Conceptual Lanes in the Arts District

By Ed Fuentes
Published: Thursday, May 08, 2008, at 06:30PM

Ed Fuentes

Two cars traveling north in the wrong lane of construction-confused Santa Fe at 2nd street.

If you're driving on Santa Fe, make sure you pay attention. Traffic lanes were repainted yesterday as part of work to widen the First Street Bridge and accommodate the Eastside Gold Line extension, and early results suggest they may not be clear to everyone.

This afternoon saw several cars head north in the southbound lane, not sure what to make of the variety of cones and stripes.

Hopefully Metro and DOT will get the situation cleaned up and made less confusing soon, as widening work will surely take a bit to be completed.

Comments

view from another nearby loft writes:

yeah, I came really close to getting hit by a car on my bicycle yesterday as I tried to navigate this mess of painted lines, cones, signs, and cars going way too fast through all of it.

# on May.09.2008 AT 02:15 AM

David Kennedy writes:

I noticed this change earlier this week. I drive through her every morning and afternoon during the week. Yeah, it is slightly confusing.

Does anyone know if they are truly widening the bridge or simply strengthening it to accomodate the Gold Line trains?

# on May.09.2008 AT 10:06 AM

Eric Richardson writes:

David: They're widening. That project has been going on for a while now. They'll be rebuilding that north face of the bridge to its historic specs, but wider.

# on May.09.2008 AT 10:22 AM

brady westwater writes:

Does anyone know the fate of the historic warehouse at the base of the bridge that has to be at least partially demolished? Will the city save the rest of this very important buiding?

# on May.09.2008 AT 11:58 AM

Eric Richardson writes:

The city has acquired the property and will be tearing down the portion needed for widening and then reconstructing the exterior wall. As of a meeting several months back they were totally unsure what to do with the building afterward.

# on May.09.2008 AT 12:26 PM

Josh Hodas writes:

Are they definitely still planning to keep the building? Last I heard (purely on the rumor grapevine from former residents) they had determined there was no way to keep the building structurally sound given the necessary demolition of a 30 foot chunk of it.

Also, does anyone know why the city found it necessary to stripe the lanes such that we lost ALL parking on that stretch of Santa Fe between 1st and 2nd, even spots several hundred feet from the bridge.

Parking in the neighborhood has instantly turned into a nightmare with the loss of about 40 or 50 spots in one shot.

# on May.13.2008 AT 07:48 PM