Richard Florida from CNU20

I thought I would share this interesting excerpt from a Better Cities & Towns! article recapping a talk by Richard Florida from his plenery talk at CNU20 in West Palm Beach:

The urban/suburban debate is likewise false, he said. “Great communities and great neighborhoods pretty much look the same,” he said. They are human-scale, include a mix of uses, and are close to transit. “These are the kind of things that people desire, and it is not just in the urban core that you find them,” he said.

This about sums it up to me.  I am a die hard new urbanist and I live in a suburban city which may sound like a paradox.  However, what most people don't realize is that New urbanism isn't about skyscrapers and Manhattan like density.  It's about creating places where people actually want to be.  

Check out the whole talk below.

TIA/TSPLOST and Historic Gateway Planning Meetings

This week, there are two important meetings going on at City Hall that I encourage everyone to attend.  I may not depending on when the stork arrives at my house. 

On Monday, 5/21, starting at 5:30pm in the rotunda at City Hall, there will be a discussion of the upcoming TSPLOST Transportation Tax vote.  Attendees will hear from representatives from all sides of the spectrum.  Here is the list: Roswell Department of Transportation (RDOT), the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the Council for Quality Growth (CQG), the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (NFCOC), Metro Atlanta Voter Education Network (MAVEN), Citizens for Transportation Mobility (CTM), the local grassroots Tea Party, and the Transportation Leadership Coalition (TLC).  Roswell has several horses in this race and residents should get informed asap.  That leads us to the next meeting.

On Wednesday, 5/23, starting at 6:00pm in council chambers at City Hall, Scott Ball, Senior Project Manager with from DPZ, will be presenting DPZ's completed work.  Attendees will see the Cultural Resources Study, Summary Report, Detailed Special Projects, and Design Standards.  The Historic Gateway Master Plan is intended to work in conjunction with the Historic Gateway Transportation Plan which is one of the projects that could be funded if the TSPLOST passes in July.

Please consider attending these meetings, educate yourself and voice your opinion.

Neat TimeLapse of Venice

I've never been to Venice but this time-lapse video of 'Venice in a Day' makes me want to go. What an amazing place.

CNU Self Critique from CNU20

One of the reasons I love the Congress for the New Urbanism as an organization is its willingness to self-critique and learn from past mistakes. This video highlights thoughts on those mistakes. The last line in the video is from Andres Duany and pretty much calls out the political discourse in our society. It's worth a watch.

It's Time to Celebrate Roswell

Roswell is about to reach a milestone.  Our dining scene is now healthier than ever.  How do we know this?  We are about to have our fifth McDonald's location!  If you haven't had a chance to see one of the other four, this is what the new one will look like.  It will be at 600 Crossville Rd in just the right spot to snag some hungry cars for its drive through.  Happy Meals for Happy Motoring Roswell!

Atlanta's New Rail Map?

This is what the rail map in Atlanta could look like in 10 years if the region votes yes to fund transportation with a 1 cent sales tax in July.  It doesn't make it up to Roswell but it's a big step in the right direction for the region.  

Additionally, the Historic Gateway Transportation project is on the list.  We'll have some real money to get rid of the reversible lanes on 9 from the river to the square.

ht: TheMidtownArchive

Canton Street Arbor - Cool Concept, Bad Parking Solution

This is a plan that is on life support for the property at the southeast corner of the Woodstock|Canton intersection.  It was approved with conditions by the Historic Preservation Commission in Jan 2011 but didn't get off the ground due to zoning/use issues.  

One interesting tidbit is the that the property and vision belong to Mayor Jere Wood.  He wants to build an arbor in the style of those built around Georgia in the early to mid 1800's.  See the image of the Brush Arbor at the Marietta Campground below for an idea of the building type.  I wanted to comment on it as I love building but hate the site layout.  It's another case of parking requirements killing progress and inhibiting good designs from becoming reality.

Now, check out the rendering of the arbor that Mayor Wood has had designed for his property.  It is strikingly similar to the Brush Arbor above which was built circa 1839.  It may be a copycat but it sure would be a great addition to our historic district and Canton Street if it were done the right way.

Now, here's a site plan with new parking shaded in red and the proposed arbor in green.

As you can see, there is a lot of additional parking.  The parking will be pervious so it wouldn't be asphalt but it's still parking.  The plans I saw showed the use as Assembley which would require 58 additional spaces to be added to the lot.  Now, the mayor decided he would compromise and say that the use was to be retail instead which would have a lower parking requirement.  This still leaves the entire lot with 95 parking spots.  That's a lot of parking for business that have peak traffic at different times of day.  Another solution is to allow fewer spots because there are spots at the soccer fields right up the road.

The parking requirements are one problem but another is the location of the new parking.  This design would further erode the public realm around that intersection.  I think you could find a way to tuck a lot (not all) of the necessary parking in between the existing buildings and tweaking the layout of the existing parking spaces a bit.  You could even pull the arbor building closer to the sidewalk.  But wait, there are minimum setback requirements to deal with.  You can't build a building close to the sidewalk like Salt Factory or Roswell Provisions or Go With The Flow.. That would be against code.

I'd love to see this get built as a hybrid retail and assembley space but even more than that, I'd love dopey zoning get out of the way and let the free market decide what gets built. 

images: AJC, City of Roswell

Another Sign... That You Can't Drive

Happy May Day Roswell.. Your gift is at the intersection of Mimosa and 120.  We should all thank DOT for prohibiting left turns from Mimosa to 120 during all hours of the day instead of the previous rush hour restrictions.  I feel safe and protected now.  In fact, I'm going to sleep well tonight knowing that no one will be making left turns from Mimosa on to Hwy 120 at 3am.  Sleep easy Roswell.. One less thing to worry about and we get another shiny new sign to brighten up our historic town square.  

Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd on the Transit Vote

Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd makes an interesting point in the video below when he says;

The key to it is to let people understand what's at stake here. I heard someone say this last week: Who do you think is gonna be cheering when this doesn't pass on Aug. 1? Is it gonna be the tea party people? Is it gonna be those in South DeKalb? Is it gonna be those who think we're paying a penny and we don't want to pay any more? It's gonna be Charlotte, it's gonna be Dallas, it's gonna be Phoenix. It's gonna be everybody we compete with for jobs on a daily basis. They will know we've stepped back from the plate. They will know we are not willing to take the steps here to move this region forward.

Check out the whole clip below:

AJC's Top 100 Workplaces - Where's Roswell?

I am fortunate to be employed at one of the AJC’s top 100 workplaces.  Unfortunately, for Roswell residents, almost none of those workplaces are in Roswell.  We have to commute outside our borders to find the best employers. The map is telling and the Roswell Business Alliance, Downtown Development Authority and Strategic Economic Development Planning team should take note.  

image: AJCIf we want to live in a walkable city, we need to have high quality jobs in walkable locations.