Originally Posted by
swingline
You are perpetuating a false narrative. The traffic circle and the sheds did not result from any professional recommendation that traffic calming was necessary to boost walkability. Kercheval Ave. did not need calming. The existing scale of the ROW and the very low vehicle speeds in the four block commercial district already made for an ideal mix of pedestrian and vehicle uses. Remove or drastically reduce the vehicles and you sap energy and customers from the district. The only thing this ill-advised infrastructure expenditure achieved for Grosse Pointe Park was a cheap home for its Farmers’ Market for a couple dozen days a year while at the same time creating a permanent physical obstacle to the successful redevelopment of the Detroit side of Kercheval Ave. The negotiated partial restoration of the Kercheval Ave. traffic lanes is an insufficient resolution but is likely the best compromise possible. In order to save face, GPP’s leadership was never going to completely back away from its bone-headed decision.