Gazette: Data Collected on Downtown Better Block Experiment

Published in The Gazette | September 24, 2012 | Written by Rich Laden 

A 24-hour experiment to gauge the public’s reaction to traffic and parking restrictions on Pikes Peak Avenue is over, and proponents now will assemble data they’ve collected to present to downtown advocacy groups and perhaps the Colorado Springs City Council.

Better Block Pikes Peak, a volunteer effort coordinated with city government officials, took place from noon Friday to noon Saturday last week along Pikes Peak Avenue, between Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street downtown. Traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction, while parking spaces along a median were blocked off to cars.

The goal was to see how pedestrians and motorists responded to the temporary restrictions and possibly use that information as part of urban and traffic planning efforts around the city.

Supporters felt the effort was a success, mainly because they received a lot of input from members of the public — both positive and negative, said John Olson, a coordinator of the Better Block effort and managing partner of EVstudio Planning in Colorado Springs. “It’s all good information,” Olson said of the comments they received. “It’s data that we need and it’s one experiment so that we can learn from it, and hopefully as a city, it’s helpful.”


Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/experiment-145032-block-hour.html#ixzz27n7WOFWR