A “welcome mat” for the neighborhood
Man alive, the Spruce Street and Toole Avenue area is getting, err, spruced up. First, new and cleaned up buildings, and secondly a miniature roundabout.
I drive through that intersection a lot to head up Scott Street. You wait, wait, wait, wait, wait … and then GO! And HOPE!
Wouldn’t it be great if the roundabout, or “mini urban,” gets folks through with less stress? And faster? And more safely?
Anyway, Councilwoman Cynthia Wolken has talked about that intersection before, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect with her yesterday until it was too late for the print edition.
The amazing assistant news editor Cory Walsh got part of Wolken’s comments into the online version of the story (more on that in a minute), and I wanted you to read the rest of it ’cause I thought part of it was kind of neat.
“I believe, with an attractive design, it can serve as a sort of welcome mat into the Westside neighborhood,” Wolken wrote in an email.
A welcome mat! That sounds so cozy. Here’s the rest of it:
“I’m very excited about the recent additions to the Westside neighborhood. There are a lot of great people who live here who are excited to support local businesses and neighborhood improvement projects, such as the roundabout at Spruce, Scott, and Toole. The folks I have heard from are supportive of the roundabout and feel it will make it a safer, more accessible intersection for walkers, bikers, and pedestrians.”
I called the Bike Doctor for the story ’cause they’re right on that corner there, and they have been for a while. I was curious to hear what those folks would say.
Eric Cline, an owner there, is skeptical it’ll be better: “I think it’s likely to anger and frustrate more people than it’s likely to please,” said Cline, who noted his perspective comes from a cyclist’s.
I had been hoping to get Wolken’s feedback, too, because she lives close to the crossing, and she’s talked about it. I called her and couldn’t get through because, as I later learned, she was on an airplane.
Instead of leaving a voicemail, I shot her an email asking for comment if she was available. She sent it after 10 p.m., I read it after 11 p.m., close to 11:30 p.m. I know better, but I emailed it to Cory anyway, probably while the presses were already running.
What else? I text him. To make sure he gets it. (Yes, one of *those* reporters … )
So get this. Cory is already off work and watching probably the best television series on earth, “The Wire.” Yet he pauses. He stops his evening to add part of Wolken’s comments to the online version of the story.
How great is that? It’s pretty great.
I might have ignored me.
– Keila Szpaller
April 5th, 2012 at 8:55 am
Several people predicted this intersection would become increasingly problematic as a result of the “Broadway Diet” because Spruce seems to be a faster west route than Broadway now. The redevelopment of the area also has added traffic and, of course, the Mountain Line buses are a constant load on traffic. All this, added to an intersection that has outgrown its atypical geometry, demands that something be done. It’s change, and that has to be thought through, talked through and worked through with anyone and everyone who has a stake in this. We know that. We know how to do that. Let’s get started. And let’s not forget that Scott Street has a light at Broadway; it’s a key part of circulation in and through the neighborhood.
April 6th, 2012 at 9:13 am
Thanks for the additional explanation Geoff. As a Northsider, I am very happy about the new roundabout. Like Keila wrote, that intersection is bad news. Any updated infrastructure in my neck of the woods is a welcome sight! Missoula is a great town and we deserve great infrastructure! (That sentence probably won’t be on a bumpersticker or billboard campaign soon, but I like it!)