This is DEFINITELY worth a read: an interview with Walkable Communities founder Dan Burden, who explains how it's possible to design so that vehicles and pedestrians share space more effectively, benefiting everyone (Michigan Land Use Institute)
"It’s not that Mr. Burden dislikes cars," the article notes. "It’s just that he is certain that the quality of life improves if people don’t spend so much time sitting in them. . . .
"The answer to traffic congestion in most towns isn’t making roads wider, says Mr. Burden. Just the opposite: Roads need to be put on a 'diet.' Taking lanes away slows traffic but, surprisingly, the road then actually carries more vehicles more efficiently. Mr. Burden has other traffic remedies, such as shrinking intersections, constructing roundabouts, building boulevards with divided medians, and designing places where people can walk, bike, and ride public transit."
"What we are finding is the original streets, the original cores of our cities, pre-auto, were dynamite. It was the right pattern," Burden says.
There's a lot of interesting information in here about the projects Burden has worked on, such as "how to redesign a suburban mall into a true village, with real plazas, an appropriate series of stores that are the right size, right scale. " Oh, if only he'd been brought in for the Natick Mall expansion....
You can also see Burden's 12 points on what makes a walkable community, on his organization's Web site.
January 8, 2005
Arts Center Coming to Saxonville?
Amazing Things Art Center is planning a move to the Saxonville section of Framingham. Their current plans call for renting and renovating the old Saxonville Cleaner store in the Pinefield Shopping Center.
If this comes to pass, it's nice news indeed, and would certainly soften the blow of losing the neighborhood's premier art gallery, Artana, last year.
Amazing Things describes itself as a newly formed (last year) organization "established to provide a venue for visual and performing artists and to nurture a community of artists, arts supporters and arts appreciators in MetroWest Boston." They sponsor music and other community events.
If the new library branch is approved, this could create a really nice neighborhood cultural center here in north Framingham.
Update: "Ten months after his ouster from The Center for Arts in Natick, Michael Moran has struck a deal to move his new Amazing Things Arts Center out of Natick and into the Pinefield Mall in Saxonville," the MetroWest Daily News reports today. "Now Amazing Things will focus on a capital campaign to pay for converting the stark storefront to a 90-seat performing arts venue."
If this comes to pass, it's nice news indeed, and would certainly soften the blow of losing the neighborhood's premier art gallery, Artana, last year.
Amazing Things describes itself as a newly formed (last year) organization "established to provide a venue for visual and performing artists and to nurture a community of artists, arts supporters and arts appreciators in MetroWest Boston." They sponsor music and other community events.
If the new library branch is approved, this could create a really nice neighborhood cultural center here in north Framingham.
Update: "Ten months after his ouster from The Center for Arts in Natick, Michael Moran has struck a deal to move his new Amazing Things Arts Center out of Natick and into the Pinefield Mall in Saxonville," the MetroWest Daily News reports today. "Now Amazing Things will focus on a capital campaign to pay for converting the stark storefront to a 90-seat performing arts venue."
January 6, 2005
Update: Natick Mall Expansion
State officials have released a final environmental impact report on the Natick Mall expansion, reports Dick Miller, chair of the Natick Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, ruling that developers "should be diligently working with [Cochituate Rail Trail proponents] to find a mutually agreeable alternative to its proposed at-grade, activated, signal-protected crossing of Speen Street" to connect the trail and the mall.
That's good news, Dick says. "MEPA's attention to our various comments is much appreciated, and I've already told them so." You can see the full 7-page report on his Web site.
Unfortunately, there's not much we can about the disappointing layout of the mall expansion itself, which appears to favor cars over pedestrians at every turn, and completely ignores new trends in planning that favor outdoor, pedestrian friendly centers that try to give the feel of a town square instead of a strip mall.
That's good news, Dick says. "MEPA's attention to our various comments is much appreciated, and I've already told them so." You can see the full 7-page report on his Web site.
Unfortunately, there's not much we can about the disappointing layout of the mall expansion itself, which appears to favor cars over pedestrians at every turn, and completely ignores new trends in planning that favor outdoor, pedestrian friendly centers that try to give the feel of a town square instead of a strip mall.
Millis Eyes Library Expansion, More Walker-Friendly Downtown
"Town officials in Millis are moving forward with plans for a revitalized town center that would be anchored by a new police station and a new library almost four times the size of the current one," the Boston Globe reports today.
"Officials are scrambling to line up grant money and approval from voters for the revitalization project, which would also include changes to Main Street buildings with the goal of creating a lively and attractive shopping area. "
Unlike Framingham and Natick, where many officials still seem to favor the same tired car-first approach of plunking a building way back from the road amidst a sea-of-asphalt parking lot (like the Natick Mall expansion and plans for a Lowe's on Rte. 30), Millis officials are trying to urge local businesses to move up closer to the street, even offering town-owned land for parking.
"By moving parking to the rear of the buildings, officials are hoping to avoid the strip mall appearance that many towns nowadays are trying to shed," the article notes. Many, but not yet all.
As nearby towns make themselves more attractive destinations, those overseeing the "Golden Triangle" need to understand that we're just at much at risk today by ignoring consumer trends -- like new pedestrian-friendly "lifestyle centers" -- as urban downtowns were a generation ago when they ignored the rise of clean, convenient malls.
Remember how local minicomputer companies like Digital, Data General and Prime prospered by coming up with a new product to beat conventional mainframe computers .... only to lose out and fade away when the NEXT trend, the personal computer, came along? This is the threat we face if our planners think the car-centric solutions that worked in the '60s and '70s are our best approach in the 21st century.
"Officials are scrambling to line up grant money and approval from voters for the revitalization project, which would also include changes to Main Street buildings with the goal of creating a lively and attractive shopping area. "
Unlike Framingham and Natick, where many officials still seem to favor the same tired car-first approach of plunking a building way back from the road amidst a sea-of-asphalt parking lot (like the Natick Mall expansion and plans for a Lowe's on Rte. 30), Millis officials are trying to urge local businesses to move up closer to the street, even offering town-owned land for parking.
"By moving parking to the rear of the buildings, officials are hoping to avoid the strip mall appearance that many towns nowadays are trying to shed," the article notes. Many, but not yet all.
As nearby towns make themselves more attractive destinations, those overseeing the "Golden Triangle" need to understand that we're just at much at risk today by ignoring consumer trends -- like new pedestrian-friendly "lifestyle centers" -- as urban downtowns were a generation ago when they ignored the rise of clean, convenient malls.
Remember how local minicomputer companies like Digital, Data General and Prime prospered by coming up with a new product to beat conventional mainframe computers .... only to lose out and fade away when the NEXT trend, the personal computer, came along? This is the threat we face if our planners think the car-centric solutions that worked in the '60s and '70s are our best approach in the 21st century.
Once-in-a-Generation Chance in Saxonville
It's not often that we have a chance to add a significant sense of place to an existing neighborhood of homes, stores and other businesses. But that's the exciting potential January 12 when Town Meeting votes on plans for a new branch library in Saxonville.
I outline my vision of what a new McAuliffe branch would bring to this area of Framingham in a MetroWest Daily News op-ed piece.
I would add here that, yes, I know that money's tight. But when is money "loose?" Decades ago, other taxpayers had the vision to invest in the future, and build a main library that generations could enjoy. Each generation owes a debt to those who went before us. We pay that forward by investing in improving our community for now and the future. Now it's our turn.
The library is all about bringing the magic of the printed word to us all, regardless of age or income. It is aptly named for Christa McAuliffe, who wanted to bring the magic of space to schoolchildren everywhere. I wouldn't have the courage to do what Christa McAuliffe did. But I can certainly pony up a few dollars a month to create a special place where people can go for books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, research materials, programs and community activities.
I outline my vision of what a new McAuliffe branch would bring to this area of Framingham in a MetroWest Daily News op-ed piece.
I would add here that, yes, I know that money's tight. But when is money "loose?" Decades ago, other taxpayers had the vision to invest in the future, and build a main library that generations could enjoy. Each generation owes a debt to those who went before us. We pay that forward by investing in improving our community for now and the future. Now it's our turn.
The library is all about bringing the magic of the printed word to us all, regardless of age or income. It is aptly named for Christa McAuliffe, who wanted to bring the magic of space to schoolchildren everywhere. I wouldn't have the courage to do what Christa McAuliffe did. But I can certainly pony up a few dollars a month to create a special place where people can go for books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, research materials, programs and community activities.
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