I mistakenly included an item on 5th Street in this post, but I’ve now removed it to a separate post.

Note: Dan Allison, the primary author of this blog, spends most of July and August, and some of September, backpacking in the mountains, in the wilderness, and away from Internet access. So posts will be very intermitent, though some will show up when I’m in town, as I am for a few days.

Additional posts on Broadway Complete Streets are available at category ‘Broadway Complete Streets‘.

Green Paint

Green paint seems to be complete along the corridor, except of course for 19th Street to 22nd Street where no changes to the roadway have occurred.

18th Street Bus Stop

The project proposed to move the bus stop for Route 51 from the far side of 18th Street to the near side, in front of New Helvetia Brewing, even though far-side bus stops are preferred and safer. But the design of the sidewalk and sidewalk buffer makes it a poor bus stop, with access to the front (and handicapped ramp) and rear doors difficult. A green striped area, meaning a shared bus stop and bike lane, has been installed, but is being used as a parking area by drivers. The area is not signed for no parking, nor is the curb painted red. The bus stop has not been moved. I don’t know if it will be moved.

Bicycle Signal at 16th Street

The non-functional bicycle signal on Broadway eastbound at Land Park Drive now works (and has for over a week, but I didn’t get to posting until today). It took the involvement of city planning staff to get it fixed, as the traffic signal people did not care that it didn’t work, and did not fix it after multiple 311 requests.

However, it is not safe. There are large and prominent no turn blank-out signs for motor vehicle drivers turning south onto Land Park Drive, illuminated when the green bicycle light is on, and blank when it is not. The signs are hard to miss. It isn’t working.

I observed 54 drivers turning right at this intersection, not during a busy time of day. 52 of them violated the law and turned right against the no turn signs. Two did not. Both of those drivers noticed that I was taking photos, and did not turn, while looking at me to see if I was going to capture their license plate on a photo. I’m pretty sure those two would have turned if I’d not been there.

This would be a great location for a red light camera. Oh, but wait, the city has decided it is not interested in red light cameras. Drivers are free to run red lights at will, since there is no automated enforcement, and there is no direct enforcement.

The city’s design objective for streets should be that they are self-enforcing, physically making sure that drivers behave safely for all road users. This is an example where the city decided to rely on drivers following the law. Clearly a failure, on the part of the city, and the part of the drivers.

Construction Signs

At the southwest corner of Broadway and Land Park Drive, there are two sidewalk closed signs. I am not sure whether these are related to the construction on the southeast corner, or are leftover remnants of the Broadway project. In the photo below, the sign on the left is oriented to walkers heading north on Land Park Drive, but it should be oriented to walkers heading east on Broadway. The sign on the right doesn’t make any sense at all for this location, no matter how it might be oriented. Whether this is a mistake by city contractors, or the construction company, makes no difference. It is the city’s responsibility to make sure that signing is appropriate and correct. It has failed miserably at that responsibility.

Photos on Flickr. An album of photos of the Broadway Complete Streets project, during and after construction. No promise is made that the album will be kept up to date.