For the last few months the Sustainable Glasgow team, supported by the fine folks at BITS, has been putting together the above proposal for a revitalization of Glasgow's Square. Our plan is to emphasize the Square as the nucleus of our community and the layout proposed above intends to return the Square to a pedestrian commons area and increase the available parking while attempting to make it easier for vehicular traffic to get where they are going with much less danger and aggravation to the pedestrian traffic.
This layout nets about fifteen new parking places and it establishes some wider sidewalks and public spaces where park benches, water fountains, art, and other spaces where people-based activities can be promoted. These plans have now been shared with most of the businesses around the Square and they have also been discussed with City Government and with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Now it is up to you. If you like this plan, please let it be known to your elected representatives. If you do not like it and have alternative suggestions, please let us know. Clearly, this project will not move forward without broad community support - that is exactly what we were told by the Transportation Cabinet folks.
We plan on sharing the comments we get with everyone on this site, so keep coming back to see what we are hearing. The comments will be copied here under the "comments" link below this post.
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4 comments:
This comment was the first one we got via email:
I'am 100% for the new Sustainable Glasgow's proposal on the square, I think it will be better for business on the square and customers. I would like to see a crosswalk put from the Free Public Parking lot next to Commerce Plaza to the Court House because so many people cross there now, and someone is going to get hit there.
Tim Doyle
Tick Tock Clock Shop
109 W. Public Square
Glasgow, KY 42141
270-629-2562
What good is an empty parking space if you're going in the wrong direction to pull into it?
As it stands, drivers are able to pull into a space that's either on the inside lane of the square or the outside. The only maneuvering requried is to change lanes. The new plan prevents a person traveling in one direction on Main or Green streets from pulling into a spot that's on the driver's left hand side. you would have to pass the space up, pull in somewhere, turn around and try and get to the spot from the other direction.
This plan effectively cuts the number of spots you can use on Green or Main Streets in half.
The article says this plan has been presented to most of the businesses on the square. I don't belive they have presented it to our office.
Richard Burchett
Burchett Law Firm
Another issue is that the new design will back traffic up on Race Street and Main Street, stopping traffic that is moving around the square.
It appears that the new design allows only one lane of traffic on the square on Race and Washington Streets. We currently have two lanes, both going one way on those streets.
The change would require funneling trafic from three directions into one lane of traffic. Two of the lanes would be facing each other attempting to turn in the same direction, requiring the line of cars already on the square turning left to yield to those getting on the square turning right.
For example, if you're on Main Steet going around the Square, in order to turn left on Race you would have to stop and yield to cars coming on the square from W. Main. Traffic behind you that simply wants to go straight on Main or turn right onto N. Race would have to wait. At the present time, that traffic turning left has the inside lane to itself and doesn't have to wait on anybody, keeping traffic moving relatively well.
I think the last thing we want to do is bring traffic on the square to a standstill. It would make it difficult to get to the parking spaces and backing out would be a nightmare. If the traffic doesn't move, a lot of people might simply avoid going by the square alltogether.
Thank you,
Richard Burchett
Just saw in one of the business
on the square a large map of the town square and proposed changes to increase parking and better traffic flow. Includes more on street spaces as well as making Main Street and Green Street sides of the square two-way traffic.
While I hope it helps, the problem isn't that there aren't enough spaces, it's 1) most people are too lazy to park in the county parking garage (where there are PLENTY of spaces and walk a little bit to where they are going and 2) the spaces on the square (no matter how many there are) are filled by employees of the businesses on the square.
most people are just to lazy walk
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