Backlash to ‘cheese grater’ fence in Anchorage triggers changes to DOT outreach 

Anchorage locals person dubbed this metallic fence, pictured present connected May 7, 2024, “the Minnesota Drive food grater.” DOT says nan obstruction and actual median were installed successful 2023 to protect nan caller lighting, which is intended to amended pedestrian safety. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media)

Gene Wilson was hauling a bunch of loaded, reusable market bags connected Tuesday day arsenic he walked past six lanes of postulation successful an unpainted crosswalk of Anchorage’s Minnesota Drive. 

“They gotta return it out, man,” he said of nan metallic obstruction that runs on nan elevated actual obstruction successful nan halfway of nan state-maintained thoroughfare. “It’s dangerous. … The drivers and nan pedestrians really can’t spot either side. I don’t cognize why they sewage it there.”

Wilson is not unsocial successful his critique of what locals person dubbed “the Minnesota Drive food grater,” which was 1 portion of a authorities Department of Transportation task to instal pedestrian lighting and information improvements successful nan area. The obstruction was installed past summertime and only runs for 1 block, betwixt Northern Lights and Benson boulevards. 

The organization councils for Spenard and Turnagain neighborhoods formally complained astir it past year. On Tuesday, nan Anchorage Assembly unanimously passed a resolution of its ain – which really uses nan food grater moniker – that echoes galore of nan organization councils’ grievances. 

For various reasons, including safety, aesthetics and section readying issues, they each called connected nan authorities Department of Transportation to region nan obstruction and to do much nationalist outreach. 

DOT spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said nan fence, which to her knowledge is nan only 1 of its benignant successful Anchorage, isn’t going away. But nan insignificant play has triggered DOT to do much outreach going guardant connected akin projects.

For example, she said nan section has a gathering pinch AMATS, Anchorage’s metropolitan proscription readying organization, coming up. 

“And we’re really going to beryllium looking astatine nan problem areas successful Anchorage, and past talk solutions first, and talk benignant of for illustration what nan solution would beryllium and what it would look for illustration successful advance,” McCarthy said. “Because oftentimes, it’s nan different measurement around.” 

She said artistic issues particularly could beryllium addressed this way. 

McCarthy said federally funded roadworthy information improvements for illustration these often don’t travel pinch overmuch nationalist outreach by default. She said that’s because nan beingness scopes of these projects are comparatively mini – wrong existing authorities right-of-way – and their timelines comparatively short. 

“And they’re besides very information driven,” she said. “So we cognize we person a problem there, you know, we person a solution. Boom, we do it. We did not consult regarding aesthetics, and that’s thing that we are, moving forward, we’re going to effort to alteration and do.”

The obstruction runs on a caller actual obstruction that’s respective feet wide and respective feet precocious down nan halfway of nan road. She said some are location to protect nan ray poles that were installed to make nan area safer for pedestrians. 

But section officials deliberation nan food grater really makes things little safe. 

McCarthy said nan department’s information postulation is ongoing, and there’s a three-year monitoring model to spot if nan changes are really effective.