Publication Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Lessons learned?
Lessons learned?
(January 28, 2004)Even while the Downtown North traffic project continues, residents have been thinking about how the process could be changed for future traffic-calming trials. They offer suggestions for everyone from fellow residents to the City Council.
Tricia Ward-Dolkas has been involved with the issue for years, and she believes that speeding up the process would have helped. As it was, because the project took so long, new residents moved into the neighborhood who had not been involved in the decisions. Their lack of participation led to a sense of disenfranchisement, she said.
On a tactical note, she'd also recommend the city make use of traffic-simulation software that could give residents a better idea of what to expect with a variety of traffic-calming options -- and quickly.
"The time it took to do this trial absolutely sabotaged it," she said.
"Every person in traffic calming has a different idea of what it's going to mean to them, and different costs and benefits to them. Everyone has an idea of what works and what doesn't," said Ward-Dolkas. "If we had the ability to sit around the table and input traffic levels and see dynamic models, before you put anything in the ground, it would be so much better. If they did that, then you don't have the issue of 'let's try this and see after six months the impact.' Or one person says 'let's try this' and the other person says 'no.' "
Former Mayor Gary Fazzino believes the transportation division could do a better job at forecasting the impact of traffic-calming trials on nearby streets and examine alternatives up front. The traffic at Lytton Avenue and Middlefield Road, for example, has increased.
"It's important for staff to paint the most optimistic point of view as well as the most negative plan -- so those impacts and alternatives are taken into account," Fazzino said.
Others point to the need for greater citizen participation throughout the process.
"Mount a more full-bore effort at getting people's attention and doing publicity into the process going on," suggested Planning Commissioner Michael Griffin, who helped develop the Downtown North trial.
Back in 1999, he said, "I spoke of making more noise about it, but those on the other side of the coin said, 'Why stir up trouble? Let's get further down the road and see what we've got.'"
Similarly, Fazzino believes the traditional ways of reaching out may no longer be as effective as necessary.
"It makes sense at the outset to think of every conceivable way to engage the community in this discussion," Fazzino said. "Get beyond the traditional vehicles of meetings."
The responsibility doesn't just fall on the city or neighborhood association, however. Vigilance is also the individual's responsibility, some residents have learned.
"Get involved. Don't assume that it's not going to happen," said Pat Markevitch, who opposes the road closures. "A lot of people were content in life. They didn't feel the need to take part in meetings that went on for hours. Then all of a sudden (the roadblocks) show up."
Some residents, however, think there can be such a thing as too much participation and would like to see the transportation division take a firmer stance with residents.
"Ask us what we believe our problems are... our qualitative (feedback). Gather that allegorical data," said Joshua Mogal, vice president of the neighborhood association. Then "I want to leave it in (the transportation division's) hands. We can all be back-seat drivers, but at the end of the day, none of us has experience to know the benefits and drawbacks. I'm all for community involvement, but not this. It's not provided benefits to the community."
Finally, some residents hope to see greater leadership from the council in the future -- which others find ironic given that the council itself has just come off of a year of bickering. However, Fazzino said that having council members meet with representatives of both sides of the Downtown North controversy this month was "very healthy."
Resident Sally-Ann Rudd only wishes they'd done more earlier.
They "should have stepped in before neighbors started snapping at each other... They've been so hands off, it's led to problems. There's been no one to stand in the middle," Rudd said. "If the mayor or somebody would have stepped in, then a lot of this shouting wouldn't have happened."
-- Jocelyn Dong
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