Riverparks Parking solutions

[buckeye]

The cycling community is always tense about something.  I think it's part of the culture.

Parallel parking on Riverside sounds like guaranteed mayhem to me, mitigated by a 25 mph speed limit perhaps.  That road is awful narrow...  Seems like having only two lanes open, even during off-hours, would significantly stagnate traffic as well.

[Conan71]

The cycling community is always tense about something.  I think it's part of the culture.

I realize there are some cyclists who give the sport a bad name and assume they have the right of way regardless.  I've also seen them taunt cars and flip them off.  Both stupid moves even if the driver is a jagoff.

However, too many people don't respect that it's not always easy to stop on a dime and clip out of your pedals when they let their 2 year old toddler run about on a bike trail without supervision or get on their little hoopty bike and talk on their cell phone while weaving all over the trail at 5 mph.  I never thought I'd say it but the road is safer than the trails between 51st & 11th on a nice day now.

[Red Arrow]

Those mile markers  came up fast and before I had a chance to take a good look at them I was already passed the marker, I just got a glancing view as I ran on by-

So are you complaining about small markers or are you really bragging about running so fast?   

[OurTulsa]

Parallel parking on Riverside sounds like guaranteed mayhem to me, mitigated by a 25 mph speed limit perhaps.  That road is awful narrow...  Seems like having only two lanes open, even during off-hours, would significantly stagnate traffic as well.

Seems that way when driving at 35+ mph.  I drove it this evening and lane widths seem fairly wide to the extent that if someone were to pull to the curb and park there'd be no squeeze on the left lane.  I was out there just after 6:00pm and I don't think I passed more than 2-3 dozen cars heading north (as they were heading south) between 41st and Denver Av.

I think it's a psychological leap...so what if someone get's stuck through one light cycle at 41st St. every great once in a while or has to cruise down Riverside at 25-30 mphs for 2 miles.  Set the parking back at certain points to preserve sight lines and prohibit parking during peak evening flow south then publicly, I think we gain by adding a hefty load of parking on the park without compromising the park itself...oh, and we throw in a little traffic calming to boot.

[Hoss]

So are you complaining about small markers or are you really bragging about running so fast?   

Don't expect an answer until the Omaha library opens in the morning.

[Red Arrow]

Could there be a speed limit based on the time of day and parking?  I'm thinking of something like school zones speed limit changes.  Drivers won't mind going slower if there is something there to go slow for, like parked cars.  If the lanes are open, they will probably want the current speed limits.

I drive home from work through downtown Jenks on Main Street.  For the short distance, 25 is not a problem.  

[Red Arrow]

Don't expect an answer until the Omaha library opens in the morning.

I thought that since 3:30 this afternoon would have been enough time.  I guess not.

[dbacks fan]

I thought that since 3:30 this afternoon would have been enough time.  I guess not.

He's out looking for quarters.

[Red Arrow]

He's out looking for quarters.

As in a place to stay or as in US coins?

[dbacks fan]

As in a place to stay or as in US coins?

The intent was US coins, but now that you mention it, he spends time in Omaha, Tulsa, Ft. Worth, etc... does that mean he has to fill out a census in all those places?

[YoungTulsan]

That 4 lane road got plenty of use when Peoria was closed at I-44 and everyone had to circumnavigate the blockade via Riverside.  There is constantly road construction chaos in the area, and street events that shut down and divert traffic in this part of town.  It may not seem necessary for 41st to be 4-lanes on an average day with no abnormalities, but the abnormalities to make use of said lanes occur pretty often.

[dbacks fan]

We used to park in the lot just north of the MAPCO building and then take 18th street over to the river, and some times we would park at Johnson Park and hit the trail from there. (That was when the trail and Riverside both ended at 61st.) Parking has alway been and will always be problematic. I thought at one time the houses that they took out at 49th and Riverside were going to be replaced by parking but at that time there were no traffic controls at I-44 and Riverside to make for safe crossing. Also, couldn't you park on the west side just south of PSO at the soccer complex?

[YoungTulsan]

I thought at one time the houses that they took out at 49th and Riverside were going to be replaced by parking

That location slipped my mind.  There is also a huge chunk of removed houses on 52nd St. thru 54th Pl.  Why did they remove those houses in the first place?   I seem to recall someone telling me it was because they had planned to widen Riverside, or actually turn it into an expressway?  How did it go as far as moving houses?

Nonetheless, those plots of land on both sides of the highway are prime parking, as I don't see new homes fitting in with the current ones, I don't see room for businesses or apartments, and the green space there now isn't particularly appealing to the eye.   It looks like parking (plus some nice landscaping with the planting of trees) would be a good fit there.  Your only problem would be neighborhoods objecting, as well as people getting across the street to the Riverparks - It could be done at the traffic signal, but a pedestrian walkway would be much safer.

[dbacks fan]

That location slipped my mind.  There is also a huge chunk of removed houses on 52nd St. thru 54th Pl.  Why did they remove those houses in the first place?   I seem to recall someone telling me it was because they had planned to widen Riverside, or actually turn it into an expressway?  How did it go as far as moving houses?

Nonetheless, those plots of land on both sides of the highway are prime parking, as I don't see new homes fitting in with the current ones, I don't see room for businesses or apartments, and the green space there now isn't particularly appealing to the eye.   It looks like parking (plus some nice landscaping with the planting of trees) would be a good fit there.  Your only problem would be neighborhoods objecting, as well as people getting across the street to the Riverparks - It could be done at the traffic signal, but a pedestrian walkway would be much safer.

Looking at it on google it runs from ~48th street to 54th place, and I want to say that it was late '70s and it had to do with when they replaced the bridge over the river that they bought it up as ROW for ODOT, and then turned it into the "Up With Trees" program
http://www.upwithtrees.org/

I know there has been discussions for years to widen Riverside, but I think it has always been cost prohibitive to purchase all the properties needed so that they could retain the trail, in particular going north from what used to be Place One Apts, all of the complexes up to 21st street. Interesting thought in looking at it, they could have taken the inbound/north direction a routed it at ~21st so that it would become Boulder going into town, and made the south/outbound route Denver.

Another thought is what Phoenix did years ago with three major streets leading into and out of downtown. In this case they would have to take out the center median on Riverside and make the road five lanes with the center lane being a reverse lane. In the morning 6am to 9am you would have three lanes going into town and in the evening 3pm to 7pm it would be three lanes going out, other times it would be two each way with a center left turn lane. At 41st either widen the intersection to accomodate a left turn bay or make it no left turn, in the afternoon/evening. You could concievably do this to the Jenks Bridge. (Actually looking at it again the Creek Turnpike)

[YoungTulsan]

Looking at it on google it runs from ~48th street to 54th place, and I want to say that it was late '70s and it had to do with when they replaced the bridge over the river that they bought it up as ROW for ODOT, and then turned it into the "Up With Trees" program
http://www.upwithtrees.org/

Ah, my mistake.  The part to the north of the highway actually has good trees.  South of the highway is mostly ratty grass with sporadic, mostly young trees- but the trees could be looking nice in a decade or so.  So I'm backtreading a little on my "Its only good as a parking lot" analysis.

I'm seeing a lot of "Up with trees" projects being laid to waste up and down I-44 with the widening project.  Kind of sad.  Does any tree transplanting take place or is it 100% blitzkrieg?

About the reverse lane, something tells me there are too many stupid people in this town that wouldn't understand the concept.  Every day there would be about 25 head-on collisions because someone who drove to work in that lane decided to drive up it again later to go out for dinner. (Had to edit this because I even confused my dumb self)