February 5, 2006
Parking, Traffic and Other Downtown Revitalization Issues
I received some private comments back after a posting about the need for Framingham to decide what it wants its downtown to become, before expecting an effective "revitalization." Along with the need to reduce crime and the perception of crime, a lot of talk had to do with traffic and parking. I agree completely with comments that parking lots themselves to feel not only safe but welcoming, and that the walk from the parking lot to main commercial areas must be attractive, appealing and inviting. That is critically important for drawing people to a central business district. However, I don't think slow traffic flow is the show-stopper many others do.
February 3, 2006
Major News For Downtown Framingham: Performing Arts Center Planned
Michael Moran, executive director of the Amazing Things Arts Center, e-mailed the exciting news early this morning that the organization plans to lease the Hollis Street Firehouse in downtown Framingham, if the town approves their bid. The group hopes to raise $600,000 for inside and outside renovations.
"I and the Amazing Board are convinced that we could do a lot of good for the downtown - attracting restaurants, and new businesses to the area and helping already existing businesses. The location is perfect - two blocks from the train station and right on Rt 126. Parking? There's a lot directly behind the building that will accommodate an estimated 50 cars (which will be enough for most of our shows. Additional parking is a mere block away). The space will give us upwards of 180 seats, there's an upstairs all ready to host our small mid-week events, and - yes - there's a fire pole!," he wrote.
"Although the Firehouse will be our flagship operation, we are planning to keep our Saxonville location alive and active.
"Downtown Framingham has a tremendous amount of potential. It has a neat international flavor and there are at least four major projects in the works there - The big Dennison Condominium project (upwards to 200 units), the The Arcade at Downtown Framingham Mixed Use project (including 260 residential units), the Kendall Building restoration as well as the Downtown Cultural Triangle Partnership project could contribute mightily to the downtown renaissance. Amazing Things - an active (300 performance events a year) performance oriented art center within walking distance will be a major benefit to these project and to people living in the area."
While I'm happy for downtown Framingham, I must admit I'm a little disappointed for my own Saxonville neighborhood. Amazing Things was a great addition to our area, and I had high hopes for a flourishing and expanding neighborhood business district with the planned new branch library. But we missed out on that fabulous new building by just a few Town Meeting votes, and now Amazing Things will be de-emphasizing Saxonville as well. Oh well, we still have Amazing Things here in Saxonville for now, and our highly inadequate but functioning library branch. That's a lot better than nothing.
As for downtown, Amazing Things would be a critically important destination "anchor." It's urgent that the town now do work to make sure there's an attractive streetscape so that those attending the center are encouraged to walk around and patronize nearby businesses; and that commuters are encouraged to walk from the station and parking to the center.
"I and the Amazing Board are convinced that we could do a lot of good for the downtown - attracting restaurants, and new businesses to the area and helping already existing businesses. The location is perfect - two blocks from the train station and right on Rt 126. Parking? There's a lot directly behind the building that will accommodate an estimated 50 cars (which will be enough for most of our shows. Additional parking is a mere block away). The space will give us upwards of 180 seats, there's an upstairs all ready to host our small mid-week events, and - yes - there's a fire pole!," he wrote.
"Although the Firehouse will be our flagship operation, we are planning to keep our Saxonville location alive and active.
"Downtown Framingham has a tremendous amount of potential. It has a neat international flavor and there are at least four major projects in the works there - The big Dennison Condominium project (upwards to 200 units), the The Arcade at Downtown Framingham Mixed Use project (including 260 residential units), the Kendall Building restoration as well as the Downtown Cultural Triangle Partnership project could contribute mightily to the downtown renaissance. Amazing Things - an active (300 performance events a year) performance oriented art center within walking distance will be a major benefit to these project and to people living in the area."
While I'm happy for downtown Framingham, I must admit I'm a little disappointed for my own Saxonville neighborhood. Amazing Things was a great addition to our area, and I had high hopes for a flourishing and expanding neighborhood business district with the planned new branch library. But we missed out on that fabulous new building by just a few Town Meeting votes, and now Amazing Things will be de-emphasizing Saxonville as well. Oh well, we still have Amazing Things here in Saxonville for now, and our highly inadequate but functioning library branch. That's a lot better than nothing.
As for downtown, Amazing Things would be a critically important destination "anchor." It's urgent that the town now do work to make sure there's an attractive streetscape so that those attending the center are encouraged to walk around and patronize nearby businesses; and that commuters are encouraged to walk from the station and parking to the center.
February 2, 2006
Downtown Framingham Revitalization: Plan Urgently Needed
I'm in the midst of a discussion on the local "frambors" e-mail list about downtown revitalization efforts. I'm concerned that in decades of talking about trying to improve the downtown Framingham business district; not only has there been very little progress compared to many other surrounding communities, but I've yet to hear of a coherent vision for what officials and residents would like the downtown to become.
A few pictures are worth well over a thousand words. I urge anyone interested in downtown improvement efforts to take a minute to click through this five-slide presentation from Urban advantage.
It shows the benefits of creating a pedestrian-welcome environment, and what that can do to help a neighborhood business district. Of course, there's a lot more to it than the sidewalk look and feel, but that IS a critical component. If there's money to be had for downtown improvements, along with police presence, we definitely need a streetscape makeover.
Framingham has an urgent need to first decide what exactly we want downtown to be, before trying to go out and make something happen.
Let's try thinking like businesspeople for a moment. What is our niche? And who is our market? I've heard a ton about what people DON'T want to see happen downtown, but what DO you want to see?
A few pictures are worth well over a thousand words. I urge anyone interested in downtown improvement efforts to take a minute to click through this five-slide presentation from Urban advantage.
It shows the benefits of creating a pedestrian-welcome environment, and what that can do to help a neighborhood business district. Of course, there's a lot more to it than the sidewalk look and feel, but that IS a critical component. If there's money to be had for downtown improvements, along with police presence, we definitely need a streetscape makeover.
Framingham has an urgent need to first decide what exactly we want downtown to be, before trying to go out and make something happen.
Let's try thinking like businesspeople for a moment. What is our niche? And who is our market? I've heard a ton about what people DON'T want to see happen downtown, but what DO you want to see?
January 29, 2006
Thinking Outside the (Big) Box
The city of Ventura, Calif. has declared a one-year moratorium on development along Ventura Boulevard, where Wal-Mart was eyeing a former K-mart site for a new store.
"The moratorium, imposed to give city planners time to draft guidelines for development along the six-lane strip, effectively shelves an application from the retail giant to build one of its prototypical big-box stores," according to the Los Angeles Times. "City Manager Rick Cole said the action wasn't necessarily aimed at discouraging Wal-Mart, but at meeting a mandate in the city's new General Plan to transform Victoria Avenue from a traffic-choked corridor to a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare peppered with shops and houses."
It's a lesson I sorely wish planners here would take to heart as more retailers come to the Rte. 9/Rte. 30 Framingham-Natick "Golden Triangle": Just because the current environment is an ugly, pedestrian-hostile mess doesn't mean it has to stay that way together.
Time after time, local officials have lost the opportunity to begin remaking the area, by not requiring new development to conform to better standards than existing strip malls. You don't have to "grandfather" all future development! The old Lechmere mall could have been required to front the sidewalk with most parking in the rear, allowing Panera's outdoor seating to add to the pedestrian streetscape. Lowe's could have been required to build at the sidewalk; but after some talk at a Planning Board meeting, officials went back to the same old streetscape-killing, aesthetically awful strip mall.
"The moratorium, imposed to give city planners time to draft guidelines for development along the six-lane strip, effectively shelves an application from the retail giant to build one of its prototypical big-box stores," according to the Los Angeles Times. "City Manager Rick Cole said the action wasn't necessarily aimed at discouraging Wal-Mart, but at meeting a mandate in the city's new General Plan to transform Victoria Avenue from a traffic-choked corridor to a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare peppered with shops and houses."
It's a lesson I sorely wish planners here would take to heart as more retailers come to the Rte. 9/Rte. 30 Framingham-Natick "Golden Triangle": Just because the current environment is an ugly, pedestrian-hostile mess doesn't mean it has to stay that way together.
Time after time, local officials have lost the opportunity to begin remaking the area, by not requiring new development to conform to better standards than existing strip malls. You don't have to "grandfather" all future development! The old Lechmere mall could have been required to front the sidewalk with most parking in the rear, allowing Panera's outdoor seating to add to the pedestrian streetscape. Lowe's could have been required to build at the sidewalk; but after some talk at a Planning Board meeting, officials went back to the same old streetscape-killing, aesthetically awful strip mall.
“French Women Don’t Get Fat”
There are some interesting tidbits in the book French Women Don't Get Fat, which I recently took out of the library. I'm not sure I buy into everything author Mireille Guiliano put forth; but along with her tips for slow, mindful eating of high-quality foods (which makes a great deal of sense), she also points out some differences between typical American and European lifestyles. For example, the Swiss eat an average of 20 lbs of chocolate per person per year, yet they're not a particularly obese nation. Why?
"Half of their run-of-the-mill getting around is done on foot or bicycle," Guiliano notes. "Americans on average travel on their own steam less than 10 percent of the time. . . . Walking is an essential part of the French way of life, and the average French woman walks three times as much as the average American."
In fact, a fair number of American tourists are surprised when they visit Paris, sample the incredible food (including pastries) and come home the same weight or lighter. That happened to me during my lone visit to the French capital; and I'm sure that one reason was the hours of daily walking while sightseeing.
More time on foot isn't the only explanation for a French obesity rate of 11% vs. America's 24.5%. Many believe that French traditions she outlines -- notably a lack of convenience food, snacking and eating "on the run" -- play a large role. It's all part of an overall lifestyle package. And when you live in a community where it's not only unappealing but impossible to walk anywhere, and you spend almost all your time either sitting at a desk or in a car, it's not surprising that the pounds pile on. Especially when we're eating while watching TV, reading or getting ready to zip out the door, so our minds are less likely to register satiety with what we're putting in our mouths. Empty sugar-laden calories don't help.
"Obesity is linked to 112,000 deaths a year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof writes in today's opinion pages (Times Select subscription required). "[R]emember that fat kills far more Americans than terrorists. . . . Imagine if Al Qaeda had resolved to attack us not with conventional chemical weapons but by slipping large amounts of high-fructose corn syrup into our food supply. That would finally rouse us to action — but in fact it's pretty much what we're doing to ourselves."
"Half of their run-of-the-mill getting around is done on foot or bicycle," Guiliano notes. "Americans on average travel on their own steam less than 10 percent of the time. . . . Walking is an essential part of the French way of life, and the average French woman walks three times as much as the average American."
In fact, a fair number of American tourists are surprised when they visit Paris, sample the incredible food (including pastries) and come home the same weight or lighter. That happened to me during my lone visit to the French capital; and I'm sure that one reason was the hours of daily walking while sightseeing.
More time on foot isn't the only explanation for a French obesity rate of 11% vs. America's 24.5%. Many believe that French traditions she outlines -- notably a lack of convenience food, snacking and eating "on the run" -- play a large role. It's all part of an overall lifestyle package. And when you live in a community where it's not only unappealing but impossible to walk anywhere, and you spend almost all your time either sitting at a desk or in a car, it's not surprising that the pounds pile on. Especially when we're eating while watching TV, reading or getting ready to zip out the door, so our minds are less likely to register satiety with what we're putting in our mouths. Empty sugar-laden calories don't help.
"Obesity is linked to 112,000 deaths a year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof writes in today's opinion pages (Times Select subscription required). "[R]emember that fat kills far more Americans than terrorists. . . . Imagine if Al Qaeda had resolved to attack us not with conventional chemical weapons but by slipping large amounts of high-fructose corn syrup into our food supply. That would finally rouse us to action — but in fact it's pretty much what we're doing to ourselves."
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