MMDC Streetscape from Allworld Media Group on Vimeo.
Leaders Unveil a New Manassas, Safe for Bikes and Pedestrians
Drive there today, and you’ll find a whole new Manassas.
The Medical-District street between Martin Luther King Jr. and Poplar has been completely changed after it was re-paved by the city in April. The re-imagining and renovation of the street is thanks to the city of Memphis and the Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC).
The new street improvements were formally unveiled in a ceremony Wednesday morning.
The re-paving project shrank the former five-lane street to three “to better accommodate traffic flow from Poplar to MLK Avenues and added dedicated bike lanes to connect existing and future bicycle routes in the city.”
Memphis Medical District Collaborative
MMDC said the streetscape improvements to Manassas brought:
• Pedestrian bump-outs and crosswalks to provide additional visual cues to drivers to reduce speeds and watch for pedestrians and reduces crossing time and distance for pedestrians
• Concrete traffic domes further calm traffic and protect pedestrians
• Bike lane protections including wheel stops and posts to keep cyclists safe
• 70 self-watering planters to buffer traffic and beautify the landscape
• Trash and recycling cans
• High-visibility crosswalks
• Artistic crosswalk designed by Cat Peña in partnership with Anthony Lee and Kaleob Elkins
“Our priority was to create a safer street for all users – pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles — and we’re very proud of the results,” Susannah Barton, MMDC’s quality public spaces manager, said in a statement. “We hope that Manassas will serve as an example for street re-design projects throughout our city and help put Memphis on the map of cities making huge strides in creating great, safe streets.”
Nicholas Oyler, the city’s Bikeway and Pedestrian Program Manager, said Manassas “now boasts some of the most attractive and safest facilities for walking and bicycling of any street in Memphis.”
“What’s more, come spring the bike lanes on Manassas will connect with new bike lanes scheduled for installation on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, establishing a seamless connection by bike between Downtown, the Medical District, and Midtown.”
