Jones Point/Urban Deck additional comment

[Bruce Dwyer]

After our discussion last night, this morning I went out to Royal St. to
look more closely at the area where a possible ramp could connect to the
bridge multi-use lane (bikes, pedestrians, runners, rollerblades, scooters,
etc.)  to Royal St and came away with another possible approach:  Have the
multi-use path along the bridge begin to slope down at a greater grade than
the bridge deck as the bridge approaches Royal St.  If the ramp were to be
located on the west side of Royal St. it would only be 15-20 feet (or
whatever the required clearance) above Royal St. making for a smaller ramp
along the St Mary's side.  If the ramp were to be located on the east side
of Royal St. directly into the park, the multi-use lane on the bridge could
begin its greater downward slope sooner and may avoid the need for multiple
switchbacks or spirals.  I do not know if the multi-use lane in current
design takes any width along the St. Mary's property or whether the plan is
to cantilever.  If the current design for the lane does take width, by
taking the approached I described above, it would appear that the whole
roadway could shift 10 feet or so to the North, making more room in the
tight space between the south edge of the roadway and Hunting Towers.   I
hope that this northern access to the bridge for non-motorized uses is
revisited in light of the apparent elimination of recreation from the urban
deck.  I believe that a majority of the non-motorized used of the bridge
will be coming to and from the Old Town area and a northern access would be
a major improvement.
Thank you