It seems that the service entrance from Vauk to the upper parking lot at Whitecliff is in the news again. In fact, The Call Newspaper published a recent article on the topic (view HERE).
Earlier this year the city paved the road to make it more usable for pedestrians and cyclists. Lockable posts were installed on each end to prohibit vehicles from using the road. There are plans to use this service road as a temporary entrance/exit while the main Whitecliff bridge is replaced (starting in 2022 or 2023).
At the July Board of Alderman meeting, the Mayor introduced the topic and proposed a six-month trial period of treating it as a permanent secondary entrance/exit for the convenience of nearby residents. As the Ward 3 Alderman that lives the closest to this entrance, I stated that multiple residents had previously expressed concern about this entrance and that I would strongly oppose this change. As a compromise, the city agreed to survey local residents to ask for their opinion and provide feedback.
The tentative map above highlights the residents that would be most impacted by this change (both bad and good) and are thus targeted to receive a survey card. Parks Department workers are planning to distribute the survey cards in late August. They will most likely be hand-delivered to each residence to avoid postage costs and ensure delivery. The actual map of homes receiving a card may change - TBD.
So - if you live in this area and receive the survey card, PLEASE fill it out and share your thoughts so that the Board of Alderman can make an informed decision when/if this topic is brought up again.
As a side note - when this road is used as a temporary entrance/exit (during bridge construction), the city plans to install temporary traffic-control stoplights at each end, since it's a single-lane road.
To listen to the 25-minute discussion by the Board of Alderman on this topic, click HERE and skip ahead to 3:02:00 (3 hours, 2 minutes) into the recording.