Davenport aldermen want improvements in Brady and Harrison corridors

Tue June 10 2008
Posted Jun 10, 2008
5,708

Quad City Times By Tory Brecht Davenport aldermen want the talk to stop and action to begin on improving the Brady and Harrison street corridors as soon as possible. Elected officials dug into the recommendations of a year-long corridor study at a special work session held at the city’s design center Monday night. Although many of the proposed improvements will require more in-depth study before implementation, council members are eager to see tangible work over the next 12 months. “I just hope we as a City Council can look at what’s attainable in the short term and get moving on it,” said Alderman Ian Frink, at-large. “We’ve been talking about this forever. I’d like to see a list of three or four things we can get cranking on yet this year.” His wish was echoed by several corridor business owners and residents who attended the meeting. “We’d like to help you, but we need to know what we need to do,” said Diane Dexter-Wall, who owns a home-based business at the corner of Brady and Garfield streets. Dexter-Wall closed the bakery she ran at the location and was contemplating selling the house and business. However, when she heard about plans to spruce up the corridor, she began reconsidering the sale. “I think it’s a wonderful plan,” she said. “I would like to see parking on the side street. I wish they’d put the whole plan into effect in my area. I just hope it’s implemented. We need some action.” The study — the first of three, with Locust Street and Rockingham Road still to be completed — was conducted by RDG Planning & Design of Des Moines. A few of the major recommendations for Harrison and Brady are: - Maintaining the one-way configuration but reducing the number of travel lanes from four to three along some sections between 5th Street and Interstate 80. The fourth lane could then be used for on-street parking and enhanced streetscaping, as well as other traffic-calming efforts. - Using economic incentives, such as TIF districts, Self-Supported Municipal Improvement Districts, facade improvement programs, sign regulations and others to increase re-investment in the corridor. - Working with local business groups and DavenportOne to help better market the area. - Improve aesthetics throughout the corridor by developing incentives for businesses and institutions to upgrade facades and landscaping and eliminate unneeded parking. Reducing traffic lanes, creating “backage” roads and other items that would dramatically change traffic patterns dominated discussion at the work session. Several aldermen suggested using the fourth lane for either bicycles or a combination of bicycles and bus transit rather than parking. Davenport CitiBus manager Tom Wittig said co-mingling bikes and buses has worked in some other communities, and it could be explored in Davenport. Jeff Cornelius, a frequent cyclist and bus rider who heads up the Quad-City Transit Alternatives Group, is encouraged by the discussion. While he would prefer the city use Main Street as the main north-south bike route, especially south of Duck Creek, the fact aldermen are considering bike lanes on a major corridor at all is a step in the right direction, he said. “I appreciate the conversation,” he said. “They’re seriously looking at a balanced approach to transportation, and you can’t really ask for more.” Matt Flynn, senior planner with Davenport’s Community and Economic Development Department who has worked closely with the consultant and corridor stakeholders, said there are recommendations that could begin before the two other corridor studies wrap up. He said an accelerated facade improvement program, beautification, landscaping and streetscaping and working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to study the feasibility and cost of reducing the travel lanes from four to three could all be started this year. Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.