The opportunity to reimagine Broadway remains open.
At least for certain segments of the $5 million traffic initiative that city officials have been developing over nearly two years.
Following a presentation by Alexander Train, the city’s assistant director of planning and director, the City Council issued a mixed verdict on Monday evening regarding the Reimagining Broadway downtown traffic proposal.
The project’s most contentious element—converting Broadway between Bellingham Square and Chelsea Square from one-way to two-way traffic with enhanced smart signalization at multiple intersections—was referred back to the Traffic and Parking Commission for further work.
The Council narrowly rejected the Bellingham Square improvement plans but approved two other sections of the initiative affecting Fay and Chelsea Squares.
Multiple brief recesses punctuated the Reimagining Broadway discussion as Councillors conferred in groups about the legality of the voting procedure and the implications of a divided vote for the full project. Beginning in early 2017, city officials launched Reimagining Broadway to enhance downtown streets for drivers, walkers, and transit users.
District 5 Councillor Judith Garcia noted that during one recess, the City’s legal counsel was consulted to confirm whether the Council could legally divide the Reimagining Broadway vote into four sections. The legal counsel and most councillors determined that modifications beyond the presented sections would not be legally permissible.
As the evening concluded, uncertainty lingered about what the Council had actually decided.
“I just want to be clear on what the Council voted on,” District 8 Councillor Calvin Brown remarked as Council President Damali Vidot ended the roughly two-hour session.
“I’m not diminishing the hard work of the City staff, but I am asking that they go back to the drawing board and come back with options A, B, and C,” Vidot stated, having voted against each section.
Vidot expressed discomfort with approving Reimagining Broadway incrementally without understanding the full project’s direction.
“I don’t know what it means to approve one part and deny another,” she explained.
According to Vidot, returning to the planning phase would better enable outreach to Chelsea residents.
“Let’s reach out and do a better job,” she noted. “We can do better, let’s go back to the drawing board.”
Garcia, however, argued that implementation should begin now, particularly regarding constituent safety.
“I am excited to bring change to Broadway and hopeful of the possibilities it can create in the downtown,” Garcia stated. “But one of the key messages we keep forgetting is safety.”
She highlighted the traffic signal planned for 272 Broadway, a senior and handicapped housing facility, as a key safety improvement.
“That is a dangerous intersection,” she added. “When I ran for election in 2015, I promised to try to make is safer for them. Today, what we are being presented with is a concept. What we are voting on today is not set in stone.”
Train emphasized during his remarks that the Council was approving only conceptual designs.
“There will be more engineering and design details in preparation for construction,” he explained. The subsequent phase would allow additional public participation and address phasing strategies to reduce construction disruptions for businesses and residents.
ONE WAY OR TWO?
The most contentious debate centered on converting Broadway from one-way to two-way between Bellingham Square and Chelsea Square.
Train presented two options.
The recommended version featured 11-½ foot lanes in each direction with sidewalks and parking on both sides. The alternative included a single travel lane with sidewalks, parking, and a dedicated bike lane.
Several councillors, including Vidot, worried that two-way conversion would increase rather than decrease dangers for pedestrians and drivers.
Long-time Chelsea residents and councillors Leo Robinson and Giovanni Recupero disagreed even on whether the road was safe during its two-way period in the 1960s.
Robinson, supporting the two-way proposal, recalled growing up on Broadway with good traffic flow.
Recupero countered that reverting to the past would worsen current conditions.
“My constituents do not want it and say it is crazy with traffic already,” he said. “It didn’t work then and I don’t think it will work now.”
Some legal debate involved Councillor-at-Large Roy Avellaneda attempting to remove certain proposal language, essentially maintaining one-way traffic while incorporating Train’s traffic signals and other improvements.
“I do not want to support a two-way Broadway, but the residents need and deserve the traffic lights,” Avellaneda stated.
Following consultation with the city solicitor, the Council determined that Avellaneda’s language removal constituted an amendment to the proposal.
Both Reimagining Broadway sections will return to the Traffic and Parking Commission for revision before Council reconsideration.