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A beautiful and unfunded vision of Jefferson Avenue

The final report for “Greening Jefferson Avenue” (PDF) was recently released. It is a beautiful, entirely unfunded, vision of what Jefferson Avenue could be.

In 2014, the city applied to EPA’s Greening America’s Capitals Program “to create a plan for Jefferson Avenue that would help remedy confusing and unsafe traffic patterns caused by the street’s alignment.” Goals included improving safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, and also to improve stormwater management and spur economic revitalization.

Earlier in 2015, a team from the EPA met with area stakeholders and residents in developing design options for Jefferson Avenue. The design options include:

  • Adding bicycle lanes and narrowing travel lanes.
  • Incorporating roundabouts and traffic circles to calm traffic.
  • Creating curb extensions and perpendicular crosswalks to shorten crosswalk length.
  • Adding rain gardens throughout the corridor to reduce stormwater runoff.
  • Reconfiguring some intersections to make pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle traffic patterns more clear.
  • Creating a new gateway to the neighborhood at Jefferson Park.
  • Providing porous pavements in parking lanes and some minor streets.

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"Typical improvements throughout the corridor include buffered bicycle lanes on both sides of the avenue, porous paving in on-street parking spaces, shelters at bus stops, rain gardens, and street trees. "
“Typical improvements throughout the corridor include buffered bicycle lanes on both sides of the avenue, porous paving in on-street parking spaces, shelters at bus stops, rain gardens, and street trees. “

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With bike lanes
With bike lanes

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I can't help but notice now that the renderings don't include the street paint or signage
I can’t help but notice now that the renderings don’t include the street paint or signage

33 comments

Mike 12/18/2015 at 9:43 AM

Those roundabouts they installed are going to kill us all. Pedestrians and bikers will be the first to go…

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Gordo 12/18/2015 at 9:50 AM

wheres the monorail?

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fabris 12/18/2015 at 10:20 AM

The rendering also portrays flowerbeds and leading to the roundabouts that would severely improve safety and reduce driver confusion. Also, it shows proper pedestrian crossing.

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G 12/18/2015 at 10:32 AM

I like the roundabout by Alamo.

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Alison 12/18/2015 at 12:50 PM

The new roundabouts were a terrible idea and most people don’t seem to even know how to use them. 4-way stops are much safer.

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Bill Hartsock 12/18/2015 at 1:00 PM

The biggest problem I’ve had is when you take a right from Clay St. and cross Jefferson traffic to go onto 22nd St. southbound. I’m already starting to hear fender benders.

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Resident on Leigh 12/18/2015 at 1:33 PM

I love the new roundabouts! Maybe additional signage is needed to remind folks to stay to the right of the circle, even when turning left onto Jefferson.

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Michael T. 12/22/2015 at 5:44 PM

I love the proposals. Im kinda stuck in the middle about the recent roundabouts…some issues are strictly driver related, some deal with the construction of the roundabouts themselves and some are pedestrian related. Mainly the rounds at 24th and Jefferson and the one at Jefferson-Clay-22nd. Poor markings and once the bushes grow that wont help with the vision. And the drivers just need to be educated on how to drive them and what a bike lane is. And pedestrians…use the crosswalks! DUH!!

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neighbor 12/23/2015 at 9:07 AM

Michael T: I agree with you. The round about are not the problem, it’s people jay walking, cyclists not obeying the traffic laws, and drivers speeding or generally not knowing what to do.

No amount of signage is going to correct this bad behavior, only clutter up the round a bouts.

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