At the Uptown Partnership’s monthly meeting Thursday evening, John Taylor (at left) chair of the Hillcrest Town Council read a statement asking the Partnership to listen and acknowledge through actions the comments and resolutions from several community organizations. The Partnership engaged with and responded to community members in the audience by changing the $1.9M budget initially allocated for new parking meters to $550K and continue to reserve the remaining $1.4M for future parking solutions in Uptown. Additionally, the Partnership agreed to hold a community meeting in July to review existing projects in the budget. After discussion, the board agreed to not actively promote the Mayor’s 
Parking Utilization Plan, but to support tools within the plan.
Also on the agenda was an action item on the proposed crosswalk at the corner of Fifth Avenue & Spruce Street. Staff reported that the project (which includes pedestrian activated flashing lights placed in the crosswalk pavement) would cost $25,000 more than originally approved and recommended delaying the additional cost in hopes that the city would find funding to cover the overrun. After comments from the audience re: the dangerous conditions and one pedestrian death, the board (with two desenters) approved staff’s recommendation. After the meeting had proceeded, boardmember Jim Frost asked to reopen the matter for more discussion. Acknowledging the urgency, the board reconsidered and voted to fund the crosswalk.
Community members viewed the responsiveness of the Uptown Partnership board as a positive step towards a renewed commitment to receive and to work with community concerns.
