There has been a lot of apprehension and misinformation going around about Keene's Downtown Infrastructure Improvement and Reconstruction Project. The City has put out a new video that I think does a good job explaining the project being proposed, the process that got us to this point, and the next steps forward.
I like this project because it addresses several drawbacks with our current downtown, starting with the ridiculous and wasteful traffic pattern we have around central square. Right now, we have a situation that combines the difficulty of merging in a traffic circle with the delay of waiting at a stop light. Its the worst of both worlds.
What the new design shows us is that our traffic pattern could be far more efficient if, instead of having that intersection be both a circle and a stoplight, we picked one or the other. A redesigned intersection would be more efficient in terms of:
- Driver time saved
- Reduced impact of automobile noise and exhaust on users of the downtown space
- Less pavement needs to be dedicated to car traffic, freeing up that space for more people-centric uses
That last one is key. Right now, our main intersection downtown is so inefficient that entire lanes of asphalt north of the square can be turned into a pedestrian plaza and traffic would still get out of the city center faster.
If you want to make your voice heard in support of this project (or against, even) come to the public informational meeting at Heberton Hall at 5:00 PM on Monday, January 30.