Danger Zone: Improvement or impairment?

An unanticipated effect, however, is seen at 6th and State, where southbound drivers come to the stop at State from one of the steepest approaches in town — 6th between Oak and State. It’s one of Hood River’s little slices of San Francisco, and it can be tricky to stop there under the best of circumstances.

The downward pitch of the street, compared with the angle of State, has always created a visibility issue for drivers stopped on the hill and looking west.

It’s considerably worse now with the plaza and its elements at the northwest corner of the intersection.

The Urban Renewal changes look and feel nice, but what the city installed is more impairment than improvement.

A driver has highly limited visibility looking west, even when pulling well into the east-west crosswalk, if there are vehicles parked on the north side of State. That blockage, combined with the railing, trash can, and even drinking fountain, create a visual bulk that at times makes it all but impossible to see what is coming without entering the street itself.

Given that the plaza’s very purpose is to attract and serve pedestrians, this creates an impediment for people on foot, as well as for drivers.

THE FIX:

You can’t undo the plaza, but at the very least the trash can could be shifted, and a lower railing would help. The drinking fountain should be repositioned, too, and while there is a cost involved, it could be lessened if done while the Crestline Construction crew is still working on the public restrooms at Third Street.

The immediate solution is to prohibit parking in at least the two closest spaces. Yes, downtown parking is already a premium, but public safety should come first. (There is no loss of revenue involved given that these have been metered spaces for only a few weeks.)

Vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic will pick up in a matter of weeks. Actual congestion should not be aggravated by visual congestion, which is what exists now.