The Way Forward for Austin Street

A local community group, Neighbors for a Safer Austin Street, has laudably launched a petition to start a conversation about safety on Austin Street. Making Austin Street safer for pedestrians, less congested, and a nicer place to experience are all too necessary. Double parking, truck unloading, and the long distance between crosswalks are problems that must be addressed. After discussing Neighbors for a Safer Austin Street’s proposal with community leaders and the Department of Transportation, there are tangible and pragmatic ways to make Austin Street, Forest Hills’ commercial heart, more pedestrian-friendly and improve the corridor in general.

Today, when you can find it, parking is permitted for up to 3 hours. The goal should be shorter duration parking on Austin and the neighboring sidestreets, creating availability for relatively quick shopping and pick-up errands in this busy corridor.

According to a DOT study, 23% of parking spaces on Austin Street are used for 2 hours or more. Longer-term parking consumes lots of valuable space. We need to prioritize the Austin Street commercial area for shorter-term parking and move longer-term parking needs to less critical space. We have to discourage meter feeding – these parking spaces simply should not be used for the entire day.

We can reduce instances of double parking by commercial delivery vehicles by increasing the number of dedicated curb-side delivery spaces. Presently there are 9 such loading zones. We should consider expanding this number to 12 to ease congestion. During non-business hours these spaces should revert to general metered parking. In addition, there needs to be enhanced enforcement to address double parking. These folks diminish our quality of life.

For safety we should evaluate further enhancements to pedestrian crossings at intersections on Austin Street without streetlights. While converting Austin Street to one-way westbound traffic may reduce congestion and is conceivable, it is an open question where the eastbound traffic volume would flow to and what impact that would have on local streets and businesses. In addition, one-way streets often lead to increased car speeds which are contrary to increased pedestrian safety. At the same time, pedestrians would only have to contend with one-way traffic, which could enhance safety.

There can and should be improvements to Austin Street that further the goals of reduced congestion, safer streets and sidewalks, and enhanced parking availability. We will progress through consensus.