Officials, residents and planners in Seattle are investigating ways to once again allow city streets to be safely shared by pedestrians, cyclists and cars. "Feet First, a Seattle-based pedestrian advocacy group, supports [a] 20 mph speed limit [for residential streets] and much wider measures involving better urban design, traffic calming measures and generally reorienting ourselves from what might be called a car-centric orientation.," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes in an editorial.
The paper agrees that a 20 mph limit - which would still make it unlikely that drivers would be ticketed if driving 30 - "is just one of many ways Seattle could and should do more to protect pedestrians, make streets safer and encourage active lifestyles in an increasingly urban setting." The paper laments that Seattle seems to have lost its momentum on pedestrian issues. "Portland has surpassed Seattle in creating a transit- and pedestrian-friendly downtown, using speed bumps on streets and involving the public in traffic decisions," the editorial says.
The basic take-away here: You can't turn an area designed for automobiles into a lively pedestrian zone on the cheap. Painting crosswalks, while an important safety measure, is hardly enough. And make no mistake - well-designed areas with appealing streetscapes are quite good for both property values and the economy, as neighborhoods from Newbury Street to downtown Concord and Wellesley to Boston's North End attest.
July 31, 2005
July 29, 2005
Mall Revamps Entrance To Be Pedestrian-Friendly
Ah, sadly, that's not the Natick Mall or Shoppers World that are taking great pains to make a walker-appealing entry. Instead, it's the Fashion Square mall in Scottsdale, Ariz., that's thinking about making sure people walking into the center feel as welcome as when they drive into the parking lot.
"Before, the entrance catered to vehicles and was inconvenient for walk-ups, said Bob Gutierrez, an architect with Scottsdale-based Sixty First Place Architects," the East Valley Tribune reports. "Changes will include raised and widened walkways, better lighting, narrower roads to discourage traffic, automatic doors and a grand staircase leading to the doors."
Please note the part about narrower roads to discourage traffic. It's a concept that those designing, developing and overseeing the Framingham-Natick Golden Triangle has never seemed to grasp: Sometimes less is more. When roadways are too wide, and there's too much unbroken pavement, you end up with pedestrian-hostile traffic sewers (I forget who coined that term, but it's a great description of the Rte. 9 ambiance). It's so important to design for walkers and cyclists as well as cars, not simply for motorized traffic. When you design solely for maximum traffic movement, you tend to suck all the soul out of a place.
"Before, the entrance catered to vehicles and was inconvenient for walk-ups, said Bob Gutierrez, an architect with Scottsdale-based Sixty First Place Architects," the East Valley Tribune reports. "Changes will include raised and widened walkways, better lighting, narrower roads to discourage traffic, automatic doors and a grand staircase leading to the doors."
Please note the part about narrower roads to discourage traffic. It's a concept that those designing, developing and overseeing the Framingham-Natick Golden Triangle has never seemed to grasp: Sometimes less is more. When roadways are too wide, and there's too much unbroken pavement, you end up with pedestrian-hostile traffic sewers (I forget who coined that term, but it's a great description of the Rte. 9 ambiance). It's so important to design for walkers and cyclists as well as cars, not simply for motorized traffic. When you design solely for maximum traffic movement, you tend to suck all the soul out of a place.
July 27, 2005
Another Open-Air Mall Expansion
While plans for the Natick Mall expansion are to build the kind of enclosed center popular half a century ago, with what appears to be quite a pedestrian-unfriendly exterior, trends in the rest of the country favor building open-air shopping centers that stress a pedestrian-friendly ambiance. The latest among numerous examples of such so-called lifestyle centers: Dayton, Ohio, where a 90,000-square-foot expansion at the Dayton Mall "will feature high-end restaurant and retail tenants in an open-air, pedestrian-friendly setting," according to GlobeSt.com.
Numerous other recent plans for shopping areas designed for walker-appeal are planned everywhere from Toledo to Colorado Springs, as CNN Money reported earlier this year.
Closer to MetroWest, a "pedestrian-friendly, architecturally upscale, open-air lifestyle center" has been proposed for 175 acres in Northboro, Commercial Property News notes. If this truly is the trend in retailing and more what 21st century consumers want -- and "the number of lifestyle centers has quickly accelerated, from just 30 in 2002 to 120 at the end of 2004. Between 10 to 20 new centers are slated to open each year for the next two years. By contrast, only eight new regional malls are expected to open by 2006, according to ICSC," CNN Money says -- one wonders if conventional malls like Natick's are the best tactic to attract upscale consumers.
Many consumers are getting tired of the sterile, soul-less atmosphere of typical suburban malls, and crave walker-friendly streetscapes with a sense of place. Some developers realize this. Others don't.
Numerous other recent plans for shopping areas designed for walker-appeal are planned everywhere from Toledo to Colorado Springs, as CNN Money reported earlier this year.
Closer to MetroWest, a "pedestrian-friendly, architecturally upscale, open-air lifestyle center" has been proposed for 175 acres in Northboro, Commercial Property News notes. If this truly is the trend in retailing and more what 21st century consumers want -- and "the number of lifestyle centers has quickly accelerated, from just 30 in 2002 to 120 at the end of 2004. Between 10 to 20 new centers are slated to open each year for the next two years. By contrast, only eight new regional malls are expected to open by 2006, according to ICSC," CNN Money says -- one wonders if conventional malls like Natick's are the best tactic to attract upscale consumers.
Many consumers are getting tired of the sterile, soul-less atmosphere of typical suburban malls, and crave walker-friendly streetscapes with a sense of place. Some developers realize this. Others don't.
July 25, 2005
Revamping Miami’s ‘Design District’
What's now an "under-utilized area of designer showrooms and art galleries" will be transformed into "a bustling neighborhood of condos, rentals and new mixed-use buildings" under a plan that includes adding more restaurants, shops and appealing streetscapes in order to make the neighborhood a more desirable place to live and work, according to the Miami Herald.
"We are taking a vibrant neighborhood and making it more so. We're going to create live/work spaces for creative people and subsidize where young people need help,'' Craig Robins, head of Dacra Properties, told the Herald. Robins' plans include not only new "live/work" buidlings, but a new building to house his own art collection that will be open to the public.
The city will be planting trees along a main street, as well as improving sidewalks and lighting. Some lengthy blocks - too long to be pedestrian-friendly - will be carved into more manageable chunks.
Planners envision a walkable neighborhood that can meet people's basic shopping needs as well as entertainment. Said local boutique owner Susane Ronai:
"We are taking a vibrant neighborhood and making it more so. We're going to create live/work spaces for creative people and subsidize where young people need help,'' Craig Robins, head of Dacra Properties, told the Herald. Robins' plans include not only new "live/work" buidlings, but a new building to house his own art collection that will be open to the public.
The city will be planting trees along a main street, as well as improving sidewalks and lighting. Some lengthy blocks - too long to be pedestrian-friendly - will be carved into more manageable chunks.
Planners envision a walkable neighborhood that can meet people's basic shopping needs as well as entertainment. Said local boutique owner Susane Ronai:
I had to send a client needing batteries for her camera over to [Biscayne] Boulevard and several blocks down to find batteries. Two years from now, no one will have to go outside the district for a battery. We need more boutiques, cafés, restaurants, a newsstand. We need a little movie house, and I would love to see a bookstore here.
July 21, 2005
Ideas For Better Store Sitings
Two socially responsible investment groups have published a report advising major retailers on community-friendly ways to locate, design, build and run their stores.
Outside the Box: Guidelines For Retail Store Sitingsincludes suggestions on preserving cultural heritage, so as not to ruin the ambiance of a historic town center; and smart growth concepts, such as trying to site near public transit, providing safe pedestrian and bicycling environments (I'd add appealing walking and cycling environments); and working to mitigate traffic impact. The report was authored by analysts at Christian Brothers Investment Services and Domini Social Investments LLC in New York.
In one example
Outside the Box: Guidelines For Retail Store Sitingsincludes suggestions on preserving cultural heritage, so as not to ruin the ambiance of a historic town center; and smart growth concepts, such as trying to site near public transit, providing safe pedestrian and bicycling environments (I'd add appealing walking and cycling environments); and working to mitigate traffic impact. The report was authored by analysts at Christian Brothers Investment Services and Domini Social Investments LLC in New York.
In one example
...a 2004 plan for a 203,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store in Monona, Wisconsin, featured 600 underground parking spaces that city officials believed would make better use of land, while keeping shoppers warm. Site owner Continental Properties also agreed to pay the city for a full traffic impact
study and traffic-related improvements, transportation for the elderly to and from the store site, and a reduction in storm-water runoff from the site by 20 percent from the current level. Following the agreement, the City Council rejected a proposed moratorium on big-box development.
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