Department of Transportation

Five Points Public Meeting: Written Comments

1. Tell us which elements are most important to you so the City will know how best to reduce costs:
   • Most important is returning South 6th and South Stone to two-way traffic and retaining two- way traffic on 18th street. Forget the landscaping if necessary to save costs.
   • Maintain ability to cross 18th from both directions. Make Stone and 6th Ave. two-way.
   • Restrictions to through traffic on 18 th Street from Park to the freeway. Could be done on entry to neighborhood.
   • Two way traffic - get done soon. 18 th St. - reevaluate consideration to whole run.
   • Comprehensive study of traffic patterns all the way on 18 th St.
   • Cut or scale down the project due to costs of steel and concrete where practical, or where those materials are extensively used.
   • Two way traffic.
   • Restricting travel on 18 th St.
   • 2-way traffic on 6 th and Stone Avenues/traffic calming. Mitigating east-west traffic on 18 th St. to prevent traffic using 18 th St. as a cut-through from the industrial area east of the railroad tracks to the freeway.
   • Maintain two way traffic on Sixth and Stone. Do not close 18 th Street. Limit truck traffic on 18 th through fines and intermittent police presence.
   • Re-striping bike lanes and sidewalks.
   • Yes!! Historic lighting, bike lanes, traffic restriction through residential areas, street-parking, 2-way traffic.
   • Bike lanes along 6 th and Stone, recycled materials, desert landscaping.
   • The most important aspect of this project to me is converting 6 th and Stone to two-way traffic.
   • I don’t really find the project necessary at all. Two-way traffic does not seem important to me. Drainage however, is important. Bike and pedestrian enhancements and amenities are also important.
   • Traffic flow. Possible traffic congestion on the east- west street, especially with emergency vehicles.
   • Reduce through traffic. Eliminate through traffic from 2 nd Ave. past 6 th Ave. I can live with auto traffic (limited and local) but NO TRUCKS.
   • Main concern: Safety - Keep sidewalk improvement, bike paths, adequate drainage, access to and from neighborhood. Secondary concern - Economic and historic preservation - parking, two-way traffic, landscaping.
   • In my opinion, I agreed to see back to two-way traffic in 6 th Ave., but to reduce cost perhaps you will take into your consideration is leave Stone the way it is now.
   • 18 th street needs to be left open, 5 Points is historical and is a street that connects neighborhoods.
   • The proposed reconfiguration of the intersection of Stone Ave., 6 th Ave. and 18 th St.
   • Sidewalks, lights, curbs, bike lanes, trees! The two way is a good idea with parking (get a better bid).
2. Tell us what you like or dislike about the current design for this project:
   • Like that 6 th and Stone will become two-way. Like restriction of through traffic on 18 th Street. Dislike 4-lane underpass on 18 th/freeway, feel that down the line this will become shortcut to truck traffic.
   • I like current plan, but don’t close 18 th street. Two- way system good.
   • I like mostly everything of the current design and the pluses the design will include. Sidewalks, bicycle lanes, etc. 
   • It is a positive action that this meeting is happening. If city plans to make change, resident should have an equal opportunity to be attended too.
   • Absolutely essential to maintain 2 way traffic for business and residents.
   • I like and support the current project. Please go forward with this project.
   • Please block off 2 nd and 18 th, not 6 th and 18 th.
   • It seems to me that the asphalt on Stone and 6 th Ave. is in poor but serviceable condition, perhaps eliminating re-surfacing could save considerable money. Consider packaging the project with other downtown projects, such as the 4 th Ave. tunnel.
   • I dislike strongly any restriction on east/west traffic on 18 th Street. This is the only safe way for residents to cross south 6 th between 22 nd and Broadway for residents of Barrio Viejo and Barrio Santa Rosa. Also the cost would be less by eliminating the proposed restrictions and pork chop. This plan was devised without sufficient input from residents of Barrio Viejo and Santa Rosa and is a discriminatory act segregating them from the more affluent Armory Park neighborhood. Truck traffic is a red herring. There is not that much and most of it is from the Water Dept., which is going away.
   • I dislike losing free parking on Stone south of Ochoa on Stone. Currently, there is good utilization on both sides in front of St. Augustine Cathedral. Please consider converting the 2 way Stone Ave. before Ochoa to one lane each way with parking preserved. Thank you.
   • Restricting through traffic on 18 th Street. This will result in diverting traffic to 17 th or 19 th streets which are narrow and have several blind corner intersections. 18 th is much wider and much more capable to accommodate through traffic.
   • Restrictions crossing 18 th street east to west. Keep it as it was with obvious improvements.
   • Dislike - stop light at 16 th and Park, widened pedestrian walk way at freeway access road. Do not allow free access from Park to freeway. Please consider a very large roundabout at 2 nd and 18 th street.
   • I am ok with all proposals, except the closure of 18 th street. The closing is an unnecessary use of money. Many children cross the street to go to school at Safford. If the traffic will grow, we certainly don’t want it being diverted to smaller streets. It seems that the only people who want this is a small group of Armory Park residents. One resident who has been particularly vocal is only renting, and may not be there long.
   • Dislike major alteration of Five Points. It’s good to create main flow on Stone. I like the historic/unique Five Point area. Couldn’t it still be signalized, even if it is odd, as three major movements (Stone, 6 th, 18 th). Better to control traffic on 18 th to east and west using circular islands.
   • Whatever happens, do not impact the area of the Pio Decimo Center at 7 th/18 th. We have given several bikes to encourage residents of Pio Decimo to use for getting to jobs, etc. Trucks will be using 18 th Street. Would like it striped with bike lanes.
   • My best response to this question is to defer to an old maxim: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Two-way traffic will undermine the sense of community residents get from being able to walk to work, school, etc. Local businesses will suffer, not prosper - look at Campbell Ave. for an example!
   • It’s very important to the Armory Park neighborhood to prevent east-west traffic on 18 th St. at the 5-points intersection. Despite vocal opposition to this plan from business interests, the residential character of historic Armory Park is threatened without implementing the current 5-points plan, including the traffic diverter that prevents through east-west traffic on 18 th St.
   • Closing 18 th will impact schools - Carrillo, Drachman, Pio Decimo as well as Lalo Guerrero elder housing - limiting access to parents and emergency services.
   • I do not like the closing of 18 th street to through traffic at 6 th Ave.
   • Is volume the same thing as viability? Think of this in context of local businesses - will more people necessarily translate to more economic security for them? I’m not sure the business owners are really seeing the big picture here - do they feel sure 2-way streets, which will increase the volume of traffic in the neighborhood, will translate into more long-term viability for them? I think this is a short-sighted move on the part of residents and business owners. I feel sad for them. I don’t think they realize what they’re losing. There is so much anger in this room it gives me chills. The only I say is that it is bad manners to leave a meeting before everyone has had a say. They listened to me so I owe it to them to listen as well - but for that I’d leave, it feels so hopeless in here.
   • I’m concerned by some of the statements made by people opposed to closing 18 th St. As chairperson of the Transportation committee for the Armory Park Neighborhood Association, I’ve done informal counts on both weekends and weekdays and I have noticed very significant truck traffic along 18 th St. Despite the reality of ongoing and worsening heavy truck traffic, opponents of the 18 th St. closing continue to erroneously insist that there is no truck traffic on 18 th. In the larger picture, allowing through traffic on 18 th St. from Cherry to the freeway could have a very damaging impact on the historical and residential character of the neighborhoods in question. If closing 18 th St. at the 5 points intersection ends up not happening, I think it would be vital to find another way to mitigate traffic on 18 th St., perhaps by blocking traffic further to the east than 5-points, for instance at 2 nd Ave.
   • The St. Vincent de Paul Society has property on both sides of 6 th Ave. between 18 th St. and 19 th St. On the east side of 6 th Avenue is located our administration offices, food warehouse, and our employee parking lot. Our Thrift store operation and warehouse is located on the west side of the street. The proposed design of the Five Points intersection would not permit traffic on 18 th Street to travel straight through the intersection. Our trucks travel between our two properties throughout the day and so do our employees with their vehicles. We find that utilizing the traffic signal at 18 th St. is easier and safer crossing 6 th Ave. than at 19 th St. If straight through traffic movements are prohibited on 18 th St. our employees and volunteers will need to seek an alternate route which may be less safe. Furthermore, we have access to thrift store parking lot from both 18 th street and Sixth Ave. It is estimated that 27% of our store customers and clients approach the store from the east on 18 th Street. These patrons of our store would be required to seek alternate routes, which could be dispersed throughout the residential area east of 6 th avenue. Also our trucks use the signal at 18 th street to pickup and deliver goods to the neighborhoods on both sides of 6 th avenue. Based on the discussion at the July 13, 2005 public hearing, the decision to prohibit all through traffic on 18 th street was based on residents complaining about the truck traffic on that street. However, there was no evidence presented that specified the truck volume on 18 th street. Was this design an attempt to prohibit truck traffic that may not even exist in reality? Because residents may make such statements does not mean that it is accurate. Before any restrictions are imposed on drivers, there should be evidence of a problem and it should be verified by a vehicle classification count. Then if there is a problem with truck traffic, what are the options to resolve the problem? The solution may not be at this particular intersection, but at another intersection upstream from 6 th Ave. 18 th street is a major feeder street that serves the neighborhoods on both sides of 6 th and Stone Avenues and should remain open to all traffic movements on both approaches. A good traffic engineering principle is that you should resolve a problem with as few restrictions on the drivers as possible. As a representative and spokesman for the St. Vincent de Paul Society Board, I request that you retain all the traffic movements currently permitted on 18 th Street at Five Points. If I can be of some assistance to you on the resolution of this issue, I will be glad to volunteer my time to the project.
   • 18 th St. closure is not a good idea. Omitting closure will save on costs and keep neighborhoods open to each other. Lastly, large trucks off of 18 th at the railroad tracks.