Council hears mixed feedback on Monroe Avenue pilot striping; staff weighs 3-lane compromise and infrastructure study

City staff briefed the City Council on May 20, 2025, about a Monroe Avenue demonstration project and three possible long-term street cross-sections for downtown: a four-lane section, a two-lane section and a three-lane modified section with a center turn lane. Staff said they collected cell-phone travel-time data, traffic citations and crash data, and surveyed residents and downtown businesses to inform next steps.

Bridal Craig, the staff lead on the Downtown Specific Area Plan work, described the pilot phase and the next design and infrastructure steps. “This may look like a familiar topic, like the jelly of the month club. It's the gift that keeps on giving,” Craig said, summarizing the long-running downtown conversation. Craig said the demonstration striping and parklet/landscape exercises were intended to test ideas and gather feedback, not to serve as permanent construction.

The nut graf: Staff reported mixed results. Police and fire told staff the striping did not impede emergency response; crash counts and speeding citations reviewed by staff were lower in the post-striping period examined; travel times through Monroe increased modestly (nonpeak increase about 15 seconds; peak-hour increases around 40 seconds on average); and surveys produced no clear majority in favor of a single solution. Staff recommended a design concept review (DCR) and additional infrastructure planning before any permanent reconfiguration.

What staff presented and measured

Craig described five stages from pilot to full…