The specific point prompting that comment was this previous comment: ” … did not include a new mid-block pedestrian crossing of Fifth, connecting Library Lane with Blake Transit Center; perhaps this could be part of the Blake reconstruction.”

The original site plan for the Libary Lane parking garage shows a midblock crossing on Fifth Avenue. [large .pdf of plan]. As the Blake Transit Center plans developed – with placement on the Fifth Avenue side of the parcel – the folks from AADL, AATA, and DDA who worked on the BTC project recommended waiting until the exact alignments were known before making the curbcuts, ramps and whatnot. Part of the mix is the possibility of some kind of easement on the south edge of the federal building property as a mid-block connection between Fifth and Fourth. So it’s not that the relevant agencies are oblivious to the fact that a mid-block crossing would be a good idea – it’s that they’re waiting until the location of the crosswalk can be optimized. Weighing the cost and benefit of waiting versus proceeding with crosswalk installation, the apparent conclusion was that it was better to wait. I suppose it’s possible to have come to a different conclusion.

Cooperative planning and urban design could have reduced redundancies, lessened impacts of construction, and created a plan for this so-called “civic corridor” that improved the flow (pedestrian and vehicular) among the various uses. Instead, each entity is rushing to complete its own piece, with its own plan, on its own timeline and with its own money. The result could be almost continuous construction on this block for a decade and wasted tax dollars as streets are dug up and repaired time and time again, among other redundant activities.

The Fifth and Division project is not complete. The DDA cut out areas of Fifth Avenue around Kerrytown and between William and Packard before putting it out to bid. Even though bids came in over $1 million below budget, nothing was added back. Where did that money go?

Before the DDA puts money into another streetscape project in another area, it ought to account for the money that was supposed to go to Fifth and Division, and then finish that project. There are significant gaps in this “traffic calming” project and incredibly, they are in two of the most pedestrian-heavy areas of Fifth Ave.: The Kerrytown/Farmers Market/Community High area; and the blocks south of William, the densest residential strip on Fifth Ave., which, in addition to the City Place mega-development, also includes the driveway exits for Muehlig and Bethlehem Church.