Bus stop moved, bike lane gone, no parking. Joe Lusson, a downtown homeowner, explains the current issues on Gorham near the construction of the new buildings where the 11 buildings were ripped down on the 600 block of E Johnson.
I spoke with city traffic engineering today about the new electrical service being installed for City Row apartments on E. Johnson. There will be essentially no parking in the 500 and 600 blocks of E. Gorham nor on either side of the 300 block of N. Blair until June 1. This includes nights and weekends. There are about 4 spots on Gorham near Blount but then nothing all the way to Franklin. But that’s only half the story.
MGE and their contractor need to put a new ‘manhole’ in the middle of the Gorham/Blair intersection. Thus the middle lane of Gorham will be shut down any day now until June 1. The bike/parking lane becomes an auto-traffic lane. Bicyclists will have to merge with cars and fend for themselves for 2 blocks. During rush hours of 7 a.m.- 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., Mon-Fri, two traffic lanes will be kept open, straddling the closed middle lane. But the rest of the time, only the lane closest to the lake will be open. The Blair/Gorham bus stop is being removed during these two months. The project is said to be a “3 to 4-week” project, but the firm deadline is June 6 weekend when the bike event “Ride the Drive” closes E. Washington, and forces in-bound auto traffic to Gorham and Willy.
The guy at traffic engineering was quite friendly and seemed willing to try to reopen at least a few parking spots once the concrete barriers are up and it becomes evident exactly how much space they need. He might be able to free up a couple additional spots on Gorham closer to Blount and possibly half of the east side of N. Blair, once some of the initial MGE work is completed. I suggested some signage alerting cars and bikes that they’ll need to coexist for a couple blocks.
There is no reimbursement for residents who pay for street parking permits but can’t park during this project, and he said the city doesn’t typically do press releases for projects of this size. That’s a shame, when the effects of this extend well beyond the 500 and 600 blocks of Gorham, touching anyone who drives/bikes the street, Mendota Rowing Club users, park users, etc.
Well said Joe, well said. You’d at least think the alder would have notified the neighbors as this has such a big impact on the the neighborhood. Or responded to concerns on the neighborhood listserve. Or neighborhood leadership would have responded to the questions on the listserve. If you’re going to support a development project, you should follow through on the impacts that it has on the people who live near it. Too bad these issues weren’t worked out in the PUD process. This is Gorham Street after all, with thousands of cars on it every day. Funny, the only priority is the getting it done for the Ride the Drive event. Ok, not funny, sad.
