Transit officials said Tuesday that they want to be proactive in saving a downtown streetcar system that is in danger of a significant reduction under a proposal to widen Interstate 30 through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.
The state Highway and Transportation Department's estimated $600 million project to widen I-30 from six lanes to 10 includes reworking a key interchange in downtown Little Rock for pedestrian safety, a plan that wouldn't accommodate the Metro Streetcar system on the east side of the interstate.
That portion of the streetcar system serves the Clinton Presidential Center and Heifer International, two popular stops for downtown visitors. The streetcar system, formerly River Rail, opened in November 2004. The Phase 2 section that extended service from Little Rock's River Market District to east of I-30 began in 2007.
Options under the proposal include removing that part of the streetcar line, relocating the streetcar section that is east of I-30, or modifying the interchange's plans to accommodate streetcars. Removing the route, the preference of highway officials, would mean repaying millions of dollars in Federal Transit Administration funds spent to construct the rail line.
"The major focus for us is to modify this intersection to accommodate rail," said Jarod Varner, executive director of Rock Region Metro, formerly Central Arkansas Transit Authority, which manages the streetcar system and metro bus routes.
As part of the I-30 improvements, increased traffic flow would be directed to LaHarpe Boulevard, West Second Street and President Clinton Avenue in downtown Little Rock. An earlier plan opposed by the city and others would have increased traffic without making improvements at LaHarpe Boulevard/Cumberland Street and its intersection with President Clinton Avenue/East Markham Street.
The intersection is a major part of the River Market District, which contains shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment and tourism venues, all of which produce pedestrian traffic. Traffic exiting I-30 and going west passes through the intersection and onto LaHarpe Boulevard and Cantrell Road (Arkansas 10), and many motorists leaving downtown access I-30 from there.
The latest proposal would channel the traffic exiting I-30 down West Second Street. The plans also show a widening of West Second to three lanes.
Varner encouraged board members to attend a public meeting on the project from 4-7 p.m. Thursday in the gymnasium of Friendly Chapel Church of the Nazarene, 116 Pine St., in North Little Rock. The meeting is set as a come-and-go "open house" with no formal presentations scheduled.
People can visit during the scheduled hours to view maps and exhibits and to comment or ask questions about the I-30 project. The project includes widening the interstate to 10 lanes at some points and replacing the I-30 bridge over the Arkansas River.
The meeting is part of an environmental review phase of the project that requires engineers to further evaluate the initial recommendation and an alternative, which would limit the I-30 widening to eight lanes instead of 10.
Varner said his agency has heard positive feedback from the community about retaining streetcar service on I-30's east side. Board members will be supplied with "talking points" before Thursday's public meeting, Varner said.
"We need to voice our concerns and our opinions," Rock Region board Chairman Allie Freeman said.
Board member Jimmy Moses said the transit agency needs to do more than just react to the engineers' proposal. He recommended working with the Downtown Little Rock Partnership to create a plan for the city's future that would include the streetcar's future.
"We should show how the streetcar should relate to the highway system," Moses said. "I think we have an incredible opportunity to rethink how the streetcar system operates downtown.
"If we don't move fairly quickly to come up with a strategy, I don't think we can defend ourselves very well," Moses added. "We have to act and be proactive as a board and as an organization. Then, at the right time, we can come back and take action as a board."
The environmental review includes recommendations for interchange designs and the location for ramps and interchanges, along with the potential effect on businesses and other interests within a 6.7-mile corridor of I-30. The corridor reaches from Interstate 530 in Little Rock to Interstate 40 in North Little Rock and includes a small section of I-40 between I-30 and U.S. 67/167 in North Little Rock.
The I-30 corridor and the river bridge carry 125,000 vehicles per day, according to Highway Department traffic figures. More information on the project is available at connectingarkansasprogram.com.
Metro on 10/21/2015