Drivers, bikers and pedestrians may want to steer clear of the latest iteration of the section of Havana St. between MLK and 26th Ave. The latest version, it’s 14th to date, features two concrete medians with signs on them intended to slow traffic and keep bikers and vehicles separated. The problem is, the new design is actually less safe than the very first version of nothing. “No chance a car doesn’t hit that thing within the first month,” said Eastbridge resident Ryan Sovran. “You can’t tell at first if it’s trying to separate turning vehicles from those going straight. For those who can tell, that median causes people turning to make a pretty wide turn, risking hitting someone coming from 27th St.” Other dangers exist for vehicles as well, as pointed out by resident Dennis Richardson. “The sign may give some drivers the impression you are supposed to stop or yield for pedestrians there,” said Richardson. “It is a perfect storm for someone to stop and then get rear ended by the car speeding through behind them. I really don’t understand what they are trying to do there.” And it’s not just motor vehicles that are in danger. Bikers and pedestrians are also concerned with the new constructs.
“The bike lane kind of veers off suddenly right,” says Troy Brohman. “It will be easy to have someone from the cross street be looking for traffic but not look in the bike lane. I can see someone pulling out and hitting a biker crossing on the oddly placed bike lane.” For walkers, they are questioning where they wait. “Do we cross to the median, then go?” asked Sandy Marcks. “Or do we stay on the side of the street? Will people see us and then stop, or are we supposed to make sure there aren’t any cars? It’s really confusing.” City officials seem to be settled on this “final” version. “We have a strong feeling this will be the last or at least second to last version of that section,” said city engineer Craig Elijah. “We didn’t necessarily consider safety in the design, but we did like the difficulty and expense of creating the medians. Plus, it was one of the only things we hadn’t put there yet.” The Stapletonion will keep you posted on the next version, but until then, try not to drive on Havana St. between 26th and MLK.