The new downtown Kroger opened almost 20 years ago on East Gwinnett Street.
At some point we’ll have to stop calling it “new,” even though the grocery continues to reinvent itself with recent additions such as sushi and a Starbucks.
Over that stretch of time, there have been some other radical changes in the immediate neighborhood, including extensive renovations of historic homes and apartments, the arrival of the Mansion on Forsyth Park and significant upgrades to Forsyth’s public spaces.
One result is that many more pedestrians are crossing Abercorn Street at Gwinnett Street than was once the case.
That intersection frequently feels unsafe for those on foot, since cars routinely speed on the straightaway between Calhoun Square and Henry Street.
Savannah’s wide streets can become daunting obstacles, especially for those with limited mobility.
In recent years, so many pedestrians have been crossing Abercorn at Gwinnett that some drivers — often with out-of-state plates — treat it as a de facto four-way stop.
Now the city is adding curb extensions, or pedestrian bump outs, at that busy intersection. The sidewalk now safely extends beyond the line created by parked cars.
Work isn’t quite completed, but the effects are already obvious.
Pedestrians have much less distance to travel to get safely from one side of Abercorn Street to the other.
At the same time, the intersection is being made more attractive. Road surface is being replaced with brick walkways and the potential for additional plantings.
And, perhaps most importantly, cars are slowing down. Drivers are more cautious when lanes narrow and when they see pedestrians poised to cross the street.
Pedestrian bump outs like these obviously cost some money and require planning, but they encourage neighborhood cohesiveness, connectivity and vitality.
For decades, Savannah has prioritized high-speed car travel over the needs of residents in historic neighborhoods, but relatively straightforward changes to street design can tip the scale back toward balance.
There are many other obvious spots where curb extensions could enhance quality of life while still accommodating cars just fine.
For example, Drayton and Whitaker streets don’t need to be the virtual expressways that they are now, and significant stretches of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard are hazardous to cross even for the most mobile of us.
Curb extensions prove that calming traffic doesn’t always require new stop signs, stoplights or even additional enforcement.
So it’s good to see the new bump outs at Abercorn and Gwinnett, and I hope we see a lot more of them.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.