Foolish City/County Commissions Vote to Improve Conditions Downtown by Narrowing Main Street
No, you did not read that incorrectly. In their ever dubious wisdom, both the Gainesville City Commission and the Alachua County Commission have voted in favor of a plan to narrow main street from four lanes to two. There was a story about it in yesterday's Gainesville Sun. I would really like to know who actually thinks that this is a good idea and how they reached that conclusion.
The prevailing theory -- championed by the likes of Dom Nozzi and Jeanna Mastrodicasa -- is that the narrowing of roads will actually decrease congestion by diverting traffic to other streets.
In the case of Main Street, it is already narrowed to two lanes on weekends. An that does not relieve congestion. I made the mistake of driving down Main Street once on a weekend. That was several years ago. I haven't done it since -- in fact, I on weekends, I avoid downtown as if it were the plague. As you can see, I have been diverted to other avenues of travel. Which causes me to wonder how the Commissioners think that this plan will revitalize downtown if one of the aims is to divert people from traveling through downtown?
There is also another huge personal problem for me in this plan -- the part that requires people to be diverted to 6th is going to mess up my whole work day. I have to get to north 13th street to get to my job. I approach Gainesville from the south. I can't use 13th street (which is the most direct route) because congestion is so bad due to poorly timed traffic signals and new signs forbidding right turns on red and thus causing the right lane to be backed up all the way to SW 16th. I also avoid Main Street because there it too much traffic and it is really out of the way. My solution has been to take Main to 16th and then 6th to where I need to be to connect with 13th street. Traffic isn't too bad except where it bottlenecks at 4th. The congestion at the bottleneck is at saturation levels. If any major amount of traffic is diverted to 6th, I might as well just start driving over to the interstate and getting off at Newberry Road and connecting with 8th Avenue because it will take just as long as the more direct routes.
I am so sick and tired of the traffic in this town. And I am sick and tired of governments that go out of their way to make it worse. And I am sick of the apathetic voters who vote for these clowns. Honestly, does anyone who has to drive in this town vote? Or are they stuck in traffic at the times the polls are open?
This plan will not ease traffic congestion. It will make it worse. The people who are diverted to 6th will soon be fed up with the congestion caused by all the other people diverted to 6th and will go back to Main Street, which would then be only two lanes.
And part of this plan is to make down town more "pedestrian friendly." Does that mean we will start seeing "No Turn on Red" signs there, too? Just imagine the effect that will have on traffic flow when there are only two lanes.
Oh... here's the best part: Teresa Scott, the Gainesville Public Works director, isn't sure, but according to the Gainesville Sun, thinks that Main Street will be able to "remain at least partially open during construction." But she's not even sure how long it's going to last.
I am really thinking of moving to a city that respects its citizens. Gainesville is anti-business and anti-traffic and anti-parking. I don't understand how they expect people to live here.
For people who plan to vote in the future, remember that Rodney Long on the Alachua County Commission supported this plan. Also, Gainesville City Commissioner Jack Donovan supported the plan. I ask again, why do let people who want to make your every day life harder remain in office. Why do you vote for people like Jeanna Mastrodicasa who share their views?
Please be aware that my only experience with traffic comes from driving in it. Every day. For a really, really long time. So the possibility exists that I could be wrong... since I didn't take any classes on traffic. However, because I am applying logic and common sense to my experience, I don't think I am wrong.
I am excited to have discovered another local blogger who has spoken on this issue (to be fair, she discovered me). Check her blog out: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
Florida Gainesville Traffic Congestion Main Street Gainesville City Commission Alachua County Commission Rodney Long Jack Donovan Alachua County
The prevailing theory -- championed by the likes of Dom Nozzi and Jeanna Mastrodicasa -- is that the narrowing of roads will actually decrease congestion by diverting traffic to other streets.
In the case of Main Street, it is already narrowed to two lanes on weekends. An that does not relieve congestion. I made the mistake of driving down Main Street once on a weekend. That was several years ago. I haven't done it since -- in fact, I on weekends, I avoid downtown as if it were the plague. As you can see, I have been diverted to other avenues of travel. Which causes me to wonder how the Commissioners think that this plan will revitalize downtown if one of the aims is to divert people from traveling through downtown?
There is also another huge personal problem for me in this plan -- the part that requires people to be diverted to 6th is going to mess up my whole work day. I have to get to north 13th street to get to my job. I approach Gainesville from the south. I can't use 13th street (which is the most direct route) because congestion is so bad due to poorly timed traffic signals and new signs forbidding right turns on red and thus causing the right lane to be backed up all the way to SW 16th. I also avoid Main Street because there it too much traffic and it is really out of the way. My solution has been to take Main to 16th and then 6th to where I need to be to connect with 13th street. Traffic isn't too bad except where it bottlenecks at 4th. The congestion at the bottleneck is at saturation levels. If any major amount of traffic is diverted to 6th, I might as well just start driving over to the interstate and getting off at Newberry Road and connecting with 8th Avenue because it will take just as long as the more direct routes.
I am so sick and tired of the traffic in this town. And I am sick and tired of governments that go out of their way to make it worse. And I am sick of the apathetic voters who vote for these clowns. Honestly, does anyone who has to drive in this town vote? Or are they stuck in traffic at the times the polls are open?
This plan will not ease traffic congestion. It will make it worse. The people who are diverted to 6th will soon be fed up with the congestion caused by all the other people diverted to 6th and will go back to Main Street, which would then be only two lanes.
And part of this plan is to make down town more "pedestrian friendly." Does that mean we will start seeing "No Turn on Red" signs there, too? Just imagine the effect that will have on traffic flow when there are only two lanes.
Oh... here's the best part: Teresa Scott, the Gainesville Public Works director, isn't sure, but according to the Gainesville Sun, thinks that Main Street will be able to "remain at least partially open during construction." But she's not even sure how long it's going to last.
I am really thinking of moving to a city that respects its citizens. Gainesville is anti-business and anti-traffic and anti-parking. I don't understand how they expect people to live here.
For people who plan to vote in the future, remember that Rodney Long on the Alachua County Commission supported this plan. Also, Gainesville City Commissioner Jack Donovan supported the plan. I ask again, why do let people who want to make your every day life harder remain in office. Why do you vote for people like Jeanna Mastrodicasa who share their views?
Please be aware that my only experience with traffic comes from driving in it. Every day. For a really, really long time. So the possibility exists that I could be wrong... since I didn't take any classes on traffic. However, because I am applying logic and common sense to my experience, I don't think I am wrong.
I am excited to have discovered another local blogger who has spoken on this issue (to be fair, she discovered me). Check her blog out: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
Florida Gainesville Traffic Congestion Main Street Gainesville City Commission Alachua County Commission Rodney Long Jack Donovan Alachua County
posted by AC Sentinel at 11:27 AM
3 Comments:
Hey there AC, you are speaking the rage the rest of us feel. There's another blogger too---my best friend who is at "Of Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax" at www.thetortoisetale.blogspot.com and it seems that great minds think alike.
This traffic is out of control. How many times do my husband and I have to sit at that damn light at Creekside Mall and 2nd Avenue at 6:45 am with NO traffic coming out from those damn side roads? ENOUGH ALREADY. I thought they'd solved the problem when ONE morning, just ONE they had the light blinking and DH and I were thinking "finally they got it"
Yeah right. I'm now wondering when they're going to take away the Godsend two left turn lanes from 34th to University. Man, without those two lanes we'd still be sitting there.
The city and county hand out building permits like they're candy. In the meantime, the population is increasing, traffic is getting worse, and they want to narrow a major thoroughfare and push that extra traffic to other already congested streets. It makes NO sense.
I say put a moratorium on building, put together a CITIZEN'S commission on restructuring the traffic situation which actually includes people who drive those roads daily, and let's get some real solutions going. This traffic situation MUST be dealt with now. The email I received from the Traffic Engineering guy isn't good enough. Antiquated equipment? Replace it. Badly timed lights? Resynchronize and for goodness sake get rid of those dumbass white lights, they're NO DAMN GOOD if there's no cops to pull anyone over.
Of course I just moved out of Alachua county and back into Gilchrist so I have no real say but I work there every single weekday and I do business in that town, so I am going to keep on speaking out.
I just moved out of Alachua county and back into Gilchrist
I'm closer to Marion County than to Gainesville, unfortunately, I have to go to Gainesville every day to work. I can't vote in their elections, but I do everything I can to get my friends to... after seeing that they're properly educated of course.
Building is another pet peeve of mine, too. It is poorly planned, and causes deforestation. The City of Gainesville, I am told, deliberately strives to see to it that there will not be enough parking at a given new building. This leads to the fist fights you sometimes see over parking places over at Royal Park.
Personally, I think if they are going to be hitting people, it should be the ones screwing up the traffic and limiting the number of parking spaces.
My thoughts are if you work in Gainesville you should have some sort of say too, we all should. We spend plenty of time commuting in and out of Alachua County/Gainesville and besides working there we spend our money there at restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores etc.
They want Gainesville to be inviting, they want people to "come to Main street".
There's ONE reason and ONE reason only DH and I stay away from Gainesville on weekends, and that is the traffic. We don't go to the movies, malls or other stores unless we HAVE to and usually now we do it on our way home from work. We refuse to drive into Gainesville on the weekends. But that isn't just since we moved back to Gilchrist, it was like that when we lived in Jonesville.
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