At its upcoming November 13 meeting, the City Planning Commission is slated to weigh in on which street on the east end of the Downtown Mall is the proper place for a vehicular crossing, Fourth or Fifth street. And while that may seem like a noncontroversial choice, the issue of a crossing for traffic on what was designed to be a street dedicated to pedestrians has raised the hackles of businesses and local pedestrians for several years.
 The Downtown Mall crossing could stay at Fourth Street or go to Fifth Street, but regardless it looks like an east end crossing is here to stay. |
| Previous coverage:
Cars too shall pass Mall Crossing: stay or go? |
The discussion of Fourth or Fifth street goes back to the summer of 2005, when the Downtown Business Association submitted a petition to City Council to consider opening another crossing to replace the Seventh Street crossing that was closed for Pavilion construction. Businesses argued that a crossing was necessary to improve traffic circulation and encourage shoppers and tourists to frequent their shops. Some argued that the Mall needed a boost to compete with planned county shopping centers like Albemarle Place.
But a backlash quickly formed from pedestrian advocates: City watchdog Peter Kleeman warned that accidents would be a result. Many said that it would mean fewer pedestrians by breaking up the perambulatory experience, and wondered if more signs would do the trick.
In January 2006, the Planning Commission deemed, by a 5-2 vote, that a crossing at Fourth or Fifth street would be contrary to the comprehensive plan. But City Council reasoned that the comprehensive plan was changing anyway and they could rewrite the section if they wanted, and in April 2006, Council decided to go ahead with a one-year temporary crossing at Fourth Street, with only Kevin Lynch voting against it. The crossing was opened in May 2006.
After the year was up, staff presented Council with survey data on the Mall crossing: Daily average traffic counts went up at the Second Street crossing to 1,250 from 860 cars, with about 1,000 cars a day using the Fourth Street crossing. But pedestrian numbers decreased from April 2006 to April 2007, 31 percent less for Second Street and 17 percent less for Fourth Street.
Once again, business turned out to support the crossing, mostly with vague talk that the crossing is helping their Mall businesses, and several Downtown residents turned out against it, mostly with vague talk that the crossing is hurting their Mall experiences.
Council voted in principle to move ahead with plans for a permanent east end mall crossing by a 3-2 vote (Lynch and Dave Norris voted against it). City Attorney Allyson Davies told Council that the Planning Commission would have to weigh in on whether Fourth or Fifth street is the right crossing.
Which brings the matter back before the board that voted against it last year, once again to determine "if the general or approximate location, character and extent of the proposed mall crossing locations are substantially in accord with the City’s adopted Comprehensive Plan." On November 13, we’ll see just how good a job Council did rewriting its own plan.
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