Downtown Neighborhood Association backs $100,000 traffic study as engineering seeks funding and reassigns sidewalk dollars

Engineering staff asked the Budget & Finance Committee for a $100,000 enhancement to fund a downtown traffic study to examine cut-through traffic, one-way pair options and pedestrian improvements.

Robin Freeman and David Chang said the downtown study responds to resident concerns over cut-through traffic on streets such as Stewart, Clayburn and East Folk Street and could evaluate one-way pairs as a possible mitigation. Staff described the enhancement at about $100,000 and noted that pair options may improve pedestrian safety where right-of-way is constrained.

Steve Fehee, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, presented survey results in support of the study. He reported 131 responses to a downtown traffic survey (97% in favor of conducting a traffic study) and said that 62% of respondents initially supported one-way pairs; in a focus group with deeper discussion, support for one-way pairs rose to the mid-80s. Fehee highlighted resident concerns about speed and noise (74% and 77% respectively in a DNA survey), walkability (61%), parking and the loss of downtown character.

Engineering staff also explained a recommended budget shift that moves about $250,000 in annual sidewalk-gap funding from the street department into engineering to allow the multimodal coordinator to prioritize and design sidewalk gap projects. Staff said an ordinance will be brought forward to clarify quadrant-based spending rules and nexus requirements tied to sidewalks-in-lieu funds.

The committee discussed logistics, project priorities and the need to balance neighborhood concerns with pedestrian benefits. No appropriation vote was recorded during this meeting; staff said the study request will be considered during upcoming budget deliberations.