In the two years since Main Street underwent a multimillion dollar construction project, downtown travel has become significantly safer, according to city officials.
The city’s Public Works Department recently submitted a report comparing crash and traffic statistics from before the construction to after the changes were made, said City Commissioner Thomas Hawkins.
Hawkins said accidents on Main Street have been reduced by about 85 percent since the construction, which widened sidewalks, added street parking and consolidated traffic lanes.
“Why consider traffic accidents any different from other kinds of threats to public safety?” he said. “Imagine if we could do something to reduce homicides by 85 percent. We’re saving people trips to the emergency room, saving money and making Gainesville a better place.”
Hawkins said that while reducing traffic lanes helped, the major difference came from adding parking and bike lanes, and widening sidewalks on Main Street.
“In pretty much every measure, we added and things got bigger and better throughout the process,” he said. “Walking is important, and I want to be able to walk [downtown].”
Tom Fox, a member of Gainesville Downtown Owners and Tenants, has advocated for the construction on Main Street for more than a decade. He said pedestrians and bicyclists have benefited from the changes.
“That’s one thing about adding the street parking to Main,” he said. “At two in the morning with hundreds of people leaving the bars, getting in their cars and speeding next to hundreds of people on sidewalks, [street parking] gives a barrier of cars between the people and the moving traffic.”
Some complaints about traffic center around losing some downtown traffic lanes, Fox said.
Even if traffic increased slightly since construction, Fox said, Main Street is the scene of fewer accidents, and downtown business is up because more pedestrians are willing to walk.
“With the lane reduction, people end up driving the speed limit, which makes it safer for people walking back and forth,” he said. “It’s not an appropriate place for a highway. Downtown should be a place you want to drive to, not drive through.”
Contact Hanna Marcus at hmarcus@alligator.org.
