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Mayor defends hybrid street design, cites safety and contracting lessons for future projects
Summary
A reporter pressed officials on whether the hybrid design chosen for 21st South was the right choice; the Mayor defended the decision—saying medians were installed at neighborhood request for safety—and said the city is changing contracting and RFP approaches based on lessons learned, citing an expansion of about $11,000,000 in infrastructure scope.
A reporter asked whether the finished design—a hybrid between two earlier proposals—was the right choice now that the corridor is open. The Mayor said yes, arguing the hybrid option provided expanded capacity in underground infrastructure to support future development and allowed the city to complete surface and subsurface work together, shortening overall disruption compared with a phased approach.
The Mayor said medians were placed because the neighborhood asked for a more "beautiful, safe, and easier to flow" environment and that the traffic-calming effects sometimes draw complaints because drivers perceive lower speeds. On procurement, the Mayor said the city is changing how it writes RFPs and selects contractors, learning which private providers reliably deliver on large projects; the Mayor also stated the project expanded by "over $11,000,000 of infrastructure change," as noted during the discussion.
