Two Lanes and Back up Parking? Not Gonna Work!
Is the city seriously considering changing Main and Broadway to two lanes downtown and putting in back up diagonal parking? I have to plead ignorant when it comes to city politics, so I'm hoping I'm off base here and this whole thing is just a rumor. However, if there is any truth to it, here is why I don't think it's a very good idea.
To begin with we need three lanes downtown for obvious reasons, the delivery trucks. As far as backing into those diagonal parking spots at the park plaza, well....where do I begin. First of all I have to say that I was against the whole park plaza renovation. However, the end result isn't half bad and in time as the trees get bigger, it's going to keep getting better. So I am willing to eat a little crow on that one. But those back in parking spaces, I think they were a mistake and the city really should change them.
When you have to back in, that means you have to come to a complete stop, stopping any traffic behind you while you back in. If they were diagonal the opposite way, you could just pull in without disrupting traffic as much. When your ready to leave, you just wait until there's no cars coming and then back out. Plus, when you are backing in, the way they are now, you are maneuvering against the car parked next to you and if your under pressure because of the cars that are stopped waiting for you, there's a better chance of scrapping the car you are backing up against. If the parking spots were facing the other way so that you could just pull straight in, then when you are backing out, you are swinging the rear end of your car out into wide open space as opposed to somebodies side door.
Downtown is fine just the way it is. Granted, it needs more parking options but getting rid of the middle lane to create them makes no sense at all. Would it help the downtown merchants if cars started avoiding driving into and thru town because of the congested traffic? Automobiles could no longer flow with the timed traffic signals because of the congestion caused by delivery trucks. There would be more fender benders because of people's anxiety in trying to get around the stopped trucks. Even if you got rid of the delivery trucks, the traffic is still going to be stopped waiting on cars to back into the diagonal parking spots.
Chico only has two routes where traffic can flow relatively smooth. One is the freeway and the other is The Esplanade because of the timed traffic signals. Turn downtown into two lanes and you take away one of our two smooth traffic routes. In reality, you waste a bunch of money because the whole idea wouldn't work and it would only be a matter of time until the city would have to turn things back to the way they are now.