An "urban village" in Des Moines, Iowa?

Last fall I went home for my sister's wedding. She only really wanted to talk about two things: the wedding (of course) and a plan by the Des Moines City Council to reduce the number of lanes on a major street just south of her house. The street, Ingersoll Avenue, has one of the city's highest crash rates, which has been the main argument for reducing the four-lane road to a three-lane road (one lane each way and a left-hand turn lane in the middle). However, I think the city is missing a huge opportunity to call it what it could be, which is an urban village. Des Moines, like many cities west of the Mississippi River, is not particularly walkable. However, Ingersoll Avenue is lined with small shops and boutiques. I used to get my hair cut there, and it is home to the city's best bakery and breakfast spot, La Mie. The measure will also add bike lanes and additional on-street parking. Those changes to me suggest that the city is looking to make the neighborhood a more pedestrian-friendly zone, like areas of Portland, Chicago, or San Antonio discussed in the book. The street also leads right into downtown, and slower traffic could encourage more people to bike to work because of increased safety. Some of the businesses along the street complained that it will hurt sales because drivers will just move to the next street over. Do they really believe that the people using Ingersoll as a thoroughfare to downtown are stopping to shop? That just seems unlikely to me.

The city is going to repaint the street lanes when the weather improves. Then, after six months of the three-lane system, they are going to review the traffic flow, accidents, and business and public opinions.