Just in Case You Were Curious about Trout Streams

Seriously..  Is this sign really necessary?  It's right along the path along Azalea Dr.  I highly doubt we will have anyone just dropping some development right there.  This belongs in a zoning code and not in the public realm in the middle of one of Roswell's most used amenities.

More Groveway Development? 900 Myrtle Street

There are a few things going on in Groveway right now but I won't cover all of those today.  Those are the Frazier Street Apartments, Souther Skillet Property and now the property at 900 Myrtle Street.  Since the council will be voting on a stream buffer variance for a new development at 900 Myrtle tonight, I'll quickly comment on that one.  Here's a rough view of the site with the 21 new residences laid out.  I'm not sure what type of residences these will be (single family or townhome).

We are very excited to see actual residential development coming to Groveway but there are a couple concerns.  

First, this property will be gated.  I think we need fewer gates in our historic center and those that are already up should come down.  Real cities don't gate their neighborhoods.  Suburbs do and those places are called subdivisions.

Second, I can't tell which way the fronts of these buildings will face?  If they are not facing the existing streets, it will be a shame.  Much of the Groveway Code talks about how buildings front the streets and as most New Urban Roswell readers understand, buildings frame great places.

Third, this property sits in the middle of a gigantic block that stretches roughly 1400 feet from Norcross to Hill Street.  If we are truly looking to create a walkable area in the center of our city, we need to cut that distance at least in half.  Truly walkable cities have blocks in the 200-600 foot range.  Those with 1400 foot blocks are almost wholly car dependant because people just won't walk that far.  The developer should consider (if they aren't already) adding a mid-block pedestrian path on the north side of their property.

I guess there will be more to come on this one but as it sits right now, there are some unanswered questions that might lead to some concerns.

Update on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 10:49AM by Michael D Hadden

I just wanted to follow up here.  Pretty much all of the concerns I had with the initial plan have been eliminated.  The most recent site plan that I got a glimpse of shows a much better use of the space and really works to frame the public realm while creating an intimate and cozy atmosphere for the residents.  When I have a site plan that can be published, I will as it will be some of the better development that we have seen.  I really wish the Chattahoochee & Pine folks had put more thought into their site plan.  

More Restaurant & Retail Space Coming

The owners of Lucky's are looking to build some more space on the lot just to the north of them.  Currently there is an older house there and they plan to remove that and put up a new 6000 square foot building that will serve as restaurant and retail space.  One of the cool features is that they plan to connect it to the existing building that Lucky's is in with a covered pavilion.  The elevations below are posted on the city of Roswell's site and the plan was approved with conditions (not sure what they are) at tonight's Design Review Board meeting.

The building would sit perpindicular to Alpharetta Street similar to how the building that Thumbs Up Diner sits.  it looks like a nice space and is an improvement on what is there currently.  The slow move of progress up Alpharetta Street continues.

If anyone knows what might be planned for the space, please chime in.

The STROADs of North Fulton

This is a cross-post from my monthly column, Community Design Matters, with The Current.

Roads are inherently meant to connect places.  Ideally, they are higher speed with very few intersections, entrances and distractions.  They have wider lanes and more forgiving curves to provide added safety.  They differ significantly from streets which are meant to create places and capture and build upon the value in those places.  Well designed streets are typically straight and have many intersections.  They have narrower lanes and have sidewalks and sometimes bike lanes.  Turn lanes and acceleration lanes shouldn’t be present.  Traffic on properly designed streets is slower and it mixes with other modes such as pedestrians, bicyclists and pubic transportation.

Examples of properly functioning streets and roads in North Fulton are few and far between.  One street that comes to mind is Canton Street between Magnolia St and Woodstock Rd.  It functions very well as a street by taking multiple modes safely through an environment that defines a place. It is a destination point which is usually where streets are present.  A well functioning road (although not named a road) is actually Marietta Hwy from Roswell to East Cobb.  This road provides a high speed and efficient route from one destination to another with minimal interruptions from intersections, incoming/exiting traffic and shopping centers.  You can safely drive 50+ mph until you near the Avenue East Cobb or the Historic Square.  There are others that function well but most of our streets and roads are actually a dangerous and economically handicapped combination of the two.  

Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns.org has coined the term STROAD to describe a “street-road hybrid” which performs poorly at both functions.  Chuck calls a STROAD “the futon of transportation alternatives. Where a futon is an uncomfortable couch that also serves as an uncomfortable bed, a STROAD is an auto corridor that does not move cars efficiently while simultaneously providing little in the way of value capture.”  You can find STROADs all over North Fulton.  Any time you are driving between 30 and 50 mph, you are likely on a STROAD.  

Some of the more prominent STROADs here in N Fulton are Old Milton Parkway, Mansell Rd, Alpharetta Hwy (especially between Historic Roswell and Hembree Rd) and the grand daddy of all N Fulton STROADs, Holcomb Bridge Rd.  The constant barrage of shopping plazas, gas stations, subdivisions and intersections along roads that are supposed to move people from point A to point B eliminates much of the fast, efficient movement that roads should provide.  Couple the transportation issues with the fact that what we find along our STROADs should actually be concentrated along properly designed streets and you have a recipe for complete and utter inefficiency with a side of unnecessary danger.  

We deck our STROADs out with all the infrastructure necessary for a highly productive street but the revenue generated from the uses lining the STROAD in many cases does not support the maintenance of the infrastructure past one life cycle.  The combination of highway road geometries like wide lanes, turning lanes, merging and deceleration lanes and frequent traffic signals creates an environment ripe for crashes.  Any traffic engineer will tell you that one of the biggest culprits for collisions is speed differential.  When cars are traveling in the same space at differing speeds, you get crashes.  The STROAD is the Mecca for these types of scenarios.  All traffic is forced onto the STROAD from our subdivisions and shopping centers.  All traffic must leave the STROAD to get to it’s destination.  There is no common departure and arrival.  Everyone has a different departure and arrival point along the way.   

Mix a STROAD and pedestrians together and look out.  One of the most infamous stretches of STROAD in the nation is Buford Hwy south of I-285 where there is an intense mix of auto and pedestrian traffic.  Between 2000 and 2009, at least 22 pedestrians died along that stretch of Buford Hwy.  Here's a very interesting video on that road:

Fortunately, North Fulton does not have a location of that nature.  However, there is one very concerning spot that does come to mind.  That is Holcomb Bridge Rd just west of GA 400.  With the amount of illegal pedestrian activity at that intersection, we are one misstep away from a fatal collision.  That area needs a design makeover yesterday and these signs in the median aren't going to cut it.

In order to build stronger towns, safer places and more desirable environments, we need to begin to focus more on points A and B and less on getting people to what’s between them (usually strip malls, gas stations, car dealers).  We need to build more productive streets, like Canton St, and more efficient roads, like Marietta Hwy that will capture value where it should be captured and get people between destinations efficiently and safely.

This month’s column borrowed heavily from the ideas of Chuck Marohn with StrongTowns.org.  If you are interested in hearing more from Chuck, he will be speaking on April 25th at Town Hall | Roswell.  For more info on that event or to register for it, click here.

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Stop the Madness: Stay Off the Chimney

If you have visited Overlook Park in Sandy Springs, you may have noticed that there is an old chimney that is a relic from a long gone house that was once part of the property.  It's actually quite decorative.  However, for the longest time, I felt something just wasn't right.  It was odd to look at it just sitting there as it had for decades without a sign in front of it.  Thankfully, someone has fixed that problem.  

Sign Overload: 4 Of A Kind!!!!

If you haven't noticed these suckers before, you will now and they will annoy the piss out of you.  They are now present on virtually every median you can see.  You will actually be surprised by how few medians actually don't have these signs.  Where do they come from?  Who the hell puts them up?  How much do they cost?

Given their prevalence on our roads, one would have to conclude that America has a serious median collision epidemic.  Unfortunately, I think the real epidemic we have is our severe lack of concern for the degradation of our environment and the lack of respect for our own collective common sense.

Behold the new American intersection decor...  Yes, this is four views of the four medians at the same intersection and yes, you are all morons because you obviously can't see the medians, trees, grass, flowers without the assistance of a sign to let you know that you will need to navigate around them.

Who Is Speaking for the Trees?

I feel like the Lorax here but I thought the language of HB 501 being voted on tomorrow in our state legislature was interesting enough to share...

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding the maintenance of public roads, so as to require the Department of Transportation to remove all trees in the public right of way that are capable of falling on an interstate or limited-access highway; to provide for the department to designate the removal of trees by a third party after a competitive bidding process; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Link to Legislation

I could not find anything that told me whether this was:

1. Cost Effective? - How much would cutting every tree that meets this definition cost?  How many are there?  How long would this take?
2. Necessary? - How many crashes, injuries, deaths per year are caused by a tree falling on a road?  I'm sure there are some and don't want to sound insensitive to those people who have lost loved ones to an unfortunate accident of this nature but I'm just not convinced that there isn't lower hanging fruit out there.
3. A Legitimate Safety Concern? - It sounds to me like a way around the Supreme Court case regarding trees covering billboard views.  The last sentence in the bill "All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed." made me think that might be the case.

You can send an email to your legislature through this link if you are opposed to a wholesale cutting of all trees meeting this definition.  Here's the link.

http://protectgeorgia.net/editalert-ckbox.asp?aaid=6990

Update on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at 11:00AM by Michael D Hadden

Update:  This bill died in committee on 3/8.  Lorax 1 - Georgia House 0

http://saportareport.com/blog/2013/03/house-bill-to-cut-trees-along-state-highways-dies-in-committee/

Sign Overload: A Beginning and an End

I'm giving Roswell a break this week.  A special thanks to my friend Brian for bringing my attention to this set of signs on the Forsyth section of the Big Creek Greenway.  Apparently these litter the landscape up there along the greenway anywhere that an elevated boardwalk section is present.  Everything has a beginning and and end and Forsyth County wants you to know about it.

Town Hall | Roswell - Developing Our Future

There is a really interesting event coming up this week here in Roswell. It’s put on by RoswellNEXT, a local non-Profit that I’m involved with.  We are focused on engaging young professionals, entrepreneurs and visionaries in an ongoing dialogue on how we can work together to improve Roswell.  Our signature event is Town Hall | Roswell and our kick-off is this Thursday, 2/28 at 7pm.  If you enjoy this blog, you will definitely enjoy this event.

Town Hall | Roswell is held every other month and each event focuses on a topic relevant in Roswell.  Each event will have a speaker or panel of speakers who will discuss that month’s topic.  We then follow up with a Q&A from a moderator and/or from the audience.  

This month’s topic is “Developing Our Future” and we are very fortunate to have an incredible panel.  Our speakers are:

• Dave Schmit - Macauley + Schmit, Roswell Rotary, Roswell DDA, Roswell Comp Plan 2030 Chair, 2011 RBA Economic Development Award Winner
• Steve Stroud - Executive Director Roswell Business Alliance, Stroud's Printing & Design
• Steve Acenbrak - Director of Roswell Department of Transportation, Bike Roswell!
• Lew Oliver - Whole Town Solutions, Vickery Village Town Architect, Two Time CNU Charter Award Winner

Event Details

• Date & Time - 2/28 from 7pm - 10pm
• Location - Roswell Historic Cottage, 972 Alpharetta St, Roswell, GA 30075
• Cost - Tickets - Members - $5, Non-Members - $15, Drinks - $5
  • Purchase your tickets here (Members must login to website to get discounted ticket)
  • Walk-in/Door tickets -- add $5

Come check it out if you are interested in learning more about Roswell and getting involved in helping build our city’s future.

Sign Overload: Where's That Stop Light?

Where the heck is that traffic light? Also, if you couldn't see that Commerce Pkwy was coming up, this sign has you covered.