Words on the Street
You might remember a couple months ago the city approved the addition of North Third Street to the downtown TIF district, administered by the Downtown Development Authority. Simply put, that means more financial resources will be available for improvements to North Third, which should make locals happy. While the immediate downtown area anchors our commercial community, North Third is where we find many businesses owned by our neighbors and frequented by our residents.
Though visible improvements won’t be immediate, some exciting ideas are on the table. DDA Executive Director Tara Laase-McKinney explains… “A lot of the plans we have for Third Street include: Wayfinding (for the entire district, Third Street included), a Third Street gateway feature, general streetscape improvements (street trees, landscaping, street-side furniture, burying utilities, etc.), focusing on connecting Third Street with the new development at the former MGH hospital site, and a parking analysis specific to Third Street to help better manage parking, to name a few.”
I like every one of those ideas. Currently, North Third is an unfinished gem. Individual businesses have really stepped up and improved their game, and now the city can add the complementary features that will make the eleven-block stretch of North Third a truly welcoming destination.
Words off the Street
If you plan on leaving the house at all this summer, you’re sure to be interested in what’s happening on Marquette’s streets. In addition to a considerable increase in automobile traffic, due to our Queen City’s current “destination” status, our sidewalks and multi-use paths will experience similar congestion.
Between walkers, runners, one-wheelers, bikers, e-bikers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, and every other mode of non-vehicular transportation, off-street over-use is sure to be a concern. City officials are not unaware of safety issues and how to accommodate a growing number of residents and visitors who prefer to leave the car behind.
The city’s Traffic & Parking Advisory Committee, the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, along with city leaders, planners, and engineers, have the task of figuring out how to facilitate the new order.
Unfortunately, though questions about how to ensure our multi-use paths remain accessible and user friendly are plentiful, answers are harder to come by. While we’d love more and wider paths, there’s only so much space available for such innovations. And when you combine those challenges with the need to integrate all that movement into a system initially designed for our four-wheeled friends… well, you’re probably not going to make everybody happy.
Improvements won’t come in one fell swoop. Rather they’ll be piece by piece, a little here and a little there. One example would be the intersection of the path and the road at Wright Street and Industrial Parkway. The proposal on the table is to move the path away from the street intersection and add an island in the middle as well as a user-controlled crossing light. One small step in the right direction.
Beyond structural modifications like that, other changes to the multi-use path network might include better signage along with stricter rules enforcement. Until then, it’ll be up to users to understand that our paths are going to be crowded and navigation will at times be challenging. Without a total redo of the multi-use path system, the remedy might just be simple courtesy. It can’t hurt to try.
Friends… and How to Make Them
A recent Facebook post on the What’s UP Marquette site caught my eye, as well as the eye of dozens of others. The poster was wondering… other than “walking up to someone at a bar,” where is one supposed to meet people?
Though she qualified it as a “dumb question,” it probably rang true with more than a few people. Those who are a little more gregarious and flush with friends might find it odd that someone would struggle meeting new people, and the loneliness that comes from social isolation, but it’s probably more common than many of us realize. One study showed that about 40% of Americans reported regularly feeling lonely. So… what to do?
Comments following the original post were sincere and hopefully helpful. Suggestions included going to church, joining a gym, or pursuing a hobby that would require personal interaction. But I think the best ideas were those that suggested volunteering. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that every non-profit organization in town would welcome any lonely heart willing to help out.
It shouldn’t be that hard to find a cause or event that hits home with what you might find important or interesting. Or you could look into joining one of our many community service clubs. Or apply to be on one of our city advisory committees. As I said, anyone who steps forward to assist by volunteering would be immediately welcomed to join the team, and ultimately accepted as a friend.
Of course, if all that fails… you can always fall back on that bar thing.