Road diet makes Ingersoll fit - A View from Cityview

Sat November 20 2010
Posted Nov 21, 2010
2,373

Des Moines, IA Cityview's column "Our View" as posted November 18, 2010 RE: Ingersoll Road Diet Road diet makes Ingersoll fit We were critical of the Des Moines City Council for its decision to approve the restriping of Ingersoll Avenue to change it from four lanes to three lanes, adding a bicycle lane and additional parking at a taxpayer cost of $10,000. At least 550 people who signed a petition agreed with us. Our concern with this often-called "Ingersoll Road Diet" was that it would annoy motorists so much that they would avoid the area, hurting the businesses that needed their patronage. We feared that traffic congestion would switch to Grand Avenue and other parallel streets. We thought the change could result in an increase in crashes. And we shook our head in disgust at the idea of further challenging Ingersoll business owners with financial pain. On all accounts, we were wrong. Our concerns proved to be unwarranted, as shown through an October report from the city's Traffic and Transportation Division and discussions we had with a handful of Ingersoll merchants. Average daily traffic on Ingersoll has not decreased or been diverted away. In fact, traffic has increased slightly, and many merchants have noticed. The number of crashes has has actually reduced. City leaders said this change would calm traffic. They were right. Like many of you, we frequent the Ingersoll area often, and traffic does seem to flow better. And although the lack of parking on Ingersoll is still annoying, this change did provide much needed additional spaces. The traffic report did not include information on bicycle usage, as the primary goal of this change was not to have bicyclists use Ingersoll more. Even so, this will happen in time as bikers feel safer. Mission accomplished, or so it may seem from the city's perspective. Not from ours, as we restate the next steps that must be taken to deem this change a success. Ingersoll businesses and downtown employers must now continue to work to accommodate cyclists. Bicycle racks need to be more abundant. City workers need to keep biking lanes clean and maintain appropriate drainage. Employers need to encourage employees to ride to work by offering a casual dress code and options to secure bikes. And, most importantly, motor vehicle drivers and cyclists need to be patient and courteous to each other. CV Past Ingersol Road Diet News