[tabi] "Crossing Monroe at Lake Ella a white- knuckle experience"
- From: "Chip Orange" <Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:17:55 -0500
From today's Democrat:
Crossing Monroe at Lake Ella a white- knuckle experience
By TaMaryn Waters
Democrat staff writer
Standing behind a display case lined with
antique pieces, Karen Loewen peers
through her shop's large window and sees
people trying to cross North Monroe Street
at Lake Ella.
It often takes a while. Some people,
including children, dash across before cars
speed by. Others make it to the multi-turn
lane and get stuck waiting for a clear path.
Loewen, owner of Remember When, said
"it's a white-knuckle experience" watching
walkers cross one of the busiest streets in
the city.
"Cars go way too fast, especially in front of
our shops right here," she said. "All you
have to do is try to walk it once or twice,
especially at 5 o'clock."
Planners and officials say Monroe Street
needs to be safer for pedestrians,
especially near Lake Ella. A two-part
project is in the works for Monroe Street
that includes studying the placement of
medians in front of Lake Ella between
Tharpe Street and Seventh Avenue to
improve pedestrian and vehicular safety.
From 2007 to 2011, 547 crashes related
to pedestrians and vehicles occurred in the
half-mile stretch from Tharpe to Seventh
Avenue, a report from the Tallahassee
Police Department says.
For years, the Lake Ella area on Monroe
Street has been identified as a prime place
for improvements. In 2004, the Capital
Region Transportation Planning Agency
called North Monroe Street at Lake Ella a
"pedestrian emphasis intersection" in the
Tallahassee-Leon Bicycle and Pedestrian
Master Plan. In 2009 and 2010, the
agency rated the location the highest on
one of its priority project lists for
pedestrian safety improvements.
Loewen, vice chairwoman for the
Committee for a Bikeable Community
through Capital City Cyclists, said she
supports the idea of medians in the area.
"Medians would provide a place for people
to go halfway and then go the other half."
Some drivers say they will support medians
in the area as long as it doesn't lead to traffic congestion.
Bill Chandler, who drives along the area
often, said he doesn't want to see reduced
lanes on Monroe Street, such as has
occurred on Gaines Street.
"You can't restrict the traffic flow," he said.
"We should not be restricting traffic flow on
main arteries."
Before medians are a reality on Monroe
Street, a study will be done to determine what exactly is needed, said
Greg Burke, a
transportation planner for the Capital
Regional Transportation Planning Agency.
The agency, made up of commissioners
throughout the Big Bend area, will begin
today to move forward with a Monroe
Street Access Management and Lake Ella
Implementation Study. The two-in-one
study will first take a closer look at the
entire Monroe Street corridor from John
Knox Road to south of Magnolia Drive,
which includes a strategy for the ultimate
installation of medians.
The second part hones in on the Lake Ella
area of Monroe Street, and this portion of
the study will focus on where medians
should be placed, enhanced landscaping
and overall appearance of the medians.
Burke said the agency has received $1.2
million in federal funding for the Lake Ella
portion of the project.
Once the Lake Ella segment of the study is
completed, Burke said the next step will be
to design the medians by 2013 and
construction will begin in 2015.
Three public meetings for the project are
being planned, with the first taking place
sometime in April. Burke said affected
business owners and residents can add
their thoughts on whether medians should
or shouldn't be installed.
Also, a project team of representatives
from businesses, governmental agencies
and neighborhood associations has been
set up to provide input and guide the
project's development. The team is slated
to meet monthly until the study is
completed in November.
Nancy Morgan, owner of Nancy's
Alterations that has been in the area for
more than 20 years, said the five-lane
road needs medians.
She often sees StarMetro riders, including
mothers and their children, get off the bus
and attempt to cross Monroe Street. She,
like other business owners in the area, say
numerous people are getting on and off at
the nearby stop.
"Sometimes, I hold my breath," Morgan
said.
The Monroe Street Access Management and Lake Ella
Implementation Study will consider the entire
Monroe Street corridor from John Knox Road to
south of Magnolia Drive and will include a strategy
for the ultimate installation of medians.
/ Special to
the Democrat
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