By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
As Grand Junction unveils its proposal to make major changes to 7th Street — citing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists — more than 200 people attended a meeting of City Council in person or virtually last week with about two-thirds of them vehemently opposed to the direction City Council seems determined to pursue.
According to Jim Spehar, a former county commissioner and City Council member, two-thirds of those people were there to protest any more costly changes to Grand Junction roads.
Spehar, in an op-ed to the local legacy newspaper, wrote that more than half of the people in attendance were still outraged over the “experimental pilot project” changes made to 4th and 5th Streets earlier in the year. He advised caution to the Council saying, “Expressed but ignored dissatisfaction with (the 4th and 5th street changes) will likely be a major issue in the City Council elections next year, where at least two of the proponents… will be up for re-election. “
Finalizing his thoughts he wrote, “It just might be time for some dietary alterations in the city’s appetite for experimentation…”
For reference, 7th Street is the feeder road to St. Mary’s Hospital, and the Colorado Mesa University. It is a heavily-used, four-lane road and does have some history of accidents. According to the proposal from the city, they want to take that road down to a two-lane and install bicycle lanes to improve conditions and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.
There are obvious and serious questions concerning the ability for emergency services, such as ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles, to maneuver and access the hospital on the proposed narrowing of the streets, and the impact it would have on response times for emergencies. Emergency responders have expressed concern in prior meetings concerning the 4th, 5th and 7th Street redesign proposals.
Grand Junction Mobility Planner Henry Brown has said in meetings concerning the changes that 7th Street has been identified as one of the highest-priority bicycle and pedestrian corridors in the city, through the city’s pedestrian-bicycle plan.
A light scroll through Councilman Cody Kennedy’s official Facebook page gives insight to how people are feeling about all the changes to the streets of Grand Junction.
Jack Delmore, in a comment on the 7th Street proposal, writes, “Restore 4th and 5th Streets and leave 7th Street alone! Just stop with these wretched re-do’s. Seriously, we are not going to be biking, boarding or ‘scootering’ down to the post office or Main Street anytime soon — so just stop and take those ugly bollards to the landfill ASAP. Thank you, Mr. Spehar and Cody Kennedy for your wisdom and honesty on this continuous bizarre and troubling issue.”
Thom Copp wrote, “The 4th and 5th Street debacle created this congestion. The Grand Junction City Council majority (Democrats) seems intent on pushing vehicular traffic right out of the heart of Grand Junction small businesses.”
Council member Cody Kennedy, who opposes the project said, “I thought the meeting lacked any true engagement with the community. (There) was lots of information shared about the project, but feedback was not on the agenda. I’m hopeful that the city will slow down their push for these changes and rethink their approach.”
Leonard Little opined that it seemed to him this is all a knee-jerk reaction without a real master plan and that he thinks is the “tail wagging the dog.”
William Copperwaite weighed in with his thoughts, writing, “Overall, the Main Street redesign was a positive enhancement. The 4th, 5th and now 7th Street debacle is negatively affecting those businesses’ bottom line, in turn negatively affecting sales tax revenue; all while carrying a $4.7 million price tag.”
One resident made a video complete with a song called “Oh Silly Streets” mocking the Grand Junction City Council “road experiments”. The video has been shared hundreds of times in local area feeds. The video was originally posted on a Facebook page called Advance Grand Junction, who did not identify the author of the song.
As used to be said on the Grand Ole Opry, the first few lines of the song go like this:
“The council said ‘Lets make it grand, take the streets and change the plan’.
They painted lines and took out spots. Now the cars are stuck, tied up in knots.
‘Then bikes and walkers will all appear’, but now the streets are just plain weird.
Oh Silly Streets, what have you done? Nobody’s happy, not anyone.
You made a mess and called it a dream, but all we see is a crazy scheme.
Collecting data they like to say. We all know that it’s just delay.
The experts told them how it would go. But they didn’t listen, they said they know.
Now shoppers are gone and stores feel the pain. It’s hard to believe they call this a gain.
Oh Silly Streets what have you done? No one is happy, not anyone.
You made a mess and called it a dream. But we all see it’s a crazy scheme.