Highway 13 Parking

 Not sure how possible it is but I would like to see the left hand turn lane in the 200 block of West Main turned into on street parking. It would really help Thai Taste to have a parking space there for customers picking up orders and parking in front of the store for Nina' Panaderia, allowing customers to park in front of the store in order to run in and pick up their purchases, rather than parking behind the building and climbing a flight of stairs to get into the bakery or walking all the way around to the front. 

Highway 13

 From what I understand, when Highway 13 was expanded to multiple lanes and run through downtown., part of the agreement was on street parallel parking . Highway 13 eastbound along Walnut in the Arbor District area has the promised onstreet parking. However, it was never installed on westbound Main Street. It still could be which might help slow traffic through that area. I would really like seeing 13 reduced to 2 lanes going through town. There is no good reason for 3 lanes of traffic running through a residential area.

Hwy 127

Highway 127 is closed just south of Alto Pass. Drivers getting detoured over to 51 going north from Anna. There is a curve in Highway 127 just south of Alto Pass that all of the recent rain is causing to collapse, meaning IDOT has to shore it up before traffic can safely traverse it again.

Rerouting Trucks

One of the complaints about the current traffic situation is the number of heavy duty trucks that come through downtown heading north or south on Highway 51. Unfortunately, there is no other currently available option to re-route them anywhere else. IDOT has control over the state highways 13 and 51 that run through the downtown part of Carbondale but to shunt trucks onto a different route through the town would require running them over city streets instead of IDOT maintained ones. The most feasible re-routing would run along Pleasant Hill Road to Giant City Road, then north on Giant City to Highway 13 and then take 13 west until it intersects with 51 again. The turns to get onto the various road are handleable by a smaller vehicle but trying to get an 18 wheel truck onto any of them is just asking for traffic jams and accidents. Like it or not, the current street design is the best for the forseeable future, until the state finishes the 6 lane expansion of Highway 13.

Hwy 127 Expansion

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the roadwork on Highway 127 north of Murphysboro is not a precursor to an expansion of the road to 4 lanes but rather a more efficient way of replacing the bridge crossing the Big Muddy River at that point. It is easier and more efficient to build the replacement bridge separately, then move the traffic from the old bridge to the new.

At approximately 5000 cars per day, north Highway 127 does not have enough traffic to justify a 4 lane expansion to Interstate 64. While such an expansion would probably generate more traffic along the route, the Department does not have the money available to invest in such development when there is other, more pressing work, such as along Hwy 13, to complete.

Snow Removal

I have to admit, the city and state were right on top of snow removal this time. Thank goodness we didn't get much but I saw trucks out almost immediately.

It does get bemusing though how people handle snow in this area. Any threat of snow and milk, eggs and bread all vanish from the store shelves. One would think we were going to get snowed in for a month, instead of just a couple of days maximum.

Overpass

Drove over and back to Marion yesterday and found myself wondering just why IDOT is building an overpass over Hwy 13 east of Carterville, just before the River Radio and WSIL 3 TV stations. It's not as if that area is highly trafficked. If IDOT really wanted to make the area safer, how about an overpass or even a traffic light at the intersection just east of Carterville, where there have been a number of accidents over the year's.

Downtown Master Plan Committee Meets

Tomorrow night at 6 p.m. I have heard quite a bit of talk recently about a proposal to make University Avenue a two street and shift Highway 51 over there, rather than have 51 split onto University and Illinois Avenues as it passes through downtown.

From what I have heard from people who have lived here far longer than I, the reason for splitting 51 onto two one way streets was the amount of truck traffic using 51 both north and southbound. Having all those trucks funneled down a single two way street not only damaged the pavement, meaning more frequent street repairs, but also made driving and walking in downtown much more dangerous, since large trucks bore down from both directions. Unless a solution is proposed to deal with those problems, the current street layout is likely best for now.

Both the Endswell development in the Walnut Street Baptist Church building and the Carbondale Flats project will strain downtown parking more. From what I have heard, the research done by Tartan, the Carbondale Flats developer, indicates that the parking developments for that area will be enough to satisfice the needs of Carbondale Flats residents. However, there appears no plan in place for any additional parking for the residents of the building. With Civic Center parking already tight for events, something will need to be done.

Trains, trucks, busses, bikes and automobiles are up for discussion at the next meeting of the Downtown Advisory Committee. Increase parking lots or build parking garages? Two way streets on Illinois and University? Slow down traffic? Close off the street for festivals? Too many trucks? Angle parking in front of businesses?  Bike lanes…what about handicapped?

We’re discussing ANY question or idea you have about the Downtown Carbondale streets. We will share the latest information about developments from IDOT and other agencies. Come at 6:00 p.m. for informal conversation with members of the Committee.

Press are welcome to mingle and interview during the informal gathering at 6:00 p.m.

The theme of transportation modes will be presented by SIUC Sustainability Coordinator Chris Schachel. The issue of traffic flow in the downtown area will be discussed by Carbondale businessman Nathan Colombo. Parking and public safety will be addressed by Meghan Cole, Executive Director of Main Street.

We’re meeting at the old Illinois Central Depot at the corner of Main Street and Illinois Avenue on Wednesday night, September 3. The official meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., but please come early.

In the event that attendance exceeds the allowable occupancy at the Carbondale Main Street Offices, the meeting will relocate across the street in the Civic Center located at 200 South Illinois Avenue.

Agenda

 Carbondale Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee
Agenda for Meeting of September 3, 2014 Commencing at 6:30 p.m.
Carbondale Main Street Offices at Old Train Station
Interest Area: Transportation
1. Bring to order
2. Roll Call and member/facilitator introductory remarks
3. City Staff presentation: ongoing transportation projects, actions, and plans
4. Current transportation issues as seen by the theme organizers
a. Transportation modes (Kris Schachel)
b. Flow of traffic in the downtown area (Nathan Columbo)
c. Parking and public safety (Meghan Cole)
5. Comments from the public
6. Brief recess
7. Comments from the committee members
8. Summary of major recommended actions and member selection
9. Approval of minutes
10. Review of mission statement
11. Announcement of next meeting, date, time and location
12. Adjournment
In the event that attendance exceeds the allowable occupancy at the Carbondale Main Street Offices, the meeting will relocate across the street in the Civic Center located at 200 South Illinois Avenue.

Marion Overpass Open

Finally, the overpass on Hwy 13 just west of Marion has opened, making it maybe a little less difficult to navigate the stretch of road.

I still doubt that, given Marion's size, that the city needs 3 exits within such a short distance, especially one that takes cars right past Rent One Park.

127 Expansion on Hold

As this article by the Southern points out, we probably won't see 4 lanes on Hwy 127 anytime soon.  As I have pointed out in the past, two different IDOT districts intersect at Pickneyville. District 9 encompasses Carbondale and much of the area south of Pickneyville, while District 8 includes Belleville and the East Metro St. Louis region.  Money for any expansion north of Pickneyville will have to come from District 8's budget,, which, given the amount of construction going on in the East St. Louis region, is likely low on their totem pole.

Economic Development and Highways

Caught the C'dale Chamber of Commerce's noon presentation on economic development in Jackson County.  A good chunk of it was a promotional spiel regarding upcoming events at SIUC's Small Business Development Center and development at the airport.  Betwix the two was an interesting presentation by the Jackson Growth Alliance on their efforts to push through a 4 lane highway from Carbondale to St. Louis that doesn't run through Marion.  The organizations proposed plan is to widen 127 to 4 lanes, bypass Pickneyville to the west and link up with the interstate at Nashville.  This is something that various organizations have promoted for the region since the mid 1960s.  The Pickneyville route is the least direct but also requires the least amount of construction, totaling only about 43 miles with a cost of around $140 million.

I am not an expert on this but I have talked to someone who is, as they worked for IDOT for a number of years, and they are of the opinion that this won't happen, at least not in the foreseeable future, for two reasons. 

Number one is the way in which highway districts in Illinois are laid out.  The border between District 9 (where we are) and District 8 (north and east of Pickneyville including the Metro East area) runs right through Pickneyville, which means both districts would have to contribute funds and approval to the project.  While District 9 probably could find the money to put into the highway, any additional funds District 8 comes up with would get funneled into infrastructure improvements in the East St. Louis/Metro East area.as population density and road usage is much greater there than anywhere in District 9.

Number two is traffic flow.  If you look at the statewide traffic flow map, there are about 30,000 cars that enter or exit Carbondale daily from the east.  13,000 enter or exit from the west side and the figure drops to 11,400 on the est side of Murphysboro.  The north side of Murphysboro handles about 7200 cars per day and it drops to 5500 by the time you get to Nashville.  There is just not enough traffic in that area to justify an expenditure of $144 million in the hope that "if you build it, they will come."