DOWNTOWN RESIDENTS! Voice your opinions on what we need more of!

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by jenni-b

I LOVE this idea!

Turn the Broadway Bridge into a park | Arkansas Blog

I like the idea as a concept but I also think it's probably a bad one overall, unfortunately. Only having a Chester Street bridge will change traffic patterns dramatically, and Broadway is a major thoroughfare, which will almost certainly have an effect on Broadway businesses and create new traffic problems rather than fixing existing ones... I just don't think not having a traffic bridge there is a good idea. I do like the concept of a park bridge, but if they want to do this they should keep it on the table for a bridge they no longer need in the future (therefore, not the Broadway bridge) or they should have done something like this with the pedestrian bridges they already built/converted. AHTD will, and probably should, kill this idea, but I hope they'll be open to it the future for future bridges in Arkansas.

[jenni-b]

I actually think moving the bridge to Chester Street would improve the traffic flow considerably. traffic backs up across the river every day at the traffic light at Broadway and, um, Broadway, due to all the people trying to turn left to get onto Pike. the Chester Street bridge would deposit people directly onto Pike, through the roundabout, and merrily on their way.

of course, some might argue that we should build the Chester Street bridge AND keep the Broadway bridge open to traffic, to facilitate travel across the river even further. and I suppose they might be right about that. I'm not sure where the money would come from, though, to build two new bridges, and a more efficient bridge at Chester will improve traffic flow regardless of whether Broadway is torn down and rebuilt so cars can stack up across it once again.

as for Broadway businesses, many of them, as well as their neighbors on both ends of the bridge, already get more business from pedestrians than they do from car-bound commuters. Dickey-Stephens Park, Verizon Arena, the Argenta Arts District, Robinson Auditorium, the Pulaski County Courthouse, Little Rock District and Traffic Courts, City Hall: it all adds up to a lot of foot traffic in the area of this bridge, and rerouting the high-volume, cross-river traffic a few blocks down to Chester would allow these business's customers to get to them more easily and more safely.

and you know, it would just be such a shame for something so historic and iconic to this city to be replaced with something as nondescript and uninspiring as the Main Street bridge. which is exactly what will happen despite their charade of letting the public choose the design. as far as the Junction and Clinton bridges, they are former railroad bridges and don't have the width necessary to serve as a park-like space. Broadway, for so many reasons, is the obvious and best choice.

SAVE THE BROADWAY BRIDGE!

[MessiahAndrw]

Personally, I would love to see a pedestrian zone. I have moved here from Australia, and I do enjoy it here, but Little Rock has very deserted sidewalks, and no core
'heart'. Back home, any decent sized city would have some sort of pedestrian sonze with dozens of department stores, food courts, street performers, and thousands of specialty shops;



I don't think it's a population issue, since I have seen towns with only 100,000 have very strong pedestrian zones. I think the problem with LR currently is when a new store opens up (e.g. Target), they tend to build it out in the suburbs rather than downtown. I think if we attracted stores downtown (specialty stores, department stores, food courts, shopping arcades, etc.) we would get more foot traffic which would make a pedestrian zone more viable.

Don't take this the wrong way. I enjoy it here and went out of my way to move here, and only offer this as a suggestion if something we could build here.

[MessiahAndrw]

In reply to those about the cost of living downtown - it's so high because there's demand for it. It usually just takes a while for supply to catch up.

[careerbound]

I disagree with the having housing in downtown for 500 and below. Yes you want to attract people to living in downtown, but not jus anyone. I say at lowest 500 and that is the outer rim on own town. For where little rock is as a city development wise. I say rent ranging from 700 to 1500 maybe a little higher get more restaurants downtown, maybe some retail and other things that will bring more people to downtown little rock on a daily basis.the river market district is really old I like it a lot, but it cold be better.(not taking away for ow awesome it is though.) little rock maybe small but with a little more retail development and things to do it could hang wit some bigger cities. It is on the right path and I can wait to see what little rock brings in the future. You have great out door life hiking hunting.(I'm not a hunter) food since is actually good for little rocks size, but I would like to see a Cheesecake Factory or something in that category. (I'm aware that cope lands is the closest thing and its good, but everybody loves Cheesecake Factory.)