Duany on the Next 30 Years

USA Today recently ran a piece on Andres Duany, City Living Will Be Like a Blast From the Past, where he dishes out his thoughts on what America can expect in the next 30 years.  There are some provocative thoughts in the article.  Here's one of them:

Despite urbanization, the old suburbia will endure. Duany estimates that at least 40% of homebuyers will favor big houses on big lots with a few cars.

"I had someone ask me, 'Why would I want to know my neighbor?'" Duany marvels. "Someone else said, 'No drive-thrus? Have you ever unstrapped a kid out of a car seat?'"

But as much they might like conventional suburbia, many people will not be able to afford it. So they'll try New Urbanism, Duany says, and they'll like it -- shorter commutes, more vital street life, less money wasted on gas and home heating and cooling.

"You have to work hard to support a conventional suburban lifestyle," he says. "People will be pleased by how much they'll be able to ease off."

They also asked him for insight on the five trends he sees in the next 30 years.  Here's what we can look forward to accroding to Duany.

1. Urban Retrofit for Suburbia
2. Gardner on the Roof
3. Government Goes Hyper-Local
4. Buildings that Look Cool and Safe
5. Mormon Settlers as Models

Check out the article if those predictions intrigue you.

The Elusive Walkable Neighborhood

This is a cross-post from my montly column, Community Design Matters, inThe Roswell Current.  

 

Recently, I wrote about the Elusive Neighborhood Grocery Store. A number of readers wrote me with disappointment that we have so few here in the northern ‘burbs.' I’m disappointed too. But, there is something even more elusive in our part of metro-suburbia that is even harder to find—The Elusive Walkable Neighborhood.

The first thing I want to point out is this: There are Neighborhoods that are Subdivisions but not all Subdivisions are Neighborhoods. Atlanta’s northern suburbs are largely made up of subdivisions that people call neighborhoods because our country has lost so many true neighborhoods that people don’t even know how to recognize them anymore. A place with houses has become a neighborhood. The second thing I want to point out is that a walkable neighborhood almost always has sidewalks but a subdivision with sidewalks is rarely a walkable neighborhood. 

Okay, you say… you just dissed my subdivided lifestyle, so tell me, Mr. New Urban Smarty-pants, what is a walkable neighborhood? First and foremost, a walkable neighborhood is a place where people generally prefer to walk because it feels comfortable and interesting. Use the following question as a litmus test. When driving, do you feel the urge to get out of your car and walk? If the answer is no, you are probably not in a walkable neighborhood. If the answer is yes, you have probably found one. 

There are other ways to test walkability. The most popular is Walkscore, which is a place whose value of 0 to 100 is based on the amenities in close proximity of a given address. Check yours at walkscore.com. You can also use the immeasurable rules of Walk Appeal coined by architect Steve Mouzon — people on the street, lovable things along the way, magic of the city, safety, nature, and sound. These are all things that impact whether you will walk somewhere but probably don’t enter your thought process when deciding between your shoes or your keys.

Another easy rule of thumb is that people are generally not willing to walk more than a quarter mile to get to their destination if a car is readily available. Exceptions to this occur in places with high Walk Appeal, where the walk is broken up by many interesting ‘distractions.’ These distractions are generally people, shops, or interesting views (natural or manmade). Places like Paris, New York City, Savannah and Charleston are great examples of places where people are more than willing to walk long distances. Places like Windward Parkway that have sidewalks do enable walking but don’t have high Walk Appeal. It gets a Walkscore of 12.  

Walkability is a key component of a true neighborhood. Neighbors don’t meet each other driving from their garage to the big box store du jour and back to their garage. They meet each other on foot. Much of this happens while walking. Walkable neighborhoods promote neighborliness. Neighborhoods with a mix of interesting destinations within close proximity that are accessible by foot promote walking. Walking promotes better health, better social capital, and less foreign oil consumption. And walking under the influence rarely results in serious injury. 

Now that TSPLOST has failed, maybe we should move in the opposite direction and focus less on roads and transit and more on sidewalks and proximity.

City Hall Square Concept Gaining Traction in Roswell

This eveining at City Hall, Roswell City Council and the public had the chance to see an evolutionary proposal for what the heart of our city could be.  City staff and the Downtown Development Agency presented and opined (in that order) on a transportation and economic development (in that order) project that will impact the heart of our city.  There were about 30 citizens and stakeholders present to see the concepts that were sparked from (but wildly different than) the DPZ master plan concept.

The configurations that were presented (all slight variations from the image above) are significantly different from a traffic flow standpoint than what Andres Duany and DPZ proposed for the area but DOT couldn't make the DPZ proposal work with traffic models.  The good thing is that DOT has a CNU accredited staffer in Clyde Stricklin who worked on the post-street design configuration.  It heps to have someone who at least speaks the language of urbanism to refine design around big roads.  

Pretty much everyone in the room was in favor of moving forward, albeit cautiously, with planning this project.  The mayor requested that staff and the DDA work together to try and refine the design details and potential economic impact before going external to hire a town planner.  I agree with the approach but feel this is a very delicate project.  If it is done incorrectly, it could be disasterous for the heart of Roswell.  If it is done correctly it could be huge.

The estimated costs are $8-$11M for the roadway and park features.  Buildings, etc. would be a separate tab with a mixture of public and private uses.

What are your thoughts?

It Takes Time to Turn the Titanic...

I saw an interesting tweet a few days ago from Alpharetta city councilman Jimmy Gilvin that referenced some 2010 US census stats. He was basically pointing out that during that timeframe people flocked to suburban environments while urban places didn't fare as well. Here’s his tweet:

"From 2000 to 2010 the City of Atlanta added 3500 residents. Suburban Alpharetta added 22,600. Please spare me the urbanism talk."

First off, if you would like to follow Jimmy on Twitter his handle is @jimgilvin. He is often entertaining and I appreciate an elected official being active in social media. It is definitely a risk.

That being said, I had to take a look at his stats (which are correct) out of curiosity since my blog is primarily about New Urbanism.  The data from 2000 to 2010 pretty much shows that it was business as usual for the suburban experiment. This isn’t really much of a surprise. I wondered if anything had changed since those nubmers came out last year because everything that I’ve read recently points to a renewed interest in walkable urban environments as a preference over the drivable suburban environments that have dominated population growth over the last 40-50 years. 

Interest in walkable urban environments started to pick up around 2004-2005 and a lot of condos started to go up in the denser areas of the region, most notably in Midtown and Buckhead. But, there was also a lot of development that broke ground around our traditionally suburban city centers that could also be deemed walkable even if it wasn't as intense as what was going on in the urban cores. A lot of this development was crushed by the economic downturn and still hasn’t fully recovered.  All types of development suffered this fate whether it was walkable urban, drivable suburban, single-family, multi-family, single-use or mixed-use.  There was no single boggieman here.

We are starting to see some signs of recovery in all of the aforementioned areas.  My expectation is that over the next two to three years, we will start to see more walkable development pick up steam again as you see condos, townhomes and apartments start to go up around the region.  Most of this will occur in the centers of our suburban towns. I think this is ringing true in the more current stats. The latest population estimates as of July 2011 show a much different story.

In the period from April 2010 through July 2011, the City of Atlanta's population growth, 3%, exceeded much of the region as new buyers and renters started filling in much of the empty development that was left unoccupied after the real estate crash.  The Atlanta condo market is healthier than it has been in years. Many of the high profile condo buildings that were noticeably empty for years have hit the tipping point where 70% of their units have been sold.  This threshold makes financing much easier and will accellerate the sale of the remaining units.  Additionally, a significant amount of apartment capacity is going up intown.  What I'm saying here is that the trend is looking favorable for walkable urbanism.  Most drivable suburban areas are growing but at a slower clip.

In fact, the ONLY suburban market that exceeded the city of Atlanta's growth on a percentage basis between April 2010 and July 2011 was North Fulton.  The US Census estimates show that the city of Atlanta added 12,424 residents during that 15 month period.  This was the most of any city in the metro area.  There were only 7 cities with over 20k residents that exceeded that growth.  Five of them were in North Fulton (Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell, Sandy Springs).  The other two were East Point and Union City.

If these trends continue, traditional suburbia may be in for a tough road ahead.  Here are some key points:

1. North Fulton, specifically Alpharetta, is not your typical suburban environment. It is a Technology hub that functions as a job center. It has much more wealth than most of the other suburban areas on the region. Most suburbs do not have the same inherent benefits that North Fulton does.
2. All of the cities in North Fulton have either approved, planned or built walkable urban environments
   1. Alpharetta – City Center, Avalon
   2. Roswell – Groveway, Historic Roswell Master Plan, Centennial Walk
   3. Johns Creek – Johns Creek Walk
   4. Milton – Crabapple Area
   5. Sandy Springs – New Town Center
3. Boomer and Millennial demographics are pointing toward a very large demand for walkable urbanism over the next 10 to 15 years as boomers downsize and millennials buy homes.
4. Much of this growth in walkable urbanism will be in areas that have been traditionally labled the suburbs.  Just look at where the most talked about areas are in your suburban city.  They aren't the newest golf, tennis or gated subdivision.  They are the city centers with lively environments of shops and restaurants.

The suburban experiment is almost over and it is even coming to an end here in North Fulton.  People want places where they don't have to rely 100% on their cars to live their lives.

Plans, Plans and More Plans

This is a cross-post from my montly column, Community Design Matters, in The Roswell Current.  

If you haven’t noticed, something’s afoot in Roswell.  Specifically, in Historic Roswell.  It started over a dozen years ago when the city and gritty business owners started nudging Canton Street toward greatness.  Now anchored by regionally recognized restaurants and retail, it is known as one of the great places in Atlanta.  The next big step was the 4-year community project that ultimately resulted in the approval of the Groveway Hybrid Form-Based Code in April.  Let’s not forget the Atlanta Street Livable Centers Initiative completed in 2008 that served as the backbone for later plans.  Another critical step was the Midtown Streetscape project and the Roswell 2030 plan that was adopted earlier this year.  

On top of all this, we recently created a downtown development authority and the Roswell Business Alliance. The city’s first Strategic Economic Development plan was just finished and presented to the public this summer. We are kicking off a citywide visioning process as well as completely overhauling our zoning codes. We are down to two final alternatives for the Historic Gateway transportation project that will finally eliminate the dangerous reversible lanes.  Last but not least, Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) just presented their Master Plan for the Historic District last month.  It is simply amazing what has been completed and/or initiated in just the past few years.  However, much of this is merely planning and strategy.  

City Hall has more plans than it knows what to do with. Now, it’s time to act. The first step is to define the heart and soul of our city. The DPZ Master Plan does just that. It outlines three unique villages from the Chattahoochee to City Hall that build off the amazing diversity of landscape, topography, history and culture that already exist along the Atlanta Street corridor.  Those three villages would create walkable destinations that are inherently Roswell, while catering to the people who live here more so than the cars that drive through. They will complement the renovation of Atlanta Street. Residents overwhelmingly want this to happen.  The primary landowners are dying for a reason to develop this area. All the city needs to do is provide direction.  

Our elected officials have accepted this vision, and are working to give the city the unified vision it needs to achieve greatness. I for one am tired of being a Sandy Springs/Alpharetta sandwich with a side of East Cobb. Roswell is a great city, but it’s great for mainly one thing, housing.  Our future lies in communities where people live, work and play, not where they sleep, drive and watch TV.  Showing this commitment to walkable, mixed-use, fun neighborhoods in the heart of our city will not only strengthen our conviction to build an incredible place, but it also announces to businesses and neighbors that Roswell is committed to becoming the best city in the region in which to Live, Work and Play.

tsp-LOST.. Where Are We Now?

image: FakeMARTAWell, that was fun.  I'm glad it's over.  My $99.00 grocery bill won't become $99.99.  That's what I was really worried about.  I hope I never have to hear the horrid TSPLOST acronym again.  You'll hear a lot of post-mortems over the coming weeks and this one is in no way comprehensive but it's representaive of where I stand.

TSPLOSTs got thumped around the state and that should tell you something.  The fact is that the legislation sucked.  It was drafted under a gold dome that didn't want anything to do with a functional transportation bill.  It took a last minute deal in 2010 just to hammer something through and finally break the multi-year deadlock.  

They effectively punted the responsibility to the citizens by telling us that if we want infrastructure improvements, we will have to design a project list ourselves and then vote to pay for it ourselves.  Oh yeah.. if you don't vote for it, your state local match for road projects will be cut from 90% to 70%.

Apparently, we don't like having to compromise with our neighbors and we really don't like being told that we will have to pay for it and be penalized if we don't.  TIA was riddled with flaws ranging from how the project selection would take place to how it hamstrung MARTA as the ONLY transit system in the state that was not allowed to directly benefit from the tax revenues.  It did not create a region-wide transportation system and it left too many vagaries as to how the funds would be managed, spent and accounted for although there were provisions that feigned oversight.  Unfortunately, the devil was in the details and the devil was teased out over time.

So, we're back to the drawing board.  What's next?  That would be the enigma that is "Plan B." I'm sure you will see a dozen new Plan B's over the next month or so and each one of them will push more roads growing ever wider. EXACTLY WHAT WE DON'T NEED.  In fact, the governor already has one... and it's said to be pretty top-down just like those wiley, patriotic liberty loving Tea Partiers like it.

Why did it fail?

Regardless of what the naysayers say, this didn't fail because of the project list.  It didn't fail because there was 52% transit versus 48% roads.  It failed because of the structure of the legislation and VERY poor messaging by its supporters.  It failed because of a massive conservative led and stoked distrust (in some cases well founded) in the government which is ironically overwhelmingly conservative run at the moment.  Let's not forget that the legislation (intentionally?) set the vote for what would be a Republican dominated state primary with a historically low turnout of just the type of voter who would vote for a tax increase.

Many of those who voted no had no idea what was on the project list.  They were ideologically against tax increases.  Additionally, there was a pervasive misunderstanding that this was going to be an $8.5 billion bailout of MARTA which would ultimately result in trains, crime and density in the suburbs.  

You can't combat that level of ideology and misunderstanding with an alternative ideology. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the UntieAtlanta campaign tried to do.  It failed miserably. The ad campaign was opaque at best and never resonated with any faction of the electorate.  It relied on people doing their own research.  You have to be OUT OF YOUR MIND to think that the average voter who already feels they are over-taxed is going to check out a list of 157 projects and then sift through local news or municipal websites to find their local share projects.  Most people didn't even know there was a 15% local share.  The marketing was a collosal waste.  

Oh yeah... let's not forget the hot lane and GA400 disasters that were so well timed ahead of this vote as well as the crazy Agenda 21 nuts that started coming out from the fringes this year.  The horrid acronym that became attached to the Transportation Investment Act didn't help either.  TSPLOST just sounds like a monster waiting to get voted down.

This was a perfect storm that swamped the TSPLOST.

Last but not least, I can't really blame the asshole who stole the one Vote Yes sign that I put up the day after I put it up but that was just wrong.  I'd like to assume it's the same asshole who stole the lone Vote NO sign in the neighborhood the day after I sent this email to my neighborhood about it. But it was probably dueling sign bandits. Interestingly, only TSPLOST signs seemed to be disappearing though as the other signs were still there. Odd.. Do signs really even influence votes anyway? 

If I thought it was bad legilsation from the get-go, then why did I support it?  

I play with the cards I'm dealt.  All in all, the project list was solid and very compromising for the region.  I prefer to see action rather than inaction.  An imperfect plan that ultimately gets the job done is better than no plan at all.  It's also better, in my opinion, to start now with a plan that works than wait years into the future to see if a perfect plan comes along.

Any real visionary action in our region has now been pushed 4 years down the road.  That's FOUR YEARS if we are lucky.  That's the same amount of time it takes to get a college education.  That's A LONG time.  I'd rather get to work than sit and wait for politicians to come up with something else that may or may not work.  Maybe I'm just too impatient.  

What's Next?

I will continue to advocate for places that enable people to drive less and enjoy life more.  The new Roswell Gateway Master Plan is just that and we will continue to work to bring awareness of its benefits.  Unfortunately, the $20.4M that would have funded the critical Hwy 9 redesign that would have helped bring the master plan to fruition just got tspLOST.

Here's what we can expect to see around the region in exchange for that penny.  

• Lots of one sided Plan B's
• Lots of fragmented local projects that don't help the 65% of us that commute between more than one county
• Lots of people saying this is a mandate that we ONLY want road expansion in the Atlanta region
• More toll road proposals
• More toll road proposals... so get your PeachPasses
• Increased Local Share Responsibility on Road Projects (10% becomes 30%)
• No Transit Expansion up 400 or into Cobb or Gwinnett or out I20 or into Clayton
• MARTA Cuts
• GRTA Cuts
• Fewer sidewalk projects
• Fewer bike lane projects
• Increasing commute times
• Increasing air pollution
• The list goes on.....

I don't know if penny pinching feels so good when I see that list but at least my $99.00 grocery bill is still $99.99.

TSPLOST Letter to the Neighborhood

I figured I'd share a letter I sent out to my neighborhood earlier this week with the NUR readers since it might pertain to some of you...  

Hi everyone!  When I got home today, I noticed a vote NO sign sitting at my neighborhood entrance.  It surprised me to have a bold NO shouting at me before I even walked in the door.  That is generally my 3 year old's job.  I attached another Vote NO sign to this email that makes me feel better.  

Up front, this email isn't for anyone who can't get past a no-tax ideology or an anti-transit bias.  If that's you, by all means, vote NO on Wednesday.

Seriously though, this is an important vote and the Mill Village is significantly impacted by the projects on the list.  It's easy to say no, but everyone should know what they are saying no to.  There are 157 total projects on the list that cover 10 counties.  The tax will raise about $8.5B over its 10 year life. The regional list will receive 85% of the total funds (~7.2B).  The other 15% will be divvied up by the region's municipalities for individual local projects.  See the Roswell list here.  Of the 85%, 52% will go to transit (that's bus & rail) and 48% will go to roads.  But, that's a little misleading since the road projects in many cases will qualify for matching state or federal funds.   So, it's more like 67% roads, 33% transit in addition to the 15% that will go to the localities which can be used as they please, primarily, from what I've seen, on roads and sidewalks. Here are some points everyone should know.

• Public Input - Over 200,000 metro residents had the opportunity to give input.  Actually everyone had the opportunity but 200,000 participated in some way.
• Local Control - 21 elected representatives from all around the region were tasked with putting the project list together.
• Unanimous Agreement - Once the project list was whittled down, all 21 officials AGREED that it was a list that met the needs of the region. 21 Politicians AGREED on something?
• Tax Sunset - This tax sunsets in 10 years or when the projected funds are raised.  An extension must be voted on by the region.  This is not another GA400 toll.
• NO PLAN B - The real Plan B is the status quo. So, if you like the status quo, vote no. Anyone who says there is one is pushing their own agenda or they just have their own idea of a better plan.  

How does this directly impact Mill Village?

A YES vote will accelerate the timeline for removal of the reversible lanes on Atlanta Street by ~4-5 years.  This project is fully funded by TSPLOST.  So, instead of getting a safe road in ~2020-2021, we would likely have one by about 2016-2017.  That in itself is enough secure my YES vote.  If you are considering voting no, just remember that you will undoubtedly be locking yourself into 8-10 more years of the suicide lane.  This road project also complements the DPZ Master Plan that was presented to the public last night at City Hall.

 

Other major projects that will impact us here in North Fulton are the $48M ($23M TSPLOST + $25M Federal) to improve traffic flow at the Holcomb Bridge/GA400 interchange and a total of $450M ($112M TSPLOST + $337M Federal) to improve flow at the I-285/GA400 interchange.  There's also a ton of money in there for roads all around North Fulton such as Arnold Mill and Old Milton.  These projects will be accelerated with TSPLOST and may never happen without it.

 

There will NEVER be a list of projects that suits everyone and there may never be an opportunity like this again in our lifetimes.  Remember that a no vote gives complete control back to GDOT and the state and takes it away from the region and municipalities.  Let me know if you have any questions as

I've done a lot of research on this topic.  You can also check out my article in the Roswell Current here.

 

Thanks!

 

Mike Hadden

image courtesy FakeMARTA

Multimodal Passenger Terminal Update

This is not Roswell related per se but I happened to be in the area this afternoon so I stopped in on the Multi Modal Passenger Terminal public information session downtown. Today's meeting was the first meeting where the public was able to see preliminary renderings of the three concepts.

My thoughts are mixed on the project. It is something that can be truly transformational for the city and the downtown area if done right. Situated between Five Points Station and Phillips Arena, it will occupy some prime real estate that is severely underutilized currently. Here are a couple photos that I took today.

My reservations are primarily in the area of design. I won't argue that the team that has been assembled to design this project doesn't know what they are doing. I'm sure they can get the engineering and function right. What I'm concerned with is that we will end up with another over-glasses modernist design that in no way reflects the place and history. The building(s) that are produced should fuse Atlanta's past with her future and not shoot to be the trendiest architectural novelty du jour. Here are three photos of the rendering boards that were on display, one for each concept. Cool, yes. Meaningful, I don't think so. I got the feeling that the crowd of 150+ was less than enthusiastic as well but I didn't run a poll.

I'm also concerned that this won't ever become a reality.  The plan is for inter-city rail, commuter rail and eventually high speed rail.  With the way the TIA vote is looking, people don't want to pay for trains.  They want to pay more for roads.  (this is not part of the TIA project list).  Either way, it will be nice to see what the final concept is but the jury is out on whether this will ever happen.

There is much more to come on this project and there will be a lot of refinement in the months and years ahead.  If you are interested in learning more, you can go to GDOT's site below.  The renderings above are not online yet but should be within the next week. (sorry for the crude pics)

http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/p3/projects/mmpt/Pages/default.aspx 

TIA2012 - Roswell Local Projects

As you may know, the TIA2012 or TSPLOST will return 15% of the total tax receipts back to local municipalities.  Roswell has been a little late to the party laying out it's project list.  Many municipalities aren't even producing a local list with the expectation that the tax will fail on July 31st.  Those elected officials obviously weren't Boy Scouts.  Roswell DOT presented our list to council at Monday night's city council meeting.

The great thing about our list is that it really focuses on pedestrian and bike resources.  It will improve overall safety and improve connectivity.  There are two groups of projects.  The first are signature projects and the second is 'potential projects' which fall into three main categories; sidewalks, complete streets, redevelopment connectivity.  Check them out below:

Signature Projects

• Early Off Ramp from SR 400 NB to Market Boulevard
• Holcomb Bridge Road Multi-Use Trail, Phase 2 (Steeplechase to HBMS)
• Holcomb Bridge Road Multi-Use Trail, Phase 3 (HBMS to Nesbit Ferry)
• Holcomb Bridge Road Multi-Use Trail, Phase 4 (Nesbit Ferry to Barnwell)
• Holcomb Bridge Road Multi-Use Trail, Phase 5 (Barnwell to Gerrards Landing)
• Eves Road Complete Street (Riverside to Eves Circle)
• Eves Road Multi-Use Bridge over Holcomb Bridge Road (Eves Circle to Scott Road)
• SR 120 Improvements (Trail Connection from Willeo Road to Square; Sidepath from Kroger to Just Friends)

Potential Projects List

• Old Mountain Park Road (Cobb County to Mountain Park Road)
• Select items from over 150 other projects on the Sidewalk Program Matrix
• Hardscrabble Green Loop Phase 2 including Hardscrabble/King intersection (Target/SR 92 area to King Road)
• Any Roswell Loop-related project
• Oxbo Road ROW and/or CST
• Sun Valley Road Phases 1, 2 and/or 3 ROW and/or CST
• Over 200 other projects on the Connectivity Program List

VOTE YES on July 31st, 2012

Vote No on August 1st, 2012

NUR Weekly - TSPLOST, Parking, Restaurants, Blocks & Mixed-Use

I keep coming up with good ideas for this weekly digest so I had to add a section.  The last part is dedicated to fun stuff and may or may not relate to what we discuss on the NUR blog.  This week, Joan Durbin at the North Fulton Neighbor was on fire with several notable stories.

What’s Up in Roswell

Holcomb Bridge/GA 400 Improvements Tied to TSPLOST - North Fulton Neighbor

Here’s the gist from city council woman Betty Price:

Whether or not T-SPLOST passes, some interim improvements will be evident in the near future. With additional funding and guided by the recommendations of this study, whole-scale improvements can be made in the future that will revitalize this inadequate intersection, bringing with it a welcoming and functional entrance to Roswell from 400.  

Pay Parking May Come to Roswell Historic District - North Fulton Neighbor

My prediction...  People are going to hate this more than they hate looking for a space.  If you’re willing to walk 200 yards, there is NO parking problem.  Key Excerpt:

The locations are the lot next to Wells Fargo on the west side of Canton Street and a lot on the east side between Ga. Hwy 9 and Canton Street that used to be the old city fire department years ago. 

Roswell’s Red Light Cameras May be Relocated - North Fulton Neighbor

This is fairly controversial to some.  Here’s my 2 cents.  These cameras tend to reduce deadly ‘perpendicular’ or ’T-Bone’ crashes at intersections but increase rear-end collisions.  Generally, anything that causes people to pay more attention

Four Canton St Restaurants on Jezebel Magazine’s Top 100 Restaurants for 2012

This is a great sign that Canton Street is doing all the right things.  Little Alley Steak, Inc Street Food, Salt Factory and Table & Main made the list in that order.  You’ll have to check out the magazine to see where they weighed in.

4th Annual Trilogy Trolley Crawl Tix on Sale

Top 5 Articles of the Week

What is a Block? - Better Cities and Towns

The block is something that confuses most people.  This article takes a stab at defining it and does a pretty good job.  Here’s how they define one:

the definition of a block should be based on the legal structure of urbanism. Therefore, a block is legally defined as private property surrounded by public rights-of-way. By this definition, a block is one of the two fundamental units of urbanism (alongside the right-of-way) reflecting the two types of property (private and public, respectively).

The article also uses an example from up the road in Alpharetta to illustrate the absurdities of suburban ‘blocks.’  They managed to find one has a perimeter of 12 miles!  We need more connectivity and smaller blocks. 

Don’t get Mixed Up on Mixed-Use - PlaceShakers

Mixed-use is one of those terms like sustainability.  It is over used and often used out of context.  This article lays it out pretty well:

Today, the most common misunderstanding I find about mixed-use is that most people think it equates, on any street or in any context, to a shopfront with housing above.

In short, mixed-use makes for three-dimensional, pedestrian-oriented places that layer compatible land uses, public amenities, and utilities together at various scales and intensities. This variety of uses allows for people to live, work, play and shop in one place, which then becomes a destination for people from other neighborhoods. As defined by The Lexicon of the New Urbanism, mixed-use is multiple functions within the same building or the same general area through superimposition or within the same area through adjacency… from which many of the benefits are… pedestrian activity and traffic capture.

How to Get a Trader Joe’s - Smyrna is signing a petition - Smyrna Patch 

I’d love it if it were just this easy to get a grocery store where you want it.  I’m sure we could collect a lot of signatures to get one here in Historic Roswell.  This commenter said it best:

Ultimately Smyrna has to prove we have the demographics to ensure Trader Joe's can survive. It's not about where we want it and why. Will Trader Joe's consider Smyrna and why?

Cops Set Up Sting to Keep Pedestrians Safe - AJC

Read this article, you just might learn something that will keep you out of trouble when walking or driving.  Here’s a stat that I wanted to be sure got out there.

...four people are hit by cars each day in the metro Atlanta area. (Sally) Flocks said between 70 and 80 pedestrians are killed each year in the metro area and more than 20 percent within 100 feet of a transit stop.

Alpharetta Downtown Development Picks Up Speed - ABC

Keep moving forward Alpharetta!  This will be a big boost to walkability in North Fulton.  I thought this excerpt was noteworthy:

In the past decade, other suburban cities including Woodstock, Norcross and Suwanee have tried to reinvent their downtowns by launching major projects.  Those ideas reflect principles of New Urbanism, a countermovement to the development patterns in the 80s and 90s across metro Atlanta that to suburban sprawl. New Urbanism aims to create public spaces, such as a city center, where people can congregate in parks that are near shopping, restaurants and entertainment.

Unfortunately, Roswell didn’t get a mention in the article but we are doing great things and our historic district has arguably been more successful than any of the towns that were mentioned even though they pursued very high profile projects.

Fun Stuff

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Beijing’s Olympic Ruins - Much worse than Atlanta’s Ruins

Top 10 Best & Worst Cities to Live - This ranking used a very interesting methodology.  Number one on the list, Hong Kong.  Last on the list, Tehran.  Best US City, Washington DC.  

What the World Would Look Like Covered in Lego - Simple and Fun.. I’d love to drive under this bridge..