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