This is the NW 8th Avenue Stroad, between NW 6th Street and Main. It is quite possibly the dumbest Stroad in Gainesville.
Why dumb? Because the sole ‘utility’ of a stroad is to move large numbers of cars as fast as possible through the urban landscape.
And this stroad certainly does that…for precisely six blocks. West of 6th Street 8th turns into a traffic-calmed two-land road. East of Main Street ditto.
So what do we as a community give up as the price of moving a lot of cars fast for just six blocks?
This stretch of 8th Avenue is known primarily for its empty buildings and desolate landscapes.
Separated by just a handful of businesses.
And half a dozen or so homes in various states of repair.
And the absence of street life in any meaningful sense of the phrase.
Which is hardly surprising. A sterile car corridor offers virtually no reason for people to want to congregate there. This ‘destination’ is no destination at all.
It is, simply, hostile territory to be gotten through as quickly as possible. Preferably in a car.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. This stroad can be redesigned into a “Complete Street” easily and relatively cheaply.
But, really, why bother? Why not just leave it alone.
Well, for one thing, this stroad cuts like an asphalt knife between two vital neighborhoods. To the north is Grove Street, which is shaping up as a hotbed of local entrepreneurship.
And to the south is Pleasant Street, one of Gainesville’s traditional African-American neighborhoods which is in the process of revitalizing itself.
Converting the 8th Ave. Stroad from a non-place to a place would bring these two neighborhoods together and help create a new epicenter for human-centered economic opportunity in Gainesville’s urban core.
Instead of this.
We could chose something like this.
Or this.
Slowing down cars, or ‘calming traffic’ is key to unlocking the economic potential of this long overlooked corridor.
We know how to do it. And the benefits are undeniable.
We can change the 8th Avenue paradigm.
Whatever its original intent, the 8th Avenue Stroad is a failed experiment in both urban mobility and urban renewal.
Dare to imagine a better future in place of the 8th Avenue Stroad.
FreeGNV 