Link to this
As usual, the dayton bashers never waste an opportunity to complain about downtown. these same people either never come downtown or if they happen to work here they don’t spend any time finding the positive things about downtown. that is too bad, because there are some really great things happening here that u don’t hear about on the news. many of u refuse to believe, but the downtown area is coming back. it would happen quicker if more of u tried supporting it rather than continuing to bash it
By Paul
April 5, 2007 11:48 AM | Link to this
By KARON
April 5, 2007 11:42 AM | Link to this
light passenger rail for cincinnati and dayton, this will help bring back the downtown of cincy and dayton, also create thousands of new jobs. the time is come
By Hope
April 5, 2007 11:37 AM | Link to this
We all have brains, and CAN read the street signs, I don’t know one person who can stand to go downtown because of the way the streets are. Questioning our intelligence on here has nothing at all to do with it.. yes, get rid of meter parking, who has the time to keep running to the meters to put change in during the day??? I don’t and I don’t know anyone else who does either. I’ve had several meetings downtown, I can’t just “jump and run” to the meters.
By Dan Kennedy
April 5, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this
And finally, the public commenting sessions were a joke. While the consultants were excellent hosts and answered every question to a great detail, they are doing what the city commission wanted; which was to draw up plans for twoway streets. The sessions were not desinged to actually capture any public input. This plan was a done deal from the day they hired the consultants. This wasn’t shopped around to the Priority Boards or neighbohrood councils or even at a public design charette.
By Fred E.
April 5, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this
I certainly hope changing the one-way streets to two-way and offering bikeways will improve Dayton’s downtown problems of crime,parking and local retail! Only time will tell!
By Dan Kennedy
April 5, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this
What do the bike lanes do? While I’m pro biking, what do they CONNECT? You have to get from one place to another, so what is connected? How do they fit into the next round of MVPRC/MetroPark/Conservancy district planning for bike trails that is just getting started? Is there even a need for these lanes or are they just window dressing!
By Dan Kennedy
April 5, 2007 11:26 AM | Link to this
Re Hope’s comment about “eliminates meter parking” then all the better. How does that help?! What downtown doesn’t need MORE parking?! We should have nose out angled parking!
I also think this is a big waste of money. It doesn’t address any real problems (like parking). What it really does is prepare Monument for the ballpark village development. If that’s all the developer realy wants, why are we toting around this whole bucket of crap.
By Molly
April 5, 2007 11:05 AM | Link to this
In Regards to Matt’s comment. If you click on the name of the person submitting a comment it immediately brings up an email box with the person’s email address. That is how someone contacted you. The people in charge of our website would never give out personal information. Just to clarify!
By justus
April 5, 2007 11:05 AM | Link to this
RE MATT: if you click on the persons name who left the comment, it will give you the email addy
RE 2 WAY STREETS: bad idea. the 1 way streets are easy to navigate if you can follow simple directions and have a brain. waste of time, money, and effort. Finding a parking space and walking a couple of blocks and seeing the sights is part of the charm of downtown
By sharyn
April 5, 2007 11:03 AM | Link to this
Matt …
if you click on the person’s name who made the comment, it gives you their e-mail address, just so you know.
By Vonda Shephard
April 5, 2007 11:00 AM | Link to this
I think downtown is exciting, this past weekend we seen them Dragonz, the kids luved it and them dippin dots. We even saw some people from down home. I hope that this makes it easier to get to stuff, we had a heck of time parkin the van, and gettin mee maw around. Them dots was worth it.
By Maria
April 5, 2007 10:50 AM | Link to this
Instead of spending so much money and time in fixing up downtown which in my mind no matter what you do you are not going to get the crowd of people you want. Instead start fixing up the streets. Wayne Ave, Stewart Street they are a mess.
By c
April 5, 2007 10:47 AM | Link to this
I think anything they can do downtown to make it more attractive to business and commerce would be great!! While I understand that some people feel it’s a vast impoverished wasteland replete with the cast of Fagin’s Pick Pockets from Olvier Twist; it is an untapped resource filled with potential. The new Convention Center looks great, and so will the new Caresource Building. Why not give it a chance, sure there isn’t alot now, but give it time,$$$, etc… I live downtown, and it’s not so bad.
By Hope
April 5, 2007 10:28 AM | Link to this
I understand a lot of people aren’t happy with this decision, but as far as navigation and finding places and their parking spots, I’m glad this is happening. I rarely go downtown, but when I do, it’s impossible to find a place to park and it takes just as long to find the place I’m looking for always having to go down one way streets, instead of turning around and going back the other way. And if this eliminates meter parking and all of that, all the better.
By Cappy Badmitten-Van Houten
April 5, 2007 10:27 AM | Link to this
I think its good that parking won’t be adversely affected. It’s good because save for one or two things there isn’t anything to do downtown. It’s so dirty and full of crime. I think The Greene has done it right, add a few better stores, and it’s the way a town should be, fun with loads of things to do, all manicured and clean. Why can’t city government get it right? Perhaps they should answer to stockholders, and not public interest groups.
By matt
April 5, 2007 10:03 AM | Link to this
You guys may want to be careful what you post on-line. A couple days ago, I posted regarding the closing of the Breakfast Club restaurant. Low and behold, I get a nasty e-mail from a former employee. It would appear someone with at DDN is passing on e-mail address to the public or to certain individual with connections.
By Geroge
April 5, 2007 9:41 AM | Link to this
Changing one-way streets to two way streets is a BAD idea. Traffic flows very nicely with one way streets. Where is the conjestion that is dicating change? I work downtown and I don’t see it. Is this just another waste of Dayton tax dollars by a Democratic mayor?
By Scott Ward
April 5, 2007 9:41 AM | Link to this
To Gerry, I go there all the time. you should try it. A unique area where you will find things the suburbs don’t have.
By a. l. smith
April 5, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this
What’s wrong, downtowner, jealous? Not everyone who lives in a suburb is rich or white. Not everyone who lives in a suburb owns a “McMansion” either. Those rich white suburbs you mentioned are filled with hard working decent people that don’t want to live in a dangerous part of town.
By Dan Kennedy
April 5, 2007 9:08 AM | Link to this
Regardless of the plan, it is false to say that two way streets ease congestion. That is wrong. Stop repeating it. Two way streets slow traffic.
By Downtowner
April 5, 2007 8:36 AM | Link to this
Gerry obviously lives in a cave somewhere snorting his dead fathers ashes, or in a McMansion in a rich white suburb.
By Mike
April 5, 2007 7:32 AM | Link to this
Good morning. I live in “downtown” Dayton and will commute to work on my bicycle today using the paths and streets.
By Gerry
April 5, 2007 6:53 AM | Link to this
I didn’t know downtown Dayton was still there! Anybody been there recently?!