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Streets near new village stay two-way By MELISSA MARTIN Fir and Front streets will reach McAndrews Road and Central Avenue and remain two-way streets that offer another route across town, planners and downtown merchants agreed this week. The new street that will follow the railroad tracks in downtown Medford - Evergreen Way - will also be two-way, concluded the 30 people who attended a workshop sponsored by Medford Urban Renewal Agency. The workshop was the final meeting before the Evergreen/In Town Village project is forwarded to the Planning Commission in December. In Town Village is a 20-block neighborhood bordered by Front, Fifth and Jackson streets and Oakdale Avenue. Evergreen is a new street that will be built along the railroad tracks between Jackson and 10th streets. "To get 30 people on a project like this is a good turnout," said Mark Broder, a principal with Urban Design Studios/RBF Consulting, the Irvine, Calif., firm that led the workshop. "The folks that attended were primarily the core group who have been attending the previous workshops." The group's consensus was to keep Fir two-way and extend it to McAndrews near Sage Road. Front will remain two-way and connect with Central, said Eric Iversen, senior planner for the urban renewal agency. The group also decided to use design methods on Evergreen that will encourage slow-moving traffic, about 15 mph, Iversen said. Evergreen's width will vary from 49 to 65 feet because of the shape of the city's right of way, Iversen said. At the widest parts, Evergreen will have parallel parking on one side and 90-degree, head-in parking on the other side. The more narrow portions of Evergreen will have parallel parking only. Evergreen's design includes trees, pedestrian-scale lighting, benches, garbage cans and walkways similar to the sidewalks masons are building on Central Avenue. Participants at Monday's workshop also agreed to zone In Town Village a transit-oriented district, allowing for home/office combinations, multiple-family and single-family housing, artist studios and other uses, Iversen said. "In a transit-oriented district, you wouldn't see outdoor storage of materials," he said. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail mmartin@mailtribune.com |
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