HISTORIC NORTHEAST - Draft Goals, Strategies and Action Steps

I'd like to see Kensington Boulevard, between State and Lake, added to the list of streets to receive updated pedestrian lighting. While we do have a few lights in our boulevard, the light projected is inadequate and the fixtures themselves are old and rather ugly. South of Lake the lighting is updated; lovely and quite bright. North of Lake St., where there are constant pedestrians, not so much.

Thanks for the great to do list. I feel like you incorporated many of the issues the ATC had identified and a few more. We will look forward to working on walk/bike audits, temporary traffic calming/intersection demos & support grants for bigger projects.

just posted on Northside & North Anthony FB pages

When I bought my house in North Anthony Area, I thought I was moving into a peaceful RESIDENTIAL area. However, the constant noise pollution on North Anthony from SPEEDING & RECKLESS drivers, the howling from large high profile trucks & vehicles, roar of loud engines & mufflers, and the road noise from tires, all which only gets louder as the speed increases, has made it more comparable to living in a commercial zone on Highway 30, rather than a residential neighborhood. Opening windows on a nice day is only enjoyable if a cacophony of road noise is to your liking. As long as drivers know they can get away with their bad behavior behind the wheel, they will. This has been an ongoing problem for years & years, and lowering the speed limits on North Anthony is long past due. Our property taxes are skyrocketing while safety on our streets is plummeting. To all our city officials that say "safety is top priority", then lead by example.

Please don't use the white lights. They are so sterile- not appropriate for neighborhoods and homes. It gives a very industrial feel that is unwelcoming for where people live.

Please consider replacing the industrial/commercial type lighting (the big silver posts) on Somerset/Woodrow area with more neighborhood-styled posts and fewer of them. The bright white lights are sterile and unnerving, rather than warm and inviting as neighborhood lighting could, and maybe should, be. It would be nice to be able to see the sky at night, rather than getting blinded by lights.

Please look into and consider putting a sidewalk/pathway on the north side of St. Joseph River Drive instead of removing over 20 mature trees and the landscaping that currently exists on the south side of the road. I am aware of the levee concern, but I think that some thinking outside of the box could bring some new ideas to light. There are sidewalks on other levees around Fort Wayne, what is preventing the sidewalk - or some other type of pathway - from being installed on the north side?

The intersection of St. Joe River and Parnell is not a pedestrian friendly intersection and it's already a challenge to navigate turns there when driving. Putting a sidewalk on the south side of St. Joe River Road will force people into that intersection because there is no connecting pathway or sidewalk at Parnell. Additionally, speeding and aggressive driving down St. Joe River is a concern. Opening up the corridor by removing vegetation may only encourage people to drive faster around the curves, putting people on the sidewalk at risk. The north side of the road is elevated with the levee and pedestrians and bikers can be seen and see traffic more safely.

Thank you for your consideration.

This whole section is full of great ideas, but no capacity to do them.

The City needs to build staff capacity for Historic Preservation. It was two professionals for decades. When one person retired, a position was helved and "shared" with public arts projects. The City needs TWO or MORE full-time historic preservation planners. Currently, there is only enough staffing to deal with cell tower applications and certificates of appropriateness... there isn't staffing to do the worthy items in this section.

Budget leadership is needed on Council and admin to restore staffing levels.

spelling

North Side is two words for the high school name.

Years ago I recall going to a public meeting at which a bike was under consideration for Anthony from Lake to Vance. Whatever happened to that idea? I think Anthony from Lake to Vance is way too wide and encourages high-speed traffic. A bike lane would narrow the road.

Consider giving State a road diet through the area with a center turn lane. Studies show that having cars turn left out of the left lane (as is the case on much of East State) lead to more rear-end collisions. State would be safer for all with one-lane of traffic and a center turn lane. In addition, roundabouts would keep traffic moving while also slowing it down.

Bike lanes that are just paint on the road are pretty much useless, especially if they are in the door zones of parked cars. Ideally, the city should build protected bike lanes on both Columbia and Lake as well as Tennessee and Vance avenues.

I think a walk light should be added at Lake and Crescent. Cars turning off Crescent onto Lake rarely look right before turning on a red light. I've been nearly hit more than once at that intersection. Plus consider raised crosswalks at the intersection.

This would be much appreciated!

At this time I do not feel these are helpful. It is extremely dangerous to cross at these intersections - if people do attempt to stop and allow someone to cross, others will simply speed around them.

These would be most helpful! I cannot stress enough the absolute need for true crosswalks in this area. Those driving do not pay attention to pedestrians and if they do it is only to speed up as they approach those attempting to cross the street.

Consider reconfiguring Tennessee as a bicycle boulevard. Painted bike lanes or sharrows without other traffic calming are inappropriate.
link

Ensure that all parks in the area have adequate bike parking. Many of the parks are easy to bike to, but are lacking parking infrastructure.

The neighborhood has many immigrants, many spoken languages, and many LGBT+ residents, so these narratives/identities ought to be highlighted through public art at the same time that we celebrate the neighborhood's past.

I think that it would be cool if each of the welcome signs at the gateway locations was different, kind of like how downtown has a variety of murals and it turns into a walking tour. There are different geographic elements, histories, institutions, etc to highlight at each of these gateway locations, so I think that the signs should be different, even though one of the goals is "cohesion."

Spelling, p. 9, s.v 2 GOAL: PROPRETY should be PROPERTY
spelling, p. 10, s.v. 3 GOAL: CULUTURE should be CULTURE

I would include the University of St. Francis among post-secondary institutions with whom to partner.
Overall, this is a noble document; I am grateful for the energy that has gone into it.
Of course, the repeated call throughout to "encourage" particular efforts will necessarily demand leadership called to provide such encouragement, ostensibly through city council representation and other city engagement. I would imagine it important to bounce this draft off city personnel, as well.
I do question the need for branding of the Historic Northeast. To layer this identity atop those of disparate component neighborhoods seems inappropriately controlling and a bit self-serving, establishing another level of hierarchy within the city jurisdiction, distancing citizen from government even further. This may effectively discourage the city from attending to local needs, and would not be a desirable outcome.

I am sure there are benefits to a historic designation; however, what are the drawbacks? As I understand it, the designation comes with rules about what you can not do to the exterior of your home.

Please make the new bus shelters priority #1. That is the equitable thing to do for folks who don't drive.

3.2.6 (the coloring book) is a great idea!

I live on River Forest and the sidewalk isn't a necessity and lack of one a problem. Our road is technically 4 lanes wide. A four way stop at Northlawn and River Forest would be a welcome, less costly addition.
Having a sidewalk on Charlotte by Northside Park would be a great addition to this list.

Please consider replacing the old lighting on St. Joe Blvd. near E. State Blvd, it is old and not reflective to the historic nature of our boulevard (no led lights, too bright for the homes nearby.

Traffic barriers or islands in parking lane where crosswalks are. Dangerous when cars go around the cars that are turning. I’ve almost been hit twice. Cars come flying around those who are turning into the parking lane. Unsafe. At least those islands stop them from doing so. There are some located south of State not sure why they haven’t been put in at every crosswalk on Anthony. Dangerous area to cross with family anywhere on here..

1.4.7 "Promote volunteer citizen engagement in neighborhood crime prevention programs."

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REPLIES
Piper Cohen Jan 19 2024 at 10:17AM on page 5
Suggestion
Putting up more signage from State on California to to Deleware that shows that California is a one way street. We see dozens of cars at high speeds going down the wrong way on California. There is no stop sign at the California and Delaware intersection so when vehicles come the wrong way that could lead to a major accident. Plus this is a school dismissal line up street (Delware) and this is when we see the majority of speeding cars is around dismissal.
0 replies
Peter Hoover Jan 18 2024 at 7:53AM on page 3
Suggestion
Would love to see buffered/protected bike lanes called out. Marked bike lanes are nice but many drivers don't respect them and will drive through them or even park in them if they're not protected in some way
0 replies
Harley Zielinski Jan 17 2024 at 8:20PM on page 1
Suggestion
The sidewalks on the Columbia St bridge are too narrow and are not very safe when heavily populated such as Saturday mornings with residents walking to the Farmers Market. Can the bridge lanes be restricted to one lane per direction to widen sidewalks and improve pedestrian safety. Also as a pedestrian you are trapped on either the north or south side of Columbia where St Joseph intersects. It is not a short detour to safely get to the other side as there is no sidewalk on the West side under the railroad tracks so a pedestrian must go to Lafayette St And circle back in order to get from the Greenway on Edgewater to the Greenway on St Joseph. Can a suspended pedestrian bridge be used as a possible solution or intersection put in to solve this?
0 replies
Brian Schneider Jan 17 2024 at 7:27PM on page 6
Suggestion
Start a gardening club to help plant native trees and native wild flowers. The club could also help our elderly neighbors with their garden upkeep and to help teach others how to maintain an organic, native garden using no pesticides or herbicides
0 replies
Brian Schneider Jan 17 2024 at 7:20PM on page 8
Suggestion
1.4.1. along with street trees, we need to plant 100s of smaller, undergrowth trees. Eastern red buds, crabapples are beautiful and great for pollinators
0 replies
Brian Schneider Jan 17 2024 at 7:13PM on page 6
Suggestion
Need to start removing the Asian Honeysuckle on the Greenway. Going east on the Greenway towards New Haven, has the oldest Honeysuckle I've seen in the city. It's so old, it's formed a canopy
0 replies
Mary Jan 17 2024 at 7:08PM on page 3
Suggestion
Regarding 1.2.4 and 1.2.6, add a stop sign at Kentucky and Nevada Ave to deter excessive speeding. Consider making Kentucky Avenue a one way from State to Tennessee (similar to Alabama Ave and California Ave), to still allow parking on both sides of the street.
0 replies
Brian Schneider Jan 17 2024 at 7:08PM on page 8
Suggestion
The worst part of living on North Anthony is the noise from motorcycles. They are louder than the sirens
0 replies
Laura Ramsey Jan 17 2024 at 3:26PM on page 17
Suggestion
Enhance street parking at Lakeside Park
0 replies
Piper Cohen Jan 19 2024 at 10:17AM
Suggestion
Putting up more signage from State on California to to Deleware that shows that California is a one way street. We see dozens of cars at high speeds going down the wrong way on California. There is no stop sign at the California and Delaware intersection so when vehicles come the wrong way that could lead to a major accident. Plus this is a school dismissal line up street (Delware) and this is when we see the majority of speeding cars is around dismissal.

Putting up more signage from State on California to to Deleware that shows that California is a one way street. We see dozens of cars at high speeds going down the wrong way on California. There is no stop sign at the California and Delaware intersection so when vehicles come the wrong way that could lead to a major accident. Plus this is a school dismissal line up street (Delware) and this is when we see the majority of speeding cars is around dismissal.

Would love to see buffered/protected bike lanes called out. Marked bike lanes are nice but many drivers don't respect them and will drive through them or even park in them if they're not protected in some way

The sidewalks on the Columbia St bridge are too narrow and are not very safe when heavily populated such as Saturday mornings with residents walking to the Farmers Market. Can the bridge lanes be restricted to one lane per direction to widen sidewalks and improve pedestrian safety. Also as a pedestrian you are trapped on either the north or south side of Columbia where St Joseph intersects. It is not a short detour to safely get to the other side as there is no sidewalk on the West side under the railroad tracks so a pedestrian must go to Lafayette St And circle back in order to get from the Greenway on Edgewater to the Greenway on St Joseph. Can a suspended pedestrian bridge be used as a possible solution or intersection put in to solve this?

Start a gardening club to help plant native trees and native wild flowers. The club could also help our elderly neighbors with their garden upkeep and to help teach others how to maintain an organic, native garden using no pesticides or herbicides

1.4.1. along with street trees, we need to plant 100s of smaller, undergrowth trees. Eastern red buds, crabapples are beautiful and great for pollinators

Need to start removing the Asian Honeysuckle on the Greenway. Going east on the Greenway towards New Haven, has the oldest Honeysuckle I've seen in the city. It's so old, it's formed a canopy

Regarding 1.2.4 and 1.2.6, add a stop sign at Kentucky and Nevada Ave to deter excessive speeding. Consider making Kentucky Avenue a one way from State to Tennessee (similar to Alabama Ave and California Ave), to still allow parking on both sides of the street.

The worst part of living on North Anthony is the noise from motorcycles. They are louder than the sirens

Enhance street parking at Lakeside Park