20 is Plenty and Other Crazy Thoughts

Earlier this year in an online forum on Reddit, I laid out my quick list about what the top transportation needs are for Roswell.  My list in no order of importance and applicable to most cities was as follows:

• Bring MARTA Rail to North Fulton
• Increase Street Connectivity
• Remove Reversible Lanes
• Build More Roundabouts
• Drop speed on ALL residential streets to 20 mph
• Build the Roswell Loop

Most of my suggestions focused on increasing transportation options and improving safety.  Interestingly, the one that got questioned was the point about dropping speeds on residential streets to 20 mph.  When I indicated that my rationale was for safety reasons, one commenter insinuated that this isn’t necessary because we don’t have a pedestrian death problem in our residential areas.  I agree and we should feel fortunate for that.  However, I think many a homeowner can point to multiple occasions where they have encountered drivers speeding recklessly on neighborhood streets.

Speed has a logarithmically negative effect on survival rates for pedestrians involved in collisions with cars.  A 10% increase in vehicle speed increases pedestrian fatality risk by 40-45%.  Data shows that when a pedestrian is hit by a car traveling at 20mph, they have a 95% chance of survival.  However, as the speed increases, the survival rate plummets.  When a car is traveling 40 mph, the pedestrian survival rate drops to just 15%.  This is just plain physics.  Doubling speed results in the required stopping distance quadrupling and the kinetic energy absorbed at impact is also fourfold.   We may not have a death problem here in North Fulton but nationwide, more than 30,000 people are killed in car crashes annually and an increasing percentage of those are pedestrians.  Ten times that number are seriously injured every year.  The costs to society are staggering but we accept it as a necessary evil to support our auto-dependence.

Slowing down to 20 mph is a radical idea that would increase safety in our communities for pedestrians and cyclists alike.  That said, simply lowering speed limits isn’t a panacea.  Drivers generally drive at the speed they feel safe regardless of the posted speed limit.  This comfort zone, the speed that feels safe, can also be called the design speed or the speed at which the road was designed to be safely navigable.  The philosophy of wider, safer, faster holds true here.  The wider the road is, the safer it feels at higher speeds.  This counterintuitively increases speeds which conversely decreases safety for everyone involved.  

We’ve all lived in or driven through residential subdivisions with streets wide enough to fit parked cars on each curb and two active lanes.  The problem with this is that the streets in suburban residential areas are rarely every fully lined with parked cars.  The end result of this is a dangerous design with wide expanses of asphalt that encourage teenagers to test their limits and rushed commuters to push the gas.  This would happen in this environment regardless of whether the posted limit was 30 mph, 25 mph or 20 mph.  It’s just not conducive to a slow drive.

That said, a 20 is Plenty campaign such as those that are having great success across Europe and the UK would be a bold step to create safer and more walkable cities.  The movement is slowly making its way to the US and is now under consideration in several cities and towns in the northeast.  New York City is considering it and some people have even gone around town putting up their own signs on light posts.  There is also research indicating that slower street speeds are linked to more social connections, a stronger sense of community, higher property values and increased walking and biking.  

It almost sounds like a no brainier.  So, this is how I would propose phasing in a 20 is Plenty campaign: 

• Step 1 (year 1-3).. Give all neighborhoods and subdivisions the option to adopt a 20 mph limit.
• Step 2 (year 4).. Adopt on all roads that have residential as  > 50% of their frontage and on any road that fronts a school or park for a quarter mile in each direction.
• Step 3 (year 1-10 and beyond).. Re-engineer streets over time to narrow lanes and install street calming devices that would encourage slower speeds.

The next time you’re driving through a neighborhood remember that 20 is Plenty.

Why aren't there more of these?

I liked this so much I had to post it..  I'd love to see more of these.

ht: @BrentTodarian

City Green Meeting Tomorrow!

Please try to attend this meeting and show your support.  If you can't please sign the petition here and email your elected officials at roswellmayorandcouncil@roswellgov.com.  

Get With the Program Roswell: Town Green Edition

So, while Roswell has been busy putting money in its piggy bank, our neighbors around the region have been encouraging exactly the walkable lifestyle that we are saying we want.. Here's a tour of what our neighbors have done or are up to currently..

Alpharetta is building a town green in front of the new city hall. There will also be a new park, parking garage and library on the property along with mixed use buildings flanking the green.

Duluth's town green is part of their Livable Centers Initiative and has been around for about a decade and continues to drive walkable development in the heart of the city. image: Duluth Historical

Suwanee's town green is almost ten years old and is a model of walkable development in the heart of Gwinnett County. image: CaptureGwinnett

If one green in Alpharetta wasn't enough, we are putting this on one for effect. It is not publicly funded but it is publicly supported and it will be an iconic part of the Avalon development.

The Historic 4th Ward Park along the Beltline in Atlanta has radically improved the area just south of North Avenue and has spurred millions in redevelopment while also solving a nasty stormwater drainage issue. image: Historic 4th Ward Park Conservancy

Sandy Springs is moving forward on the master plan that they adopted back in 2012. This segment is where many of you may know as the old Target shopping center. As you can see, there is a nice public green that will be added next to a parking deck and office that may be the new City Hall.The city of Dunwoody is currently building three new parks as part of the Project Renaissance that borders the Georgetown area on the north. The park pictured here is Georgetown Park and will be surrounded by residential and some retail/restaurant.

Lillian Webb Park in Historic Norcross has been a vital element of that area's revitalization. image: wayfinding.comCentennial Olympic Park is obviously on a different scale but the past several years have proven the power of a civic space to attract development. In the next 6 months we will see the College Football Hall of Fame, National Center for Human Rights and Atlanta Streetcar all open on or near the park. Additionally the Sky View ferris wheel recently opened and who can forget the Aquarium and World of Coke. Coca-Cola is moving ~2k tech jobs adjacent to the park as well.. image: DeltaSkyMag

So, Roswell.. let's build the Green!

Let your leaders know you support City Green by adding your signature to our petition!  

http://www.change.org/petitions/support-the-roswell-city-green-project

Also, you can email them with your support at roswellmayorandcouncil@roswellgov.com

City Green Week!

This week I will be posting exclusively on the City Green project.  The DDA will be presenting its revised concepts to city council next Monday, May 19th at 6pm at City Hall.  Come see the new plans for where the War Memorial will go.  I don't have images yet but will post them when they are available.

Please try to make the meeting and wear green to show your support!!

For more info, go to: www.citygreenroswell.org

To sign the petition of support go to: http://www.change.org/petitions/support-the-roswell-city-green-project

Help us get it to over 500 signatures!

CNU Atlanta: Blogger Smack Down!

I'll be participating in the CNU Atlanta Blogger Smack Down next Thursday, 5/15, at CNU Atlanta's monthly Thirsty Third Thurdays (T3) networking event.  I'm really looking forward to this and it shoudl be interesting.

Well, it won’t really be that much of a smackdown, but the gloves are off as we will find out who’s behind some of the coolest urbanism and architecture blogs in Atlanta.  I'll be there along with the guys behind ATL Urbanist (Darin Givens), Architecture Tourist (Terry Kearns) and History Atlanta (Conor Lee).

Have some questions? Ask away on the Facebook event page here. We’ll use the Twitter hashtag #CNUATLT3 during the event!

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, May 15th
• Time: 530pm - 730pm
• Place: Steel Restaurant & Lounge, 950 West Peachtree St, NW

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A Tale of Two Bus Stops - An Unintentional Tactical Urbanism Intervention

I'm not sure if everyone remembers way back in early 2012 when the city of Roswell installed some more people friendly bus stops.  There were several covered shelters added around town and a number of our unsheltered stops had little seats added to the bottom of them to make waiting for the bus a little more bearable for those who choose to (or are forced to) endure the 30+ minute headways that one can often experience as a suburban bus rider...  

Anyway, I saw something a few days ago that I'm honestly shocked I did not pick up on before...  Apparently, the city has left riders at one of the more frequented stops literally standing.  I walk by here several times a week and more often than not, there are people standing waiting for the bus.  However, just up the road, maybe 200 yards, there's another stop that has two perfectly good Roswell-green seats that I've NEVER seen get used.  

Humane places don't require that people bring their own chairs to the bus stop.The previous stop pictured could use one of these green seats.

I'd say it's time for the city to move those green seats to the right bus stop. Well, unless we want more chairs to be added to the side of highway 9.  Or, maybe just add another green seat.

Also, for those who are interested, that chair is a crude form of what geeks like me who run in the planning circles, would refer to as "Tactical Urbanism."  For more on that topic and how citizens can make impactful, sometimes illegal and always fun interventions in their city with minimal effort check out the handbook on the subject: Tactical Urbanism 2: Short-Term Action, Long-Term Change

Does This Subdivision Make Me Look Fat?

Your significant other probably has never asked you this question but it may be one of the the most appropriate questions one to ask when pondering poundage.  Way back in the mid-70s, the U.S. obesity rate was about 10%.  By 2007, that rate had increased to 33% with another 33% of the U.S. being clearly overweight.  In 1991, zero states had an adult obesity rate greater than 20%.  Over the next 16 years, America stuffed its collective pie hole to the point where Colorado was the sole state under 20% in 2007. As a nation, we have gained 5.5 billion pounds since the 1970’s.  That’s 27.5 of our largest aircraft carriers.  Now, consider the tag-along maladies associated with obesity such as diabetes, heart disease, increased risk of certain cancers and osteoarthritis and we really start to see the immensity of this problem.

 

So, is it the increased number of Big Gulps that is causing this or is it the increased amount of couch surfing?  That’s a tough question to answer but studies indicate that sloth may have more of an impact on obesity rates than gluttony.  A study performed in Britain looked at obesity rates between 1950 and 1990 and saw that even as gluttony peaked and declined over the years, obesity continued to climb and the data suggested a notable causal role of inactivity.  A study looking at Atlanta found that an increase in daily driving of just 5 minutes increased the likelihood of obesity by 3 percent.  Add another 30 minutes to your commute each way and you’re scale will start to cringe.

Our car dependent lifestyle is literally driving our increased inactivity.  I would wager that most of us drive by necessity not by choice.  Fortunately, that is something we can start to change.  The sprawl fighting organization Congress for the New Urbanism has made healthy places one of its focal points.  In 2010 they partnered with the CDC make health a focal point of their annual convention, which was appropriately held in Atlanta that year.  The CDC has a Healthy Places program that lays out the guidelines for building places that help improve help rather than hinder it.  

If you live in a subdivision where it is a challenge to incorporate walking or cycling into your daily chores, your ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle for you and your family is going to be diminished when compared to a highly walkable neighborhood.  The health benefits that come from being able to open the front door to a walk friendly environment where you can walk to the store, office and park are significant.

It turns out that walkable places that new urbanists and smart growth advocates strive to create are one of the best solutions to many of the health issues that our country faces.  We are getting better with places like Historic Roswell, Avalon, Alpharetta City Center and Milton Crabapple providing (or soon to be providing) moderately walkable lifestyles.  But there is still a lot of work to be done.  Let’s keep pushing for walkable town centers with a diversity of uses, connective paths between neighborhoods as well as parks that are our kids can safely walk to and steer clear of the sloth inducing, car oriented development of the past. 

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When Personal Preference Has Power

I have to say I'm a little jealous.  I throw out my personal preferences a lot here on this blog but honestly I don't have much influence.  That can't be said for the folks on our Design Review Board.  If you want to shape the city to your architectural preferences, that's apparently the place to be.  Take for example the saga of a Grove Way project that is currently somewhere in the design/approval stages.

The project was sent back to the drawing board due primarily to the personal preferences of individuals on the DRB.  We have a look at the before and after designs.  The second design is up for approval in next week's DRB meeting.  You be the judge.  Was it necessary to send the builder back to the literal drawing board?

Elevation 1 - Apparently NOT Appropriate for Roswell

Elevation 2 & 3 - To Be Determined Whether Appropriate for Roswell

View From Hill StreetView From Myrtle Street

As an aside, I'm much more interested in getting the street layout and geometries right than any particular architectural style.  The number one rule of Good Urbanism is to get the streets right!  

The East West Alley Master Plan

City council will be voting Monday on a proposal by city staff to hire POND & Co to conduct a master plan for the area that is being called the East West Alley.  I didn't know it had a name but apparently now it does.  The boundary map is below.

The Primary focus will be the Web St area from Canton St to Mimosa.  From the city memorandum:

The purpose of the master plan is to have a comprehensive development approach in the alleys built on consensus and good planning principles including land use, transportation and stormwater.

I sure do hope they adhere to the "good planning principles" piece of that statement.  A charette will be conducted at some point during the process and everyone who is interested should pay attention to that and participate if possible.  I will provide dates when they become available in a subsequent post.

Here are some things I would like to see in that area..

• Mixed-Use + Parking - How about a mixed-use building to replace the Antique Market that would front Canton Street, have shops along Webb St and have a parking deck in the back.  Maybe a good use would be a hotel.
• Playground - How about a small playground somewhere?  I've always thought the Canton Street area was lacking a high quality playground that parents could stop off at.
• NO WIDE ROADS - part of the coolness of alleys is that they are narrow and cozy.  DOT, please don't ruin that with 10+ foot lanes.  Please.
• Fill the Missing Teeth - in addition to the missing tooth that is the Antique Market parking lot, we need to fill in the missing tooth that is the space just to the south of the Board of Trade.  That spot is in need of a building.

What do you think should be emphasized in this master plan?