The lead editorial in the Lexington Herald-Leader of 12 August had to do with the fact that Lexington municipal-planners, whoever they are, must do a much better job of making Lexington into the city it should be, a "distinct, livable, prosperous and desirable region anchored by a city that shares all those characteristics." Apparently, the editorialist doesn't think Lexington fits that description currently, noting that a simple thing like a stockyard can't be located, though one such was recently set for neighboring Woodford County only a few miles from Lexington and then rejected.
The underlying theme in all the rants that happen regularly about the shortcomings of the city is that of somehow "renewing the downtown," as if much of a change can either be effected or is even desirable. Just as is the case with all major cities and even towns of 15,000 or less, the downtown area, un-susceptible to the handling of retail establishments since parking is an unsolvable problem, Lexington's business section is locked-in. Grocery-shoppers, for instance, will NOT lug or even push carts of multiple bags of goods through the multi-tiered maze and elevators of parking garages.
Specialty retail establishments, restaurants, entertainment venues, and office/institutional buildings fit the downtown area, and even then parking is a problem. The surge in renovating/rebuilding buildings previously used for reasons no longer applicable, such as tobacco warehouses, to turn them into establishments allowing for small retail activity and living spaces for residents who value living downtown is in itself indicative of the recognition that only a unique fraction of the population desires or can be accommodated in the downtown.
The editorialist bemoaned a system that doesn't allow for workers to live in "safe, affordable housing close" to their places of employment or a mass-transit system that makes the to-and-from-work-trip convenient. If for no other reason, the transit problem will prevail because the people involved find walking even short distances to and from bus stops too inconvenient, though, in fairness, many lack the stamina or ability to do so. Some areas that have been turned into "safe-and-affordable-housing neighborhoods" have also been turned into crime neighborhoods, and this has been to no one's good fortune, even those supposedly profiting from the arrangement. Bricks and mortar do not change people's behavior, but just transfer it from place to another.
The editorialist mentioned the possibility of a commuter bus arrangement connecting Lexington and Nicholasville in order to diminish the inordinately heavy traffic load, especially during the rush hours. This might work if a lane is dedicated to buses only, but even then a wreck would cause the same hours-long snarls that regularly occur, besides cutting the auto-use lanes – and some folks WILL use their cars because the workplaces are located all over Lexington, not just in a central destination for buses.
A rail arrangement, such as existed in the 1930s-40s, is not possible – too much hassle over eminent domain condemnations – even if financially viable. Railroads got rid of furnishing passenger service long ago (except for Amtrak, which is government-subsidized and nowhere near Lexington), so the use of the Norfolk Southern, perhaps the heaviest-traveled north-south freight operation east of the Mississippi River, is out of the question, particularly since the configuration from Fayette Mall nearly to Wilmore is single track.
One cringes at what the planners might come up with. Just a few years ago, the Urban-County Council actually voted to close Vine Street, a primary artery downtown, and told the folks to pick their way through the narrow, sometimes almost impassable side streets – an idiocy. The citizens revolted, so the council relented (two lanes closed) and then relented altogether and left it as is, thankfully. Now, the effort is being made to turn the street into some sort of pedestrian mall, thus reducing traffic again, when grass and trees are not amenable to concrete and asphalt, in the first place. The current effort to make all one-way streets into two-way again is sheer madness. These streets are not wide enough for even one-way traffic at times.
The city has paid attention to university planners and to aesthetics-nuts in the past. Now, it's time to use plain common sense and let pragmatism rule. The downtown is a BUSINESS SECTION, not a playground or a park. As for urban sprawl, the Planning-Zoning Commission, along with the Council, is supposed to take care of that, but, unfortunately, favoritism sometimes seems to get in the way.
And so it goes.
Jim Clark
No comments:
Post a Comment