Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pedestrian Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge temporary pedestrian paths and gabion flood barriers for downtown corridors
Summary
Two public commenters asked the CRA to improve pedestrian connections on the MLK-to-Market corridor (Shellrock path suggestion) and proposed temporary gabion systems along the riverside to reduce flooding impacts while retaining inland public access.
During public input, resident and landscape architect Joe Beck raised two separate recommendations for downtown safety and flood mitigation.
On sidewalks he said there is a missing segment between Martin Luther King and Market and recommended a low-cost "Shellrock" path on city-controlled right-of-way to complete the pedestrian network: "My solution would be to take put a, Shellrock path, just a path on that side of of that road that the city controls between Martin Luther King and Market because that's property that city controls, not asking for a sidewalk." Beck asked the CRA to consider such low-cost multimodal improvements to increase pedestrian safety.
Later in the public comment period Beck described a temporary flood-control idea: a gabion system (wire baskets filled with rocks) placed on the riverside right-of-way to act as a short-term wall while leaving public access on the inland side. He said the gabion would be a temporary, visible structure and recommended filling gaps at driveway curb cuts with temporary barriers as needed.
Board members acknowledged the comments and staff indicated they would consider the pedestrian and interim flood-control suggestions in the context of the plan's mobility and resiliency priorities.
