Can You Stand One More Blog on the Complete Streets Project?

Reading Laura McCrystal’s article on accessibility in today's Concord Monitor, some thoughts.

After hearing the mayor tell us this is the most scrutinized project with the most public comment he can recall, here’s what we still don’t know:

• Parking - Will parking be adequate? Still waiting for that parking study. 
• How will parking effect traffic flow - Traffic modeling does not include cars entering or exiting parking spaces.
• Accessibility - Just getting around to that after all the hearings and the vote to go forward. Oh by the way, if you own a building that isn’t accessible, get out that check book
• Signage - That almost $1 million that is being spent on consultants for the design doesn’t include signage. Seems this isn’t their area of expertise. Hire another consultant and you don’t get to weigh in on the design
• Bury the power lines - Maybe or maybe we can hide them in back of the buildings. They’ll get back to you on that
• Snow melt systems for sidewalks and streets - Maybe ... maybe not. How much will it cost, who will heat them, how much of the downtown will have a snow melt system? All great questions. Don’t worry about having to waste your time thinking about answering those questions, someone else will do that for you. 
• No fountain - But also no final design yet for the Statehouse Plaza.
• Final design - You know what they were supposed to vote on in May but then decided to vote on in June. Surprise the final design is a still a work in progress (or should that be regression). 
• Financing - No need to worry here either. They’ll let you know how they are going to spend your money and who pays for what.

So, other then these few loose ends it looks like all systems are go. Good thing there was plenty of time to answer all the questions that accompany a project that will be effecting our downtown for the next 50 years ... before approving it.

And a good thing that we know with certainty that the project will increase the value of the downtown as stated in the Concord Monitor editorial last week, even though streetscape improvements won’t increase the value of the buildings downtown by one cent.

So to paraphrase what one of our city councilors said at the meeting last week; I know this is a roll of the dice, but I’m hopeful it will be successful. With that attitude and the odds favoring the house, how can we lose?