West Salem Neighborhood Association to talk Wallace Undercrossing Monday

The West Salem Neighborhood Association meets tonight, Monday the 7th, and on the agenda is more discussion of the proposed underpass along Second Street under Wallace Road.

Keith Keever Salem Parks Discussion - Mt. View Reservoir Property & How to develop a Master Plan; Wallace Rd. Underpass Feasibility Study – More options than one

It would be a little odd for Keith Keever to comment on the transportation planning, so I suspect this is actually two separate agenda items with two different speakers.

What are the "other options" for crossing Wallace Road?
Underpass concept via City of Salem FB

It is interesting that "More options than one" is specifically called out for the crossing - that will be something to watch. It had seemed that the undercrossing concept was mostly settled now. This was on the agenda last month, but maybe there is new information or they ran out of time.

There will also be discussion of a use for eminent domain:

Possible initiation of Condemnation for the Acquisition of Certain Property Rights located at 1710 Wallace Rd NW

This parcel is directly in line with Hope Avenue, and so while it may just be coincidence, it is also a little suspicious in light of the plans for the Third Bridge.

That matter will go before Council on the 14th, so this could be helpful background.

The West Salem Neighborhood Association meeting is at 7pm at Roth’s West, Mezzanine level, at 1130 Wallace Rd NW, tonight, Monday the 7th.

SCAN

Not transportation related, but a little interesting for historical reasons, at SCAN on Wednesday the 9th, they'll get a presentation on the 20th anniversary of Howard Charter School.

First Leslie Junior High School, 1937

The school's architect, Lyle Bartholomew, is responsible for several very nice brick buildings around town and doesn't get the name-recognition or attention he probably deserves.

I don't believe this building has received a seismic retrofit, so in a very general way not doing so is an example of a potential opportunity cost when we choose to super-size a police station or a giant bridge and highway. When we overbuild in places, we are less able and less willing to remedy underbuilt places.

The South Central Association of Neighbors meets Wednesday the 9th at 6:30 p.m. in the South Salem High School Library, 1910 Church St SE.

Elsewhere

The other neighborhood associations meeting this week have several little additional bits percolating that might be of interest. If you aren't already tuned in to your local neighborhood association, consider finding yours and attending. Though this is not always true - and there have been some problems with this, in fact - many times an issue will hit the neighborhood association before it goes to the Planning Commission or City Council. They're also a place to originate projects. The State Street Study, for example, originated in conversations during the NEN-SESNA neighborhood plan process.

Even the Feds are Beginning to See: Too much Subsidy for Autoism

There's a new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that has been making the rounds. Titled "Approaches to Making Federal Highway Spending more Productive," it leads with this:

Spending on highways does not correspond very well with how the roads are used and valued.

Over at City Observatory, economist Joe Cortright has some great commentary:

the translation is straightforward: the big cause of our transportation problems is that we’re charging road users the wrong price.

Collectively, road users are paying too little for what they use, which is why taxpayers have had to chip in more than $140 billion over the past seven years to make up shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund....

Drivers who use lots of expensive capacity (urban roads at peak travel times) don’t pay their costs, and money gets allocated to spending that produces limited value for the nation.

There's also a nice critique of false-equivalence in discussions about autoism:

other modes, like transit or biking or walking, don’t cover their own costs with user fees, either—there’s no sidewalk maintenance toll, and nor should there be....We’re not confronting the cost of multi-billion dollar sidewalk investment projects due to peak hour congestion caused by under-priced foot traffic. Just as importantly, transit riders, bikers, and riders don’t create any, or very, very small amounts, of the major social costs of driving, from deaths and injuries in crashes to pollution.

Anyway, it's worth a read.

Over at the Economist, they also say "stop subsidizing driving."

Traffic in megacities: holding the emerging world back https://t.co/jFw9OaSHCf pic.twitter.com/O4aXP8KxkL

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 27, 2016

And another set of pieces from the Washington Post have also been making the rounds.

The car century was a mistake. It’s time to move on. https://t.co/wRMoW4Haa5 via @PostOpinions

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 1, 2016

And:

• Why cars and cities are a bad match. 
• How parking requirements hurt the poor. 

And to get out of the echo chamber with a heady dose of cranky and contrarian skepticism? Chief Autoist and everybody's favorite TransitFoe!

• Transit is dead. Let’s prepare for the next mobility revolution.

Wait What?! Downtown Bike Lanes for Church and High this Summer!

So this snuck up in a good way. The project for bike lanes on Church and High Streets downtown had seemed like it was a couple years off yet.*

But it turns out the project timeline has construction for this summer and there's an informational meeting later this month.

That's pretty great news.

But do we really need 15 foot travel lanes?

From the new City project site:

The City of Salem will add bike lanes to Church Street and High Street in downtown Salem. The project is scheduled for construction during summer 2016.

Informational Meeting

Thursday, March 17, 2016, 4–6 p.m.
Senator Hearing Room
Courthouse Square Transit Mall
555 Court Street NE

Stop by to learn about this upcoming project....

A vehicle travel lane will be replaced with a bicycle lane to create better bicycle connectivity to and through downtown. Parking modifications will be necessary to accommodate the lane adjustments and increased bicycle traffic.

In order to complete this project with as little disruption as possible, much of the work will take place at night. During construction, updates will be provided on this web page.

Other than cheering for this incremental improvement to downtown traffic, there is one thing to ask about.

Do we really need 15-foot travel lanes for cars?

Such wide lanes will encourage zooming, and in addition to making room for bicycling, we should give stronger consideration to 10-foot lanes for traffic calming. (Here's the case for 10-foot lanes.)

So if you go to the meeting, ask about the lane widths!

But otherwise this is a substantial, incremental improvement and worth cheering. There may also be some anxiety about the loss of a car travel lane, so showing public support will be helpful for Public Works and other staff or electeds who may receive static for the project - even though it was thoroughly vetted in the Downtown Mobility Study.

---

* The CIP clearly says it's budgeted for the 2015-2016 cycle, so just flat out missed it.

Criticism of Tunnel Effect at Mirror Pond Site Mistaken; Enclosure is Important

Now that we have a decision for the O'Brien site securely in place, maybe we can do some less-heated post-mortem investigation on the Civic Center discussion.

What about a Tunnel Effect?

One of the things about the now-abandoned Mirror Pond site for a Police Station that occasioned criticism was the prospect of a "tunnel effect" Commercial Street between the proposed Police Station and the South Block apartments.

Abandoned Mirror Pond Civic Center concept from June 2013

I believe this was something of a mistake and that continuing to think with this approach about the way building faces enclose a street or other public space significantly hampers our ability to plan and build useful things elsewhere.

Beautiful! Hermoso!
Avenida de la Constitución
Sevilla, Spainpic.twitter.com/9bDDfRk0kI

— Eduardo Amorim (@dudu_amorim) March 21, 2015

Here is a magnificent "tunnel effect"!

Salem should be so lucky to have something like this!

Urban Renewal Boards continue Edgewater and Portland Road Projects

The West Salem Redevelopment Advisory Board met this morning, and one item is interesting to note. The North Gateway board meets tomorrow, and they have a big new draft of the Portland Road Study.

West Salem Business District Action Plan
Executive Summary, June 26th

You may recall the "districts" from the West Salem Business District Action Plan. Now that the transportation refinement plan is in motion, there's a move for some zoning updates on each of the districts.

On the agenda was discussion of a proposal for a "Business District Zoning Code Clean Up Project." It would

Review existing zoning codes for the West Salem Business District and implement changes to the code that increase the flexibility of uses and encourage development akin to the distinct main street, employment center, and town center areas of the business district; as identified and recommended by the West Salem Business District Action Plan

It is estimated to cost $100,000.

Presumably they will go forward with this, and it will be interesting to follow. There's tons of potential in this area for walkable urbanism, but they will need to steer things this way so as not to entrench excessive autoism.

NGRAB

The North Gateway Redevelopment Advisory Board meets tomorrow, Thursday the 3rd, and they have a new draft of the Portland Road Study to look at.

March 2016 draft

Skimming it, I didn't see anything new - but maybe you will know otherwise if you are following it closely?

Interested in Leisurely Neighborly Bike Rides? Check out Slow Roll Salem!

Remember the Apple ad about Slow Roll Detroit?


Folks from the Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates are gauging interest in a Slow Roll Salem!

They've got a pretty detailed survey going. Check it out and let them know your interests.

There have been intermittent efforts to do something like this over the last few years, but the stars haven't aligned with a critical mass of people as participants and as ride leaders.

Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates is creating a bicycling group to encourage and accompany folks who are interested in bicycling but nervous about riding with traffic. We plan to go on short, slow group rides modeled after the group Slow Roll Detroit. Our rides will welcome all ages and abilities. This survey will give us information about what kinds of bicycling people are interested in, which will help us plan rides that people want to go on. Our goal is to provide education and fun and while building community and political support for bicycle transportation. Thank you for participating in our survey!

Maybe this is the year it comes together!

Check out the survey and let 'em know! It could be really, really fun.

Transportation History on the Front Page!

Just some sweet, old-timey transportation history on the front page today!

One great part of it is that it accurately handles dates.

It suggests the wagon could have served well into the 20th century, and is not merely a relic of the 19th:

“These wagons tell stories we shouldn’t overlook,” [David] Sneed said. “This is the way your relatives got around not long ago. I promise you, it was no less exciting than driving cars today. There are countless recordings of folks being killed in these vehicles … there is not a single thrill-seeking activity today that would rival the danger or excitement associated with driving them.”

Old Detroit’s wagon was made by Milburn Wagon Company in Toledo, Ohio, sometime around the turn of the last century. Milburn was one of the nation’s biggest manufacturers: in 1882, it was producing 600 wagons per week, the majority farm wagons, Sneed said.

This one could’ve been built as late as the early 1900s, but certainly not before the 1890s, he said. The clue? The hubs on the 16-spoke wheels – themselves much ballyhooed by Milburn for “having 12 more spokes than any on the market” – were patented by James Sarven in 1857 but not used on Milburn wagons until the 1890s, Sneed said....

["]These wagons were ubiquitous; they were used everywhere for everything.”

And then along came the automobile. Trucks, cars and tractors replaced the horse-drawn wagons that had dominated the scene for so long. Wagon-makers went out of business in droves as auto companies ate up market share. Surprisingly, a few held on through the 1950s, though they mainly produced wooden trailers to be pulled behind tractors, Sneed said.

Old Detroit mirrored the national trend. By the 1940s, wagons sat idle next to houses and in backyards and moldered in the woods.

Wagons in regular use on Commercial Street in 1913.
This is now the parking lot between
Bike Peddler and the Spaghetti Warehouse

There's still some of the tone of autoist triumphalism, but the piece rightly reflects that especially in more rural areas, autos and motors replaced wagons and driving stock slower than we think, and were not uncommon through the Depression. We often want to make wagons the subject of a solely antiquarian interest, but they participated in a mixed transportation ecosystem for a long time in the first half of the 20th century. And our principal metaphor of "driving" derives from driving a wagon or carriage. There is more to see in continuity than we think!

(There's also just a funny, unintended historical rhyme of course with that "other Detoit," famous for the auto industry.)

Nothing of great significance here, but a nice change-of-pace.

For more on Salem transportation history, see notes tagged "Wheeling: Old-Time Biking."

Update, February 2nd, 2020

Huh. They basically ran the whole package again. It's a new piece, but mostly a retread. Pages one through four in the front section. There's the Impeachment trial, the Legislature starts up again tomorrow and a Greenhouse Gas bill will be on the agenda, and this is what gets the front page prime real estate. It was neat the first time, but now it's Groundhog Day.

Front page + pages 2-4 today