Quote:
Originally Posted by Thirsty
Very rational post. I'm of the 'reevaluate camp', but it isn't from an anti-car or anti-progress POV. Having lived on the East side, I know everyone driving to I-10 already avoids Broadway b/c of downtown. People will catch Barazza/LINKS at Golf Links or 22nd (or not at all if coming from the NE).
Four-lanes each way, with right and left (or even double-left) turn lanes at intersections and hopefully a RoW LRT is just too much for the walkable urban atmosphere we're hoping to create in that little corner of the city. I don't think it is unreasonable to draw a rectangle with the university and I-10 at 22nd as the corners and focus on density, walkability and transit inside those boundaries. A fifth of Tucsonans live and/or work in that area. Can we preserve at least that section of Broadway, Stone and both 6th's for people who don't drive 20+ miles to work?
|
I'm not so sure 6 lanes plus that much bike landscape and ped buffer is a death knell for that section of Broadway being unwalkable.
San Fran replaced a freeway with surface street when it collapsed in the quake but the street needed to carry some amount of traffic. It works well as both a walkable scape and road.
In the cross section I posted of a 6 lane Broadway, the sidewalk is 28 feet from traffic with a landscape buffer. It's not going to be a compact walkable boulevard, but with Hawks or traffic lights at park, highland, cherry, plumer and treat I think it would be very navigable and appealing.