Traffic Calming Coming To Patricia Avenue

The nightmare on Patricia Avenue seems to be over, for some.

For others, it’s beginning again.

“You fixed it. Done. You made life wonderful for eight streets,” one North Glenwood Place resident pleaded to officials at a heated Dec. 1 commission meeting. “You’ve given us seven months of safety. And now you’re gonna take it away? That’s cruel. Focus on San Salvador. Don’t make us bear the brunt of what’s going on in this neighborhood.”

Officials voted 4-1 to tear down the and McLean Street as soon as certain safety measures are in place.

Officials want to reopen Patricia Avenue to two-way traffic, but not until it adds four speed humps and a multi-way stop sign at the McCarty Street intersection. Officials also want to move forward with a staff recommendation to add a sidewalk on Patricia Avenue.

During the meeting, several officials also publically dispelled rumors that they voted with a hidden motive for closing it.

"We spent two and a half to three years studying this," said Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski. "We did not do this in haste. ... There’s been a lot of emotion with this, the people who want it closed have a valid reason. They deserve our respect."

Patricia Avenue became a popular cut-through for drivers on Pinehurst Road since it opened in 1994. Up to 1,000 cars per day were using streets in the North Glenwood neighborhood — Jackmar Road, Mary Jane Lane, Robmar and Suemar roads, and McCarty, McFarland and McLean streets — until officials had it closed on March 23, despite the traffic engineering departments recommendation to use speed humps. The move embroiled residents and divided neighbors on surrounding streets.

“I don’t give a crap about convenience. …  I counted 50 cars in 15 minutes,” San Salvador resident Ryan Gillispie said. He wanted Patricia Avenue reopened. “Why did you do that to my street? You guys have made my house an unsafe place to live. Did I get a speed bump when you added 500 cars to my street? No! You guys say convenience, I say, what about safety?”

A six-month study after the closure revealed that traffic increased dramatically on surrounding streets. Residents on San Salvador began seeing more than 1,000 cars per day and , according to the study.

"It’s not fair to burden one neighborhood opposed to another neighborhood," Commissioner Julie Scales said before voting to reopen the avenue. "It seems most equitable to spread it around."

David Carson, who cast the dissenting vote, said reopening Patricia Avenue goes against why it was opened in the first place. He said the Patricia Avenue extension was opened so residents in North Glenwood would have a "back" way to exit their neighborhood. The increased cut-through traffic was an unintended consequence.

"I came tonight hoping to hear a solution I could put my hands around," Carson said. "I would rather go out and solve that San Salvador problem."

Mayor Dave Eggers, who lives in the affected area, issued a word of caution as the city moves forward with removing the barricade.

"I want to make sure we talk to the people on Patricia [about the incoming sidewalks]," he said, then highlighted the growing traffic problem in the southern side of the neighborhood. "We’re gonna still have an issue of San Salvador and south Patricia, and we’re gonna have to do something."

Despite the vote, officials seemed lukewarm.

"There’s no perfect solution to this," Commissioner Ron Barnette said. "[It's the] least harm for the greatest number approach."

Many residents feel like the Patricia Avenue problem has been waiting to explode since it opened because of it's centrally located between several major destinations: , the , and . Now that it's closed, the early morning and afternoon traffic on Pinehurst has fewer relief routes. That's the real problem, residents say.

Officials recently returned a federal Safe Routes to School grant that would have added . The lanes were considered a safety improvement, but would have cut four feet into the public-right-of-way area of residents' yards. Officials largely feared a public outcry and touted that the improvements would have been more in the interests of adults.

Carson expressed frustration immediately after the vote.

It doesn't matter how we vote, the mayor replied to him, we can't make everybody happy.