Complete Streets: 4th Street edition

While form should always follow function in the creation of a complete street, form still matters.  Here is 4th Street from 2 years ago.

4th Street, circa 2009

And here is 4th Street now. Note the:

• Pedestrian refuge islands to provide for those crossing the street - function
• Narrow lanes to reduce vehicle speed - function
• Bike lanes to increase roadway capacity - function
• Center-island medians that prevent 250,000 gallons of run-off per year - function
• Tree-lined medians to provide boulevard-style tree canopy - form
• Red brick medians - form
• All on-street parking has been retained  - function
• Wide decorative "brick" crosswalks - form and function

The inclusion of form with function creates a complete street that not only works well but is attractive and beneficial to retaining property values for those that live there.  What if Route 1 looked like this through our fair City?  Why can't it?