JUST A THOUGHT : If I were king
Posted on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/64880/
Suppose I were king of Fayetteville, and Karon Reese of the Washington-Willow Neighborhood Association came up to me while I was holding court at my favorite restaurant in Fayetteville (Hugo’s ) while sitting at my favorite table (You know, the one in the corner where if you look up you can see potential customers walking overhead as they traverse Block Avenue ).
And suppose she said to me, “ Your majesty, your humble servants have a simple request. It’s come to my attention that some people don’t want to live where I live, and I tend to agree with them. Why ? Lafayette Street, one of the oldest roads in Fayetteville, has become a speedway for drivers. All day long inconsiderate dolts race from one side of town to the other, straight through the place my family calls home. As you can imagine, it is very aggravating. Please help Fayetteville residents find a different way to reach the University of Arkansas, or Mission Boulevard, or wherever they happen to be going that keeps them away from our quiet neighborhood. Heck, make the road more narrow if need be. Just do something. Much obliged, your royal highness. ”
Between finishing off an order of the best hot wings in the world (Hugo’s took them off the menu a couple years ago but, happily, all you have to do is ask and they’ll still serve them to you ) and awaiting the arrival of the always delicious Derek’s Special, I suppose I’d reply to her request by saying a couple things.
First, I’d express my disdain for narrowing a city street that once upon a time was built to serve citizens everywhere (not just residents in that relatively affluent neighborhood ) for the express purpose of moving traffic across town in a timely fashion. I’d remind Reese that just because an idea seems reasonable to residents of the Washington-Willow Neighborhood Association doesn’t necessarily make it sensible for other Fayetteville residents. I’d put forward a reminder that traffic exists to move — not to become bottlenecked. I’d tell Karon Reese that using the Transportation Division to cut up a major city street for the personal satisfaction of scores of residents, and not the other 68, 000 who also call Fayetteville home, is downright silly.
Having said that — and being the sort of king who takes the happiness of his subjects seriously — I’d make Reese a sweet deal. I’d decree (moments before contemplating whether I ought to order dessert ) that she get her every wish. Narrow Lafayette Street ? Leave cars parked on the curbside, thus making driving this strip of pavement even less inviting ? Fantastic.
But on one condition.
That I, as king, receive the endorsement of the Washington-Willow Neighborhood Association to recreate West Lafayette Street into a boulevard that does honor to the entire community.
Today, West Lafayette Street is serviceable, but it could be so much more. Besides the street’s namesake, the path ought to have a tree-lined median running all the way from College Avenue to Arkansas Avenue. Cars that currently clutter the path and force drivers to dodge and weave ought to be banned from parking there (especially as the street steadily narrows the closer to campus one gets ).
Additionally, the bridge that passes over the Arkansas-Missouri railroad line at the intersection of Lafayette and Gregg Avenue is a daily embarrassment. It looks terrible. People have been talking about fixing what ought to be a gorgeous bridge for years, but nothing has ever come of it. It just sits there, day after day, slowly falling apart. Heck, a simple paint job would help immeasurably.
Sadly, nobody seems to care about saving that poor old bridge — or making the western part of Lafayette Street what it should have become years ago: an introduction to the beauty and wonder of the University of Arkansas. Dickson Street may very well be the most famous street Fayetteville has to offer guests. But no street deposits visitors onto the Old Main lawn the way Lafayette Street does. It’s a beautiful old street, and it deserves to be shown off to the world.
Would it cost money to build wide sidewalks on either side ? To create that pretty tree-lined median ? To repair that old bridge ? Of course it would. Would the neighbors complain ? No doubt about it. In the end, though, it would definitely be worth the trouble.
As much as I (grudgingly ) support narrowing certain city streets if it means allowing older neighborhoods to remain as a place where families can be unafraid to put down roots over the course of decades, cities such as this one should be unafraid to make it easier for traffic to move along important streets (like West Lafayette Street ) simply because they happen to border an older, more established neighborhood.
Of course, back in reality, the city of Fayetteville gave the Washington-Willow Neighborhood Association everything it asked for regarding East Lafayette Street without also gaining permission to turn West Lafayette into a gorgeous space that could maybe, just maybe, relieve some of the pressure nearly always present on Dickson Street and Maple Street. Doing so would have been a good thing.
Oh, well. If only I were king.
Scott Shackelford is editorial page editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times. His column appears on Tuesdays.