ASK THE BORED: It's a pretty penny, but safety for humans at the intersection of Main and W. 1st draws nearer.

Three weeks ago, councilman David Barksdale confided that the Redevelopment Commission would be seeking bids at its March meeting (no minutes will be available until they're approved in April) for the crosswalk and "intersection improvements" at Main and West 1st.

This is welcome news, and takes on added importance given the resistance with which City Hall initially greeted the idea. I'll never forget being informed in detail as to the absolute impossibility of such a human-friendly notion -- although negotiating with INDOT to ensure 2015 election-year street paving on Main rather than substantive dialogue about safety proved to be a very do-able priority.

Thanks again to Barksdale and others who helped resolve the impasse, which as this excerpt from October, 2016 was facilitated by the Redevelopment Commission, not BOW.

Note that while Bob Caesar remains a hypocrite concerning the sanctity of budgets and expenditures, his question here is timely, and you're reading it right: $250,000 to get this done. Might it have cost less had the work been incorporated with "get out the vote" paving, rather than resisted by functionaries who hadn't yet bothered to read Jeff Speck's book?

Only Deaf Gahan knows for sure. Here's a repeat of the most recent summary of the long march toward safety at Main and W. 1st.

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November 8, 2016

ASK THE BORED: Red carpet pedestrian treatment for Hausfeldt Lane as the trucks roar past the corner of Main and W. 1st.

As a prelude to a discussion that occurred at last week's Bored Conclave, where the plume of white smoke indicates a pants leg on fire -- a meeting kept mercifully short so the political appointees could resume their partisan beak-wetting campaigns -- recall that NA Confidential has placed the topic of crosswalks and pedestrian safety on the front burner way for years.

Here is a sampling of links since 2014. Recently, we've placed the spotlight on the increasingly busy corner of Main and W. 1st, but there are multiple candidates for scrutiny throughout the city, most of them being ignored by the somnolent timer-servers in municipal government.

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

Walkability might as well begin with the intersection of Main and West 1st, so can it begin now?

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

Two weekend posts about Team Gahan's arrogant auto-centrism.

Team Gahan's breathtaking passive/aggressive answer to the question of making a safe pedestrian crossing at Main and W. 1st.

ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

Dangerous intersections: Something for Greg Phipps to consider, though it's unlikely they will.

Back in June, thanks to the intervention of councilmen Barksdale and Knable (if memory serves), the art of the possible suddenly came to the attention of the snoring usual suspects.

A crosswalk at Main & W. 1st? One month ago it was utterly impossible, but now Redevelopment says anything's possible.

Taking all this into consideration, you'll understand why we're fascinated to learn of the following conversation at last week's Bored of Works gathering.

In short, on Hausfeldt Lane we'll sound alarms, construct non-standard guides and post a city employee to escort folks back and forth across a street made potentially dangerous by passing trucks, but at Main and W. 1st, with thriving businesses on all four corners, and the same dangerous trucks barreling back and forth, uncontrolled in terms of speed on a street too wide, the same argument will be deferred, and until recently ignored, by virtue of ineffectual gurgling sounds, at least until an elected official or two applies pressure and calls the city's perennial bluff.

Why is Team Gahan constantly contemptuous of pedestrians and cyclists?

Could it be, at least in part, that none of them know what it's like to walk?

ASK THE BORED: Red carpet pedestrian treatment for Hausfeldt Lane as the trucks roar past the corner of Main and W. 1st.

As a prelude to a discussion that occurred at last week's Bored Conclave, where the plume of white smoke indicates a pants leg on fire -- a meeting kept mercifully short so the political appointees could resume their partisan beak-wetting campaigns -- recall that NA Confidential has placed the topic of crosswalks and pedestrian safety on the front burner way for years.

Here is a sampling of links since 2014. Recently, we've placed the spotlight on the increasingly busy corner of Main and W. 1st, but there are multiple candidates for scrutiny throughout the city, most of them being ignored by the somnolent timer-servers in municipal government.

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

Walkability might as well begin with the intersection of Main and West 1st, so can it begin now?

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

Two weekend posts about Team Gahan's arrogant auto-centrism.

Team Gahan's breathtaking passive/aggressive answer to the question of making a safe pedestrian crossing at Main and W. 1st.

ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

Dangerous intersections: Something for Greg Phipps to consider, though it's unlikely they will.

Back in June, thanks to the intervention of councilmen Barksdale and Knable (if memory serves), the art of the possible suddenly came to the attention of the snoring usual suspects.

A crosswalk at Main & W. 1st? One month ago it was utterly impossible, but now Redevelopment says anything's possible.

Taking all this into consideration, you'll understand why we're fascinated to learn of the following conversation at last week's Bored of Works gathering.

In short, on Hausfeldt Lane we'll sound alarms, construct non-standard guides and post a city employee to escort folks back and forth across a street made potentially dangerous by passing trucks, but at Main and W. 1st, with thriving businesses on all four corners, and the same dangerous trucks barreling back and forth, uncontrolled in terms of speed on a street too wide, the same argument will be deferred, and until recently ignored, by virtue of ineffectual gurgling sounds, at least until an elected official or two applies pressure and calls the city's perennial bluff.

Why is Team Gahan constantly contemptuous of pedestrians and cyclists?

Could it be, at least in part, that none of them know what it's like to walk?

A crosswalk at Main & W. 1st? One month ago it was utterly impossible, but now Redevelopment says anything's possible.

Only a few weeks after imperiously dismissing the possibility of a crosswalk of any configuration at Main and W. 1st -- paraphrased: the traffic isn't slow enough and we won't slow the traffic -- the same cadre of city officials who regarded it as impossible now apparently have commenced a study to achieve it.

Before proceeding to the story, kindly note that NA Confidential placed this topic on the front burner way back in 2014. It's nice when folks catch up.

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

Walkability might as well begin with the intersection of Main and West 1st, so can it begin now?

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

Two weekend posts about Team Gahan's arrogant auto-centrism.

Team Gahan's breathtaking passive/aggressive answer to the question of making a safe pedestrian crossing at Main and W. 1st.

ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

Dangerous intersections: Something for Greg Phipps to consider, though it's unlikely they will.

Illustrating yet again that the unelected Redevelopment Commission holds the real power in New Albany, the commission apparently decided at Tuesday's meeting that a crosswalk feasibility study is necessary, as farmed out to the usual suspects at Clark Dietz.

Does this firm have a non-compete clause?

My use of "apparently" owes to the fact that while this occurrence was printed in the Jeffersonville paper on Wednesday, and read to me over the phone by a friend, the paper deemed it sufficiently unimportant that it does not appear at the paper's web site, and therefore cannot be referenced here.

Redevelopment's feasibility study also has been corroborated by councilman David Barksdale and city engineer Larry Summers, who adds that whatever crosswalk proposal is made, it "still has to get INDOT approval."

This observation is revealing in itself, as such INDOT approval might have come prior to the crucial pre-election West Main Street paving project last year, when city officials already were aware of pedestrians having problems crossing Main at W. 1st.

Had the city sought INDOT approval in 2015, perhaps the problem already would be resolved. But as Rep. Ed Clere once piquantly observed, one first must ask in order to receive ... an answer.

Straight up: City Hall blew it in 2015, and now, for whatever reason, City Hall is trying to rally. If readers with connections to the Down Low Bunker will let us know who pushed this dramatic reversal of the previously impossible, I will publicly thank him or her, sans snark.

That's because a human-friendly intersection at Main and W. 1st is an imperative. It has been for a while. Better late than never, I suppose -- but can the momentum please be carried to other flash points, too?

Wait, I've got it: A non-binding city council resolution urging walkability in New Albany. 

Study sez: "Louisville has the potential to support an NBA team."

Or is it The "Urban" Triangle?

Now that the dismal fraud of "amateur" college basketball is finished for another year, it's time for the intense reality of the NBA playoffs.

REWIND: A labor theory of basketball value.

At any rate, there's been a study.

Study could support argument for bringing NBA to Louisville, by Rachel Aretakis (Louisville Business First)

Attracting the NBA to Louisville might seem far-fetched these days, but that doesn't mean it could never happen.

A recent study shows that Louisville has the potential to support an NBA team. The report, conducted by American City Business Journals (the parent company of Business First), finds that Louisville, along with Austin, Texas; Rochester, N.Y.; and Virginia Beach-Norfolk, are virgin markets that the NBA might want to think about for the long term.

Tunnel beneath the paywall and reflect: Will Jeff Speck be able to tunnel around time-honored Rosenbargerian urban obfuscation?

Speck's task will be far easier if the city's genuinely on board with the idea.

As we've pointed out on numerous occasions since James Garner served as mayor, New Albany's perennial disconnect makes the Grand Canyon seem like one of Vectren's messy street trenches. Talking a good game is one thing, and actual achievement something else entirely. The latter requires doing something, and fruition eludes us.

Having Jeff Speck within the city limits elevates New Albany's urban IQ ... but a temporary 45 probably won't cut it. This would be a good first step, and it's just that: A baby step.

Speck likely to be hired to study New Albany streets; Planner is the author of ‘Walkable City’, by Daniel Suddeath (News and Tribune)

NEW ALBANY — He came, he spoke, and he will likely be hired today to study New Albany’s streets and traffic flow, specifically in the downtown and midtown areas.

The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety will vote today, March 4, to hire planner and nationally acclaimed author Jeff Speck to conduct a comprehensive traffic study.

Speck, author of “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time,” was the guest of the city in January when he talked about designing streets to be more conducive to pedestrian travel. His strategy isn’t just about making communities more walkable, as Speck also discussed street direction and size, and how those factors affect public safety ...

News and Tribune: "Gahan ‘generally supportive’ of two-way streets in downtown New Albany."

Let's begin Monday with a generally guarded mayoral endorsement of "more" two-way streets in the future than now. Seeing as we advocates of a "complete" street grid are subject to a starvation diet in Nawbony, we'll take supportive tidbits wherever we find them, and yet I fee compelled to repeat: (1) At which point will we see City Hall shape this future message according to the two irrefutable twin pillars of two-way, these being safety and economic development? And, (2) are we approaching this in the best and most timely fashion?

Gahan ‘generally supportive’ of two-way streets in downtown New Albany

NEW ALBANY — Mayor Jeff Gahan said the Ohio River Bridges Project should be taken into account before switching downtown streets to two-way traffic, and added a study would paint a clearer picture of what the city needs to do to usher in such a change.

“I’m generally supportive of more two-way traffic than we have now,” Gahan said. “We just need to have more definite information and more factual information before we make sweeping changes.”