A Grand Boulevard for Columbia: Assembly Street Improvements

[sojay]

I think removing the 4 lanes of parking will already do a great job, especially with substantial greenery to bring it to a human scale. The red light phases are really long for pedestrians and there is no shade at all. I agree that the new parking garages that seem to be popping up like crazy could eliminate parking needs on Assembly. I also agree that the eyesore that Assembly currently is in that area could turn around and become an asset if it is made into a grand boulevard. Hmm, thinking Champs Elys

[Spartan]

Interesting idea. If you going to sink the road then you may as well go ahead and cover up. Make a tunel out of it. The problem then becomes how to get out of that tunnel and into the city without a massive overhaul of the city streets.

I think Columbia ned to make better use of its grid. Some traffic on Assembly could be routed down Sumter St to access Elmwood. Its not as heavily used as Assembly, Huger, or Bull. Laruel Street is another significant thorugh street that is not used to is fullest. It connects from Huger all the way to Two Notch if I'm not mistaken. Send people coming from the eastern part of the city up Sumter and down Laurel to access Huger/and the 126 intersection. Time the lights to make it possible to do.

[TheCarolinaKing]

I say get rid of the streed parking in the middle , green it up, leave the individual lanes wide (i love that about columbia and that was one of the original calling cards for the city) syncronize the lights, and maybe increase size of cross walks and time for walking. oh and i know i mentioned tunnels, but what i meant was a walking tunnel like that between the law school and the collosium.

[Infinite1]

Washington, DC has alot of grade separated (ie sunken) interchanges. I don't think Huger is a good candidate for that though.

[TheCarolinaKing]

I didnt like the sunken streets in DC, they really got on my nerves!

[krazeeboi]

They can most certainly be confusing, but what really gets me are the traffic circles. They are SO confusing to navigate, and on top of that you've got to get used to the traffic lights being attached to a pole on the corner instead of overhead.

[Charleston native]

I say get rid of the streed parking in the middle , green it up, leave the individual lanes wide (i love that about columbia and that was one of the original calling cards for the city) syncronize the lights, and maybe increase size of cross walks and time for walking. oh and i know i mentioned tunnels, but what i meant was a walking tunnel like that between the law school and the collosium.

Obviously, none of you guys take classes at USC during the day or try to find parking there as a graduate student. These ideas you suggest wreak of total disregard for the amount of students that have to park near USC for 1 or 2 classes a day, especially for a shorter period of time. Are these new parking garages going to be metered (they should be) or are you going to have to pay $50 a month to use them? The problem is that it is unclear if these parking garages will solve the parking chaos.

The parking at Assembly is essential for part-time/graduate students who can't live in dorms and have to drive into DT for a 3-hour class that meets one day. Believe me, I know, because I'm one of them. I think you can still have the parking and accomodate for greenery and line burial. The street can still be aesthetically pleasing and useful for students.

[krazeeboi]

Obviously, none of you guys take classes at USC during the day or try to find parking there as a graduate student. These ideas you suggest wreak of total disregard for the amount of students that have to park near USC for 1 or 2 classes a day, especially for a shorter period of time.

Weren't you one of the people complaining about how the city revolves around USC? LOL I really don't think this is such a mega-issue as you're making it out to be; all USC has to do is revamp its parking strategy and provide more places for parking. Assembly has too much potential and shouldn't resemble an interstate with traffic lights through downtown.

Mr. Chips, one of the Innovista-related parking garages will have the ground floor utilized by USC's music department.

[Captain Worley]

Aren't the vast parking lots west of the Coliseum still CS lot? I used to park there and walk. I never understood the people who circled the block looking for a close parking place.

[BrasilnSC]

^Yes, 3 of the 4 big surface lots behind the coliseum are Commuting Students (CS) spaces. It's only 20 or 30 bucks a semester i think. It was 20 when I was in school 98-03. Just park a little further away and walk or take the shuttle.

[sonofaque86]

^Yes, 3 of the 4 big surface lots behind the coliseum are Commuting Students (CS) spaces. It's only 20 or 30 bucks a semester i think. It was 20 when I was in school 98-03. Just park a little further away and walk or take the shuttle.

It's $40 for the entire year. I'm a undergrad at USC. I have those. All you have to do is park there and take the shuttle to campus

[TheCarolinaKing]

Obviously, none of you guys take classes at USC during the day or try to find parking there as a graduate student. These ideas you suggest wreak of total disregard for the amount of students that have to park near USC for 1 or 2 classes a day, especially for a shorter period of time. Are these new parking garages going to be metered (they should be) or are you going to have to pay $50 a month to use them? The problem is that it is unclear if these parking garages will solve the parking chaos.

The parking at Assembly is essential for part-time/graduate students who can't live in dorms and have to drive into DT for a 3-hour class that meets one day. Believe me, I know, because I'm one of them. I think you can still have the parking and accomodate for greenery and line burial. The street can still be aesthetically pleasing and useful for students.

On the contrary I was recently a grad student at usc and experienced the parking issue. Personally I dont see the small bit of parking in the center of Assembly as that big of a deal if you get rid of it. I did not say get rid of the side parking, just that in the middle and make way for greening. The problem with usc parking wasnt that there was no parking, it was that where it was was just a long walk, but with the shuttle service offered by usc im sure its not bad. essientially i agree that the new parking garages should help the situation some. if not, time for another garage

[Captain Worley]

I think the parking in the middle of Assembly street is a hazard (can't see around those hulking ugly SUVs to pull out) and should definitely be done away with. I don't think it should be narrowed beyond that, though. That'd give plent of space for a nice center median.

As an aside, the farmer's market used to be in the middle of Assembly until sometime in the mid fifties.

[BrasilnSC]

You can get anywhere on campus in less than 20 min. walking. Not bad at all. I used to walk from capstone to the engineering building everyday in 15 minutes.

The median parking on Assembly is a huge risk like Cap. said. Parallel parking in the left lane of a major blvd, ugh, that's all I have to say. Besides, a median lined with trees would be some much nicer than one lined with parking meters

[Captain Worley]

^ Yep. I was there 84-89, and again in 90-91 and I always parked behind the coliseum and walked.

The all-time worst walk I ever had was from Swearingen to Sumwalt buildings in 10 minutes. That is a rough hill to climb! Made it worse that I was going to Thermodamnnamics!

[sonofaque86]

Did they have the shuttle back then?

[Captain Worley]

Yep, but it wasn't real prompt. If you relied on it you were going to be late.

[TheSuperPope]

^ Yep. I was there 84-89, and again in 90-91 and I always parked behind the coliseum and walked.

The all-time worst walk I ever had was from Swearingen to Sumwalt buildings in 10 minutes. That is a rough hill to climb! Made it worse that I was going to Thermodamnnamics!

That hill is horrible. I used to live in West Quad (the new LEED certified dorm) and had to be at Sumwalt at 8am EVERYDAY of the week... I don't think I have ever said so many curse words in my entire life as I used to say on that walk.

[Spartan]

You can get anywhere on campus in less than 20 min. walking. Not bad at all. I used to walk from capstone to the engineering building everyday in 15 minutes.

The median parking on Assembly is a huge risk like Cap. said. Parallel parking in the left lane of a major blvd, ugh, that's all I have to say. Besides, a median lined with trees would be some much nicer than one lined with parking meters

There is a ped. bridge accross Blossom (not that its THAT hard to cross at S Main). An there is that tunnel under Assembly between the law school and the Coliseum. You really don't HAVE to cross Assembly with traffic.

[Captain Worley]

I vote for getting rid of the central parking (it is unsafe, IMO) and widening the medians to where the parking used to be.

[Captain Worley]

You're right about the area near USC, but I think they were talking about further up, like around the post office and the library. leastwise, I was.

[Spartan]

You're right about the area near USC, but I think they were talking about further up, like around the post office and the library. leastwise, I was.

Oh. I guess all of that talk about campus threw me off

[Spartan]

Its really a hard decision. One the one hand, that parking is needed on the medians, and people park there a lot. On the other hand, there are turning lanes which makes it imposisble to have a wider median for pedestrians to have a comfortable/safe place to watch for the walk signs and traffic.

IMO its probably a better idea to make the inside lane on Assembly an optional turing lane and put the turning arrows up where they are needed. Turning left on Assembly is a pain in the ass anywhere, and I have always made it a point to avoid it. Huger or Sumter are much better driving options to get out of town.

[waccamatt]

I still think Assembly could become a grand boulevard and the most beautiful street in town. A good compromise might be to keep median parking on the east side of the median since there are more businesses on that side of Assembly.

[krazeeboi]

I say totally eliminate the median parking and convert the parallel parking on the sides to angled parking. There's more than enough room to do that, build landscaped medians, provide wide sidewalks, narrow the lanes a little, and not significantly reduce vehicle capacity (with about 3 lanes each direction max).