City officials estimate the new traffic direction could go into effect by Nov. 1, or even earlier after the city contacts area businesses, property owners and other stakeholders.
The change follows the City Council’s approval in August of an updated chapter of the city’s comprehensive plan involving the central business district. One aspect of the overall approval was an identification of short-term priorities, including making Bank Lane more “pedestrian friendly.”“This is a first step about thinking about Bank Lane and what it could be,” Community Development Director Catherine Czerniak said. “It is a real-time experiment.
Czerniak said another benefit of the plan is that it will eliminate sightline problems, with northbound traffic on Bank Lane turning both left and right onto Deerpath. She also indicated this block of Bank Lane has the most potential for redevelopment in the downtown, including the long-vacant site at the northwest corner of Bank and Illinois.“I’m good with it because it is a test. It is a six-month window to see this is a long-term viable option,” Alderman Nancy Novit, 1st, said.
Getting that information could play a role if the traffic-pattern change becomes permanent, which would require a separate City Council action.“If the end result of this is that people get used to it, and feel the same way as two-way traffic, then it facilitates us doing something else,” Tack said. “If the experience is very negative, then maybe we rethink the process.”
Linda Serota, the owner of The North Shore Salon on Bank Lane, said she liked the idea of making the street more aesthetically pleasing, but said she was apprehensive about potential traffic and parking issues.
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