Thursday
Jan202011
Pedestrians, Parking and Prospect Park
Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 10:15PM 
It's been a while since the last update. Today's post primarily focuses on Roswell and Alpharetta. There's been a lot going on lately especially in Alpharetta. Enjoy!
Roswell
City Considering Ways to Warn Drivers of Pedestrians - Roswell Neighbor
Can we rephrase this headline please? Do drivers really need to be warned of those dangerous and pesky pedestrians? Now, protecting pedestrians from being killed is noble and it is needed in many areas. So, I'm open to ideas. I'm a little skeptical of the flag system that is going to be tested on Canton Street though. I'm not sure how many people will actually use it.
Come on... Seriously, Bulloch Hall can totally share its parking lot. Don't get me started on parking requirements.
This is relatively old news but I thought it was noteworthy. Great cultural institutions are hallmarks of great communities. Roswell lost a quality performing arts venue due to the economy. Say what you will about the location of the venue, but it stinks to see good local businesses close.
Bob Strader summarizes some demographic data and makes some pretty good suggestions including one that I advocate which is for North Fulton to focus on integrating itself into a truly regional transit system.
This is a pretty bold idea but I like it. Alpharetta is really leading the way on this one.
Region
With a little help from Fulton County, It looks like Alpharetta is now winning in the sweepstakes to win the new campus for Gwinnett Tech. I think this is a very logical choice and it will be hard for Gwinnett Tech to turn it down.
This is an interesting post with good info. Lee over at Roots in Alpharetta makes the claim that "Alpharetta's previous generation of suburban planners served us well." I do agree that Alpharetta is and has been experiencing a very successful 10-15 year span. However, I'm not so sure that it is sustainable into the future. I've written before that I believe we will start to see jobs migrate back to the downtown and inner-ring suburbs as energy prices increase. If this prediction holds true, the jobs will leave Alpharetta quickly.
I think this is a good concept at a bad time. The city has approved a mixed-use development on a parcel of land owned by MetLife. The timing is unfortunate considering that many people have a negative perception of mixed-use due to the failure of Prospect Park. Let's remember that hundreds of other developments have also foreclosed during the past four years. The failure of Prospect Park is not an indictment of mixed-use developments.
Wells Fargo still won't do the right thing and deed the road to the city of Alpharetta. So, I say Alpharetta should do a citywide boycott of Wells Fargo until they agree to deed the 90% complete road to the city which was to occur under the previous development agreement. The road being open will make the property more attractive. Just do the right thing Wells Fargo.
Since we were on the subject....
They have a long way to go but I'm glad to see them moving in the right direction. I commuted to work by bike in Alpharetta for about 6 months and rarely felt safe. Hopefully that changes. The next headline will help that.
Beyond
Recent years have seen meaningful reductions in vehicle miles traveled as well as traffic deaths. In fact, last year traffic deaths reached a 50+ year low. However, this article goes into ways that the government could further reduce traffic deaths. The one thing that was strikingly absent was the easiest of all... encourage less driving through policies that encourage walkable neighborhoods.
tagged Bicycling, mixed-use, parking, walkability in NUR Review
Bicycling, mixed-use, parking, walkability in NUR Review
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