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Ashlanders want streets good for walkers, bikers By TONY BOOM ASHLAND - Residents and business owners told city planners they want downtown to be friendlier to pedestrians, bikes and parking. At a three-day series of public forums last week, suggestions included putting a bike path on Main Street, reducing the street to two lanes and improving pedestrian crossings. The ideas emerged as a vision of how downtown might evolve in the coming years. Other visionary ideas: Develop Lithia Way as a second main street with shops incorporating hidden rooftop parking, and put in a traffic "roundabout" at the busy juncture of Lithia Way, Gresham, Siskiyou and East Main. A $51,000 Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Plan grant is underwriting the sessions and development of a downtown plan. The City Council and planning commission will have the opportunity to review and approve the final plan in June. "We don't have to reinvent the wheel or massively sweep anything aside," said Mark Seder, a Portland architect dealing with streetscape issues. "We are talking about something that's already working and has no major problems other than more people wanting to park than there are parking spaces." Seder is part of a traffic issues team that includes project manager Karen Swirsky of David Evans and Associates of Portland, and parking consultant Rick Williams of Portland. "The biggest concern is that people come into town too quickly. You've got to get them to slow down," said Swirsky. "It's highly related to pedestrian safety." Improvements to Main Street crosswalks face the obstacle of 50 years of pavement overlays, said Ashland Planning Director John McLaughlin. "There certainly need to be improvements in the crosswalks," said Oregon Shakespeare Festival Executive Director Paul Nicholson, who attended one of the sessions. "We support proposals that will make vehicular traffic through town more leisurely." A two-lane Main Street in place of the current three lanes would have parallel parking on the south side with an adjacent bike lane, and diagonal parking on the north side. "With the amount of traffic on that street ... you could most likely drop down to two lanes," said Swirsky. Because delivery trucks currently use the third lane for unloading, that problem would need to be resolved. McLaughlin said options include limiting deliveries to early morning hours or providing morning delivery spaces that would revert to car parking later in the day. The project's parking consultant is aiming to manage parking issues rather than simply dumping a parking structure on the area, McLaughlin added. Restaurant owner Michael Donovan, who worked on earlier downtown studies, says the effort has helped determine how best to use available parking. A roundabout may not be possible at the Siskiyou-Main-Lithia Way intersection because of space limitations and slopes at the site, said Swirsky. Still, Seder said the area between Lithia Way and Main Street "has some real potential." Some areas on Lithia Way could incorporate ground-level storefronts, with parking hidden behind parapets at roof level. Business and property owners will have a chance to review revised plans in the fall, said McLaughlin. Money for the chosen improvements could come from the city, state or private businesses. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.