Thanks to a posting on Providence Daily Dose, the PBC was alerted to a neighborhood meeting last night in the Elmhurst neighborhood regarding proposed changes to the traffic configuration on Pleasant Valley Parkway.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with PVP, here is a nutshell explanation: 2 parallel roadways with a linear park comprising the median (think Blackstone Boulevard, but narrower) with a ravine and stream running down the middle of the park. Sounds nice, right? Except that traffic runs both ways on both sides of the median, creating a traffic clusterf#*@ not seen elsewhere in Our Fair City. Combine that with the ravine, and there’s trouble a-brewin’, mister. All the details are here. There have been accidents galore including fatalities.
The room was packed and many people opted to speak. Only 3 spoke out against the simplest of changes, making traffic one-way on each side of the median park. Several speakers pointed to Blackstone Boulevard as the model they should follow – one-way traffic, single lane for motor vehicles on each side of the media, more room for non-motorized roadways users. Councilman Solomon and DPW Director John Nickelson spoke in favor of a traffic study as a first step. PBC offered its active support for changes that would lead to (in our estimation) better conditions for cyclists; that was appreciated by many in attendance.
We will stay in the loop on this and post updates when there is news to pass along.