I recently attended a City Council meeting that allowed us to speak about the city’s new proposed speed study. The study on East Seventh Street will install diagonal, back-in parking into our neighborhood to “calm traffic.” If the study is successful in slowing traffic, they are proposing to implement it on East Eighth, Ninth and 10th streets, as well.
This is despite the fact that the city’s own speed study concluded that the average speed on Seventh was 24 to 26 mph and unnecessary. The project was proposed without notifying the neighborhood residents. This will forever alter our downtown neighborhoods, as the Next Step plan includes eliminating 38 parking spaces from Main Avenue, forcing more parking into the neighborhoods.
At a recent Next Step meeting, it became clear that the project is moving forward despite businesses and residents being against it. Statements by Multimodal staff that the plan will keep our Western heritage look intact are false. It will drastically change downtown to a walking mall atmosphere, narrowing streets again, removing parking, widening sidewalks, installing trees and mini parklike areas, corner bulbouts, pedlets, you name it. All in the name of safety, when data shows only 2.2 injury accidents per year on average.
Multimodal is hell bent on constricting every possible street they can, including College Drive and East Eighth Avenue. Residents should contact City Council and demand they stop the madness. Multimodal is out of control. Funds should be spent on neighborhood infrastructure and sidewalks.
Ken Van Zee
Durango
