2.0. HRSR 03-10-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ties: Sunny Fresh, a division of Cargill, produces egg products for the food service industry in the heart of the community. • Surrounding all this, and at times mixed in with it all, is a mix of residential uses. Apartments and single family homes create a strong sense of neighbor- hood immediately next to the commercial and industrial uses. Housing stock • ranges from traditional older homes overlooking the river.to those in need of significant attention, but still the sense of neighborhood prevails. t:> ,*"'t� This area abounds in disparate uses, potential conflicts created by industrial operations next to homes and businesses, small shops working to survive while _._ __ _ - • the mall struggles, the river yearning for more attention from the nearby stores Interstate 94... and offices. Yet there is a richness in this diversity that cannot be found in the . Near 1-94, it is possible to see the suburbs; it is truly a characteristic of a small town. watertower in downtown. But things get in the way — things that do not reflect anything of Monticello. This Traffic seems to pour into the downtown from every direction. More than ten area should reinforce downtown, thousand cars per day flow past the intersection of Broadway and Pine Street; drawing people into the community, traffic on Pine Street is projected to continue to increase in volume, and even showing them that Monticello is a river town,and creating a character at anticipated improvements that might seem to relieve traffic levels will only 1-94 that is more of this place than just bring the volumes down to the design capacity of the roadway. Traffic signals any place. at Seventh Street, Pine Street and River Street provide a few breaks, but between the lights it is often difficult for pedestrian crossings. Traffic speeds on Broadway, especially east of downtown, hardly seem in character with the neighborhoods and institutions that line the street; any solu- tion that looks to preserve the qualities of Monticello's downtown and river- front would be remiss if this situation was not corrected. If Broadway and Pine are the major through routes, local streets seem almost devoid of traffic in comparison. Walnut Street parallels Pine Street and reach- es from Seventh Street to Broadway without interruption. Traffic on this street r•"c moves at rates that are at odds with its local character, but it is an easy route -•: 4'11111.7:_ ,�. through the community for local drivers. :•••" - • ^; While the traffic seems to be a burden, it is that same traffic that retailers look to for their success. An analysis of traffic patterns even tends to indicate that Outlying areas... traffic is mostly local -- that is, it originates in communities surrounding • oDowtns townn Monticello does fnot exist Monticello and has Monticello as its destination. This maynot hold true for larger commt i a center a a me larger community. As areas evolve summer weekend traffic, but traffic, as a whole, must be recognized for its from traditional agricultural uses to good and bad points. new uses, there will still be a need for a center of community to maintain the qualities of small town living that A new pathway links the west and east ends of the community and provides a attract new residents. To balance great way for bikers and pedestrians to reach the center of town. those qualities with an expected level ofNeighborhood streets forcepedestrians onto the streets as there are few side- Monticello's servicewill u be vital to downtown g success. walks in these areas. As downtown's vitality grows and more people walk to downtown, sidewalks in neighborhoods will become a necessity. In considering the stock of buildings in downtown, we are tempted to look for gems. We will not find such buildings in downtown Monticello; they have either been disguised by new fronts or maybe they never had a "gem" quality. _ A New Bridge • Revitalizing Monticello's Downtown and Rlverfront - Page 1:13