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Commission flags alley safety and limits primary access from alleys in downtown areas
Summary
Commissioners and staff discussed rising alley use for deliveries, parking and building access. Concerns included emergency access, maneuverability, delivery conflicts and nonconforming alley infrastructure; commissioners proposed limiting primary access from alleys for projects above a small-unit threshold while encouraging improvements where large developments redevelop whole blocks.
Staff raised recurring issues with alley use in busy downtown blocks: increased delivery traffic, pedestrian and cyclist conflicts, trash and noise impacts, and maneuverability challenges for emergency vehicles. "We've seen a lot of focus on these alleys," Tyler Valentine said, noting projects such as Dauntless and Mogul that illustrated the problem.
Commissioner Laura Bonich emphasized the design intent: "Alleys were never intended to be the primary access in high density areas." Commissioners discussed setting criteria to restrict primary access via alleys for larger residential projects (one idea: no primary-alley access for projects with more than four units), and whether major redevelopments should be required to upgrade alley infrastructure (paving, width, one-way conversion). Staff noted legal limits on the scope of required off-site improvements but said larger projects could be expected to make proportional alley upgrades.
