Time now to slow down Meridian traffic (09/2-0/07)

Great possibilities lie ahead for downtown Portland.

Completion of the Weiler Building renovation project early next year promise to generate more activity than ever, particularly during evening hours when many of the John Jay Center for Learning's classes take place.

But if downtown is going to reach its full potential, it's going to have to get quieter and it's going to have to get slower.

Ever since the major overhaul of Meridian Street was completed several years back, traffic - particularly heavy truck traffic - has gotten faster, louder, and more dangerous downtown.

When you combine pedestrian traffic signals that don't give a senior citizen adequate time to cross the streets and semis racing to make the next light so they can get through town as quickly as possible, you're facing potentially deadly consequences.

And if it's not semis running, or nearly running, stop lights, it's semis shattering the piece with their air brakes.

Trucks, of course, aren't the only problem.

Motorcycle season gets noisier every year, and enforcement of muffler noise violations - once a staple - is virtually unheard of.

What's the solution?

Three possibilities come to mind:

•Some communities have banned "jake brake" or engine brake use within the city limits.

•Some communities have taken a hard look at noise pollution and have taken steps to enforce those standards.

•And while city police can justifiably say they can't be everywhere at once, it's equally true that a more consistent and more visible police presence, especially on the race track stretch of Meridian between Votaw and Water streets, would make a real difference.

The alternative is to do nothing, leaving Portland with a downtown hungry for revitalization and activity that continues to be uninviting because its traffic is both too loud and too fast. - J.R.

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