Reno's Growing Pains
One of my greatest complaints about Reno is that the city has no idea how to grow. This is not to say that Reno isn't getting bigger, because it is, by leaps and bounds. But as far as how to grow in a way that's smart and livable, we're completely lost. It's something of a cliche, but this isn't a small town anymore, and we need to stop thinking like a small town where growth issues are concerned.
Although sprawl issues are what usually comes to mind when you mention growth problems, we downtown residents don't exactly have things easy either. If you've driven down Sierra Street between 4th and the Truckee river, you know what I mean. Here's a list just off the top of my head of construction projects that are currently underway as you drive south toward the Truckee: repaving and reconstruction around the train trench reduces three-lane Sierra to one lane and has 3rd street completely closed in both directions. Between 3rd and 2nd the old Golden Phoenix (formerly the old Flamingo) is being ripped apart to build The Montage, closing one lane of Sierra as well as 2nd Street to the west. Between 2nd and 1st the old Riverboat's ground floor is being converted into a Long's Drug and on the opposite side of the road the new Silver Peak is expanding, as is the West 2nd Street Bar. Finally, just across 1st where The Palladio is being built, Sierra Street is just shut down completely, along with an occasional chunk of First between Sierra and Virginia. Construction is essentially completed on the new courthouse, but with Sierra shut down south of 1st Street, that area isn't accessible by vehicle anyway.
These multiple construction projects are shutting down lanes and bottlenecking traffic into an unwieldy, dangerous mess, creating a ripple effect of delay and gridlock all over downtown even during non-peak hours. Add in the fact that large parts of West Street one block west of Sierra, Keystone Avenue and others are completely shut down as well, and you have one ungodly mess.
Maybe I'm just venting here. Downtown Reno is my neighborhood, and I sort of resent the fact that right now the whole place feels clogged, dangerous and hostile to pedestrians. All of the projects underway are good ideas (yes, even the Train Trench) and will probably benefit the community in the long run. But I have to wonder if this is really the best way to go about accomplishing growth. Why are all these projects undertaken all at once, and why do they all seem to take so long? Particularly with regard to road construction projects--like those on 3rd Street, West Street and Keystone--wouldn't it make more sense to focus resources on shutting down one small area, getting the job done and then quickly moving on to the next area? There may very well be good reasons as to why things are proceeding the way they are, but certainly no one's been able to provide them to me yet. All I know is that when I get off work, it's actually much faster to walk the three blocks home than to drive the same distance, but it also feels like taking your life in your hands.
Although sprawl issues are what usually comes to mind when you mention growth problems, we downtown residents don't exactly have things easy either. If you've driven down Sierra Street between 4th and the Truckee river, you know what I mean. Here's a list just off the top of my head of construction projects that are currently underway as you drive south toward the Truckee: repaving and reconstruction around the train trench reduces three-lane Sierra to one lane and has 3rd street completely closed in both directions. Between 3rd and 2nd the old Golden Phoenix (formerly the old Flamingo) is being ripped apart to build The Montage, closing one lane of Sierra as well as 2nd Street to the west. Between 2nd and 1st the old Riverboat's ground floor is being converted into a Long's Drug and on the opposite side of the road the new Silver Peak is expanding, as is the West 2nd Street Bar. Finally, just across 1st where The Palladio is being built, Sierra Street is just shut down completely, along with an occasional chunk of First between Sierra and Virginia. Construction is essentially completed on the new courthouse, but with Sierra shut down south of 1st Street, that area isn't accessible by vehicle anyway.
These multiple construction projects are shutting down lanes and bottlenecking traffic into an unwieldy, dangerous mess, creating a ripple effect of delay and gridlock all over downtown even during non-peak hours. Add in the fact that large parts of West Street one block west of Sierra, Keystone Avenue and others are completely shut down as well, and you have one ungodly mess.
Maybe I'm just venting here. Downtown Reno is my neighborhood, and I sort of resent the fact that right now the whole place feels clogged, dangerous and hostile to pedestrians. All of the projects underway are good ideas (yes, even the Train Trench) and will probably benefit the community in the long run. But I have to wonder if this is really the best way to go about accomplishing growth. Why are all these projects undertaken all at once, and why do they all seem to take so long? Particularly with regard to road construction projects--like those on 3rd Street, West Street and Keystone--wouldn't it make more sense to focus resources on shutting down one small area, getting the job done and then quickly moving on to the next area? There may very well be good reasons as to why things are proceeding the way they are, but certainly no one's been able to provide them to me yet. All I know is that when I get off work, it's actually much faster to walk the three blocks home than to drive the same distance, but it also feels like taking your life in your hands.
posted by Yukon Sully | 9:03 AM
1 Comments:
Dont forget Center Street--my must not head to the freeway much! I also have a hard time with those fences along Sierra and Second street for the Montage and Olympic hotel projects....its really easy to run over pesky pedestrians!
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