" A 54-year-old Wellesley woman died yesterday after being hit by a pickup truck on Dover Street, Natick Police said," the MetroWest Daily News reports. "The residential street in South Natick near the Natick/Dover border has no sidewalks, and neighbors said it has become a cut-through street. "
This is the terrible danger when traffic volume increases and there are no design accommodations made to 1) slow it down and 2) safely share the road among pedestrians and cyclists as well as vehicular traffic.
March 29, 2006
March 28, 2006
Lowes Takes Shape
It looks like the Lowes on Rte. 30 in Framingham is taking shape. I remain disappointed that the Planning Board didn't push to have the store up to the street in a pedestrian-friendly fashion. Right near the main post office, this could have actually encouraged some foot traffic between the two, instead of keeping to the typical suburban-sprawl pattern.
From what I can see, that looks like a pretty large building for the parcel it's on, and I'm not sure how the parking is going to work (although I do recall reading something about a parking garage and/or rooftop parking. I don't recall what the final vote sought). Looking at that small area of retail -- with Stop & Shop, the Target mall, BJs and now Lowes, it's a crying shame that they all couldn't have been placed up at the street in a pedestrian-friendly manner, with shared parking behind all the buildings. It would have dramatically improved the streetscape, encouraged more nearby office workers to walk there, and required less overall parking for all uses.
From what I can see, that looks like a pretty large building for the parcel it's on, and I'm not sure how the parking is going to work (although I do recall reading something about a parking garage and/or rooftop parking. I don't recall what the final vote sought). Looking at that small area of retail -- with Stop & Shop, the Target mall, BJs and now Lowes, it's a crying shame that they all couldn't have been placed up at the street in a pedestrian-friendly manner, with shared parking behind all the buildings. It would have dramatically improved the streetscape, encouraged more nearby office workers to walk there, and required less overall parking for all uses.
‘Does This Sound Like Your Community, Your Life?’
"What would it be like if the pace were a little slower, if the physical surroundings made you want to be on the street with others, if the variety of uses on the street enabled you to get multiple chores done in a small area, yet you had all the conveniences of the modern day world?"
So asks Bill Steiner who is leading a planners' tour to Orvieto, Italy. He describes Orvieto as "a city instructive in how to develop physical spaces and cultural support for people-friendly cities":
Now there are plenty of good reasons I've chosen to remain living in the U.S. instead of moving to Europe. There's a lot I love about American life, and I am NOT claiming that Europe is "superior" to America. But I do believe there are aspects of the lifestyle in some areas of Europe that we might learn from, and adapt to our American communities that could indeed improve our quality of life. And I think people-friendly, pedestrian-appealing public spaces is definitely one of them. Human-scaled development vs. designing for optimum auto flow is considered important in more communities of Europe than it seems to be here. But one doesn't preclude the other.
So asks Bill Steiner who is leading a planners' tour to Orvieto, Italy. He describes Orvieto as "a city instructive in how to develop physical spaces and cultural support for people-friendly cities":
• Government policy is overtly designed to enhance quality of life, seen as the city's greatest asset
• Streets are alive with people
• Courses are offered on building quality of life
• State law excludes gas stations from the city center
• Local law prohibits fast food and big box retail from locating in the center city
• Families routinely eat dinner together
• Homes are not locked
Now there are plenty of good reasons I've chosen to remain living in the U.S. instead of moving to Europe. There's a lot I love about American life, and I am NOT claiming that Europe is "superior" to America. But I do believe there are aspects of the lifestyle in some areas of Europe that we might learn from, and adapt to our American communities that could indeed improve our quality of life. And I think people-friendly, pedestrian-appealing public spaces is definitely one of them. Human-scaled development vs. designing for optimum auto flow is considered important in more communities of Europe than it seems to be here. But one doesn't preclude the other.
March 26, 2006
From Ireland: Reclaiming the Streets
Some interesting thoughts from across the pond regarding the importance of long-ignored public space, and what it means to a successful community.
"We may not yet have succumbed to the private nirvana of consumption that is Daslu — Sao Paolo’s luxury boutique, where, because the rich do not walk, you cannot enter off the street but must arrive by car (or helicopter) and pass through a security checkpoint — but Dundrum Town Centre betrays some of its less appealing characteristics: it is a self- referential walled city, cut off from the devastated heart of Dundrum village by a moat of traffic," Shane O'Toole writes of a Dublin development in yesterday's Times of London. "In contrast, city centre retail developments have generally sought to extend the surrounding network of urban connections to create new urban routes."
Sound familiar? How many of you have ever arrived by foot to the Natick Mall? Shoppers World? The Framingham megaplex theater?
"Cities have to be theatres for public life, not just machines for production. The city should be curated as a work of art or managed as a great theatre," O'Toole argues. "All successful cities across Europe and the US, from Barcelona, with its myriad small public spaces and support for street spectacle, to New York, where Central Park was turned around over the past generation from a city-owned antisocial space to a place of public 'happenings', managed and programmed by a private trust, learnt the same lesson.
"Public space can be reclaimed to regenerate the economic and social life of urban areas. But it must feel safe, comfortable and pedestrian-friendly."
That also holds true for any redevelopment plans that hope to succeed in downtown Framingham.
"Public is a bad word in Ireland right now. The public sector is denigrated as the private sector is lauded," he says. That's even more true in the current American political discourse. But we ignore public space at our peril.
"We may not yet have succumbed to the private nirvana of consumption that is Daslu — Sao Paolo’s luxury boutique, where, because the rich do not walk, you cannot enter off the street but must arrive by car (or helicopter) and pass through a security checkpoint — but Dundrum Town Centre betrays some of its less appealing characteristics: it is a self- referential walled city, cut off from the devastated heart of Dundrum village by a moat of traffic," Shane O'Toole writes of a Dublin development in yesterday's Times of London. "In contrast, city centre retail developments have generally sought to extend the surrounding network of urban connections to create new urban routes."
Sound familiar? How many of you have ever arrived by foot to the Natick Mall? Shoppers World? The Framingham megaplex theater?
"Cities have to be theatres for public life, not just machines for production. The city should be curated as a work of art or managed as a great theatre," O'Toole argues. "All successful cities across Europe and the US, from Barcelona, with its myriad small public spaces and support for street spectacle, to New York, where Central Park was turned around over the past generation from a city-owned antisocial space to a place of public 'happenings', managed and programmed by a private trust, learnt the same lesson.
"Public space can be reclaimed to regenerate the economic and social life of urban areas. But it must feel safe, comfortable and pedestrian-friendly."
That also holds true for any redevelopment plans that hope to succeed in downtown Framingham.
"Public is a bad word in Ireland right now. The public sector is denigrated as the private sector is lauded," he says. That's even more true in the current American political discourse. But we ignore public space at our peril.
Swan! … and Slowing Down
I'm sure I wasn't imagining it. Yesterday, I was driving by the pond off Elm Street near Saxonville center, and I did indeed see a beautiful white swan. I wasn't able to stop, but did slow down for a good look. What a pleasant surprise on a dismal, grey, raw day!
Alas, I went back on foot this morning, and the swan was gone. Which just goes to prove again that some of the unexpected, joyful gifts nature offers us are fleeting indeed. And sometimes, even if you get to enjoy nature while driving, it's even better if you can slow down, stop, and see it outside of the sealed, metal environment that is your car. I sure wish I'd been able to pull over, get out, and give that gorgeous creature a much longer look.
Which brings me to a stream-of-consciousness related point -- you definitely experience your community differently in a vehicle and on foot. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with driving; it lets you go so many more places than you could if your only alternative was walking. But I think it's unfortunate if the only way you ever experience your community is in a motorized vehicle. There are things you miss, from chatting with the neighbors to seeing little details that simply whiz by in a blur when you're driving 30+ mph.
Sometimes we lose sight of that in a multi-tasking culture where cramming more and more, faster and faster, into all available time tends to be prized a lot more than deliberation, contemplation and slowing down. I'm reading the book Sabbath by Wayne Muller, and he's got some fascinating points on the need to balance striving with occasionally slowing down. He also asks:
Without a doubt, money and prosperity matter - they certainly do to me. But so do other things. At the global level, is it truly beyond dispute that citizens of one nation, which has 3.7% economic growth and the average worker gets 2 weeks of vacation a year, are better off than citizens of another nation, which has 3.4% economic growth but workers get 6 weeks off each year?
On the local level, so much discussion lately has been about property values, tax rates, and growth. Now I happen to be a homeowner, and care a lot about the value of my life's largest financial investment as well as how much I have to pay each year to inhabit the house I'm still paying off. But there is more to quality of life in my community than can be measured in my checkbook. I would MUCH rather have paid a few more dollars a year in taxes to have had a beautiful new branch library in my community, a place that would have been a communal education/gathering center, a neighborhood anchor and a source of great civic pride. That was so worth the $12/year or whatever small amount it would have cost.
Alas, I went back on foot this morning, and the swan was gone. Which just goes to prove again that some of the unexpected, joyful gifts nature offers us are fleeting indeed. And sometimes, even if you get to enjoy nature while driving, it's even better if you can slow down, stop, and see it outside of the sealed, metal environment that is your car. I sure wish I'd been able to pull over, get out, and give that gorgeous creature a much longer look.
Which brings me to a stream-of-consciousness related point -- you definitely experience your community differently in a vehicle and on foot. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with driving; it lets you go so many more places than you could if your only alternative was walking. But I think it's unfortunate if the only way you ever experience your community is in a motorized vehicle. There are things you miss, from chatting with the neighbors to seeing little details that simply whiz by in a blur when you're driving 30+ mph.
Sometimes we lose sight of that in a multi-tasking culture where cramming more and more, faster and faster, into all available time tends to be prized a lot more than deliberation, contemplation and slowing down. I'm reading the book Sabbath by Wayne Muller, and he's got some fascinating points on the need to balance striving with occasionally slowing down. He also asks:
"What is the true measure of the wealth of a people? The creation and preservation of beauty? A strong and healthy citizenry? An educated and compassionate leadership, ensuring justice for all? A palpable sense of civic joy? A collective sense that serving our neighbor is our highest civic good? Sadly, none of these rises to the top of our list. By current standards, the Holy Grail on the altar of civilization is the health of the economy, measured by the G.D.P. Economic growth is the measure of a life well lived, a nation well run, a civilization well built."
Without a doubt, money and prosperity matter - they certainly do to me. But so do other things. At the global level, is it truly beyond dispute that citizens of one nation, which has 3.7% economic growth and the average worker gets 2 weeks of vacation a year, are better off than citizens of another nation, which has 3.4% economic growth but workers get 6 weeks off each year?
On the local level, so much discussion lately has been about property values, tax rates, and growth. Now I happen to be a homeowner, and care a lot about the value of my life's largest financial investment as well as how much I have to pay each year to inhabit the house I'm still paying off. But there is more to quality of life in my community than can be measured in my checkbook. I would MUCH rather have paid a few more dollars a year in taxes to have had a beautiful new branch library in my community, a place that would have been a communal education/gathering center, a neighborhood anchor and a source of great civic pride. That was so worth the $12/year or whatever small amount it would have cost.
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