Committee approves downtown two-way traffic plan
Published Thursday, June 19, 2008
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FAIRBANKS — Fairbanks transportation officials on Wednesday approved a funding plan to convert three major downtown roads, including the historic Cushman Street, to two-way.
The conversions could start this year, with the bulk of Cushman Street slated to make the switch in 2010.
Officials from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said the conversion would not interfere with an adjacent project — the imminent rebuild of Illinois Street, Cushman Street’s northern extension.
The plan failed to draw universal support from local officials Wednesday. Nonetheless, the Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System’s policy-making committee approved it by a 6-1 vote.
The switch to two-way could mean a heavy road construction season in two years, when work crews would dig into both Cushman and Illinois streets at the same time. Steve Titus, who directs the transportation department’s northern region, said it could be managed.
Titus said the funding plan would add extra work to traffic planners’ plates — they’ll need to ensure an upcoming traffic signal north of the Chena River, where Cushman and Illinois streets will connect in a few years to Barnette Street by way of a new bridge, can handle two-way traffic from different directions.
“It will serve to make the segue, if you will, from one-way to two-way,” he said of the plan.
The plan will cobble together funding from different sources to convert the northernmost nine blocks of Cushman Street, downtown’s major north-south spine, in 2010 and possibly add improvements — wider sidewalks, perhaps some on-street parking — as recommended by urban planners last year.
A separate project would convert the rest of Cushman Street north of Airport Way before then.
The plan also identifies funding to convert part of Cushman’s southbound companion, Barnette Street, and the east-west Gaffney Road during the next two years.
It leaves unanswered, however, the question of when the rest of Barnette Street might go two-way or where the money would come from for the $15 million leg of the traffic plan.
Titus suggested local officials look to state sources for help.
Fairbanks City Council representative Chad Roberts was the only member of the seven-person policy committee to oppose the plan, calling it “impractical.”
Community Discussion
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Great!
I can see this being a huge clusterf*** as soon as the second bridge goes in... this will slow down and congest Cushman so much that I'll avoid the area even more than I do now.
You're not a Fairbanksan if you don't avoid downtown like the plague.
I can see that Microtel, or whatever it is in "box store village", getting a lot of business. The ambiance of the Steese and McDonalds will be a lot better than the symphony of constant construction and howling drunks in downtown.
Good luck with all of that!
Good for Chad Roberts.
Another total waste of money and all brought to you by the kids on the council and folks like Steve Titus.
All downtown needs is a good size disaster ... flush the toilets and hope everyone is home at the time... lol.
So the plan is to get people through downtown....faster...? If I were a business owner down there, I'd be raising unholy heck. Let's not address the parking situation, let's not actually think about revitalization for downtown, let's just mess up an historic street (are you still planning on tearing down the True Value? My kids are OUTRAGED by that) and make it easier for people to zip through downtown to who-knows-where. Know where we went last weekend? Ft. Collins, CO. Know what we saw? Cars parked in well-ordered side streets, and the main part of the historic downtown "mall" had had its streets cobble-stoned in, there were scultural fountains, great shops, sidewalk cafes, and about 2,000 people enjoying a stroll and PATRONIZING ALL THE BUSINESSES. Oh, and the business were open ON THE WEEKEND. I love Fairbanks, but there just seems to be a concerted effort to drive people AWAY from downtown rather than take it back and make it into something that's an asset to the community.
Another colossal waste of money, just like the Dawson overpass in NP. Let's waste millions!
...although... maybe they're thinking it's like an old WPA Project, and this is their way of putting people to work so they can afford the outrageous energy prices this winter..... hmmmm.....
"LOOK OUT!"
I was on Cushman a few days ago, about 4:30 p.m. and traffic in the right hand lane was backed up from 1st to almost 10th - without the other two lanes providing access, I suspect it would have been backed up to Airport Rd.
I certainly don't get it.
"I certainly don't get it."
Downtown is much more congested these days because people are cutting through there to avoid the Steese construction.
So now a left turn will require cutting across oncoming traffic, istead of the unrestricted turning that a one-way street provides. Anybody travel Southbound on Illinois Street at 5:00pm and try to turn left onto Minnie Street? About one car per light cycle is about to do it. Now all traffic Northbound on Cushman will have to deal with a similar situation. Crazy..
I'd rather see the money spent on white paint for the non-existent crosswalks downtown.
-Brian
I'll bet the transit system loves this! I can also see at least a few, if not more, businesses going under while they have no way for the few people that do go downtown (mostly tourist) to use there facilities!
Even without the construction, Cushman can get pretty busy at certain parts of the day. Imagine all 3 lanes of traffic going into 1, along with parking on the side and cross turning traffic. You know how you love those timed stopped lights? Forget about them. You cant have them with 2-way unless you want the southbound traffic to take even longer.
TERRIBLE IDEA.
Didn't the downtown association just spend the last couple of years studying how to revitalize downtown, now they want you to get through it as fast as possible. Another waste of government money, time, and the ideas of many people who showed up to these meetings. No wonder the head of the downtown association left Fairbanks. Why not a big traffic circle (turn about), around the downtown area. They should be able to really create a mess and we would only have to make left hand turns. (I'm joking)
Like I read before, just another good reason to avoid downtown!! I love Fairbanks too, but have given up, other than this forum, to bring back the vibrant, exciting downtown....now I just avoid it like the plague.
"Another colossal waste of money, just like the Dawson overpass in NP. Let's waste millions!"
The new airport
Airport Way Beautification
Fairbanks City Council had to keep up with the big dogs
hckywtchr,
this project has those ones beat on stupidity.
instead of the overpass, make the rich 2 lanes and 35mph.
tear down half the airport, the new half.
put a unglier fence along airport and pave over all the grass.
thats how this seems to compare to those projects.
In reference to left turns I said;
"About one car per light cycle is about to do it"
I meant to say;
"About one car per light cycle is ABLE to do it"
-Brian
Having Cushman going two-way is about revitalizing the downtown. It isn't about moving people faster through the area, it is about creating a retail hot spot. If you would actually read Vision Fairbanks it explains why two-way traffic is better than one. One way is about funneling as many cars and fast as you can... that is why Cushman went one way in the first place. The way I think about it is... downtown needs something. If all the consultants, planners, and EXPERTS on this topic say this will help business in the downtown... then give it a shot. Or we can do the typical Fairbanks thing and complain and stick our heads in the ground. Take some pride in your downtown, don't stay away from it, embrace it and the changes that thousands of community people said that they wanted. Or just let downtown die a slow and painful death and have Fairbanks turn into any mid-size town in the US... full of box stores, sprawl, and belly-achers.
Oh and by the way... get your facts straight. The head of the downtown association left to take care of a sick family member... not to run away from any problems. Fairbanks lost someone who really cared about the community and we should all be greatful for the hard work she put in.
I'd be more than happy to visit downtown if there were something for me to see. I might stop by the Morris Thompson center a take a look at that when it opens but there really isnt much down there unless you're a tourist looking for souviners or are visiting a restaurant. If I'm wrong please correct me, I'm open to suggestions.
Mostly though, it is another opportunity to turn public money into construction jobs, because after all that is what this town is all about.
Speaking of that, who's idea was it to close the Steese for a repaving job? Ridiculous, how much fuel has that project cost the citizens of Fairbanks? Check out downtown at 5PM, it is completely gridlocked. These projects need to have the construction work around the traffic, not the other way around.
The way I think about it is... downtown needs something.
I could not agree more!!
Or just let downtown die a slow and painful death and have Fairbanks turn into any mid-size town in the US... full of box stores, sprawl, and belly-achers.
I do not know how long you have been here, but Fairbanks USED TO BE a vibrant, robust and thriving downtown!! Prior to the Fairbanks Destruction Authority coming in and tearing down all the bars and little businesses to make way for a non-exsistant Korean hotel. We need to get back to our frontier image and lose this "same as any other town in America" image!!!!
My understanding is that many of the downtown streets were converted to one-ways back when the pipeline was being built in order to have better traffic flow. Now the plan is to convert the streets back to two-way, when just last week there was an article in the Newsminer about needing to prepare for the new onslaught of people when the gas pipeline construction starts. And am I reading the article right--that the project will cost $15 million? At the very least, converting from one-way to two-way streets only requires re-programming street lights, changing road signs, and re-painting street lines. Something doesn't add up. And I don't see the connection between converting the streets to two-ways and making downtown a retail hotspot. I think the conversion will slow down traffic flow (after the project is completed), which will make many people avoid the area more than they already do.
All I have to say is its about time Cushman went back to two way. Don’t you all think that this has been studied to death by people who know how to make traffic flow? I don’t have a degree in traffic engineering. Any one else??
Sean,
You are going on the assumption that the engineers' solution will make things better. I can think of lots of examples where that has not been the case.
This is such a mistake...
the one thing i'd like to see money spent on is reconstruction on the surrounding buildings. our downtown, where a lot of tourist activity is, looks like the ghetto of fairbanks. well, actually, the whole cushman street is, especially the south side. it'd be nice to see construction not just on the roads, but on buildings which need a "face life" so to speak, moreso for the ones that are abandoned! for me it's simply depressing to drive through there, even without the terrible traffic these days.
Well the way it looks at the Bently Trust property, it looks like they are getting ready to put up some more new stores, anyone notice the trees have all been taken down and alot of dirt work being done. The rate they are growing over there, probably will be little reason for anyone to go downtown, unless you need to pay a parking ticket given to you the last time you parked down there.
I'm kind of hoping that someone is able to invest in the Polaris building and turn it into a mall/apartment type building. Hyatt Regency did one in Kansas City and it really boost their downtown. I've got the plans in my head of how it could work, but I'm not related to Bill Gates so can't afford to do it. It's just sad to watch it crumble.
AKhusky: DOT folks said yesterday it would take somewhere around $15 million to convert Barnette Street alone, a future project — unplanned at this point — that could mean adding a roundabout north of the Chena River. The city said yesterday a conversion on Cushman Street (which has been planned, for 2010) to two-way would take about the same amount on its own, so the whole thing would be about double — and that's my rough figure based on yesterday's conversation — that $15 million figure.
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