Cut-through or Connectivity?

There is a proposal floating around in its early stages for the Goulding property.  It would significantly increase the intensity of development along a new street through the 6 acre property by adding 28 townhomes and 10 detached houses.  The initial review of this proposal was at the Oct 9th Historic Preservation Commission meeting.  

To put it lightly, it did not go well.  Representation from every home on Goulding Pl showed up to voice their opposition.  They didn't like the intensity and felt that this plan would increase traffic and endanger pedestrians who regularly walk in the streets as there are no sidewalks.  

I spoke out in favor of one thing in the plan.  I do think that townhomes are a stretch for that property but they could work if done properly.  What I was in favor of was the street connectivity.  Here are some illustrations that make my point..

There are some topography challenges but this lack of connectivity is pitiful.

The site plan presented in Oct could provide for significant connectivity that could benefit local traffic. Red lines denote potential added connections.

The key here is to develop the street in a way that would not encourage cut-through traffic.  It is absolutely possible and can be done easily.  Lane widths should be NARROW.  The same width as those in Vickery Village in Cumming or even the Webb St in Historic Roswell.  Here's an image of a streescape from Vickery Village from DPZ as well as a Google Street View of Webb St

Street widths with 9 ft lanes successfully constrain speeds and cut-through traffic. image: DPZ.comWebb St with very narrow lanes. You simply can't speed here. image: Google StreetView

Here's my take on the street piece of this development.

Benefits (assumes narrow street widths of 9' lanes)

• Added connectivity which will significantly increase walkability and bikability for residents north and west of the historic district
• Potential for excellent infill development (keyword is potential)
• Potential for much more connectivity in the future
• Ability to draw some pedestrian and car traffic off Canton St (this is a city benefit and would obviously not be viewed the same way for those living on Goulding)
• Historic home would become more accessible to the public

Drawbacks

• Traffic would undoubtedly increase on Goulding Pl & Windy Pines Tr (really only a drawback for those living on Goulding and Windy Pines)
• Some historic character would be lost around the Goulding house (but who sees it now anyway?)

In my book, this new street plan would be a huge win for the city.  It may be the only opportunity that Historic Roswell gets to add connectivity to this area.  If we get this wrong, it will be a big loss.  The next review looks to be December 10th.  More to come.

Stop the Madness: No Right Turn(s)

Hey, no right turn here...  

Don't make me repeat myself...  

Now you've really gone and done it..

NO RIGHT TURNS HERE..

Seriously guys, this is unnecessary.. there isn't a vantage point where you can't see either one of these signs.  Take down the first one and leave the one next to the light...

But wait.  There's more.  Why can't you make a right turn? Because it's a ONE WAY Street.  So, if you could make the One Way sign more visible, you could negate the need for the two No Right Turn signs.  Hmm..

Stop the Madness: Pedestrian Xing Ahead

Now, I'm all for pedestrian safety.  But this is just overkill!  About 50 feet ahead of the crosswalk there is a sign indicating that there is a pedestrian crossing ahead.  Then, there are two signs at at the pedestrian crossing with little arrows to indicate that the pedestrians actually cross on the ground.  Not sure what to think if the arrows were aimed up.  Presumably, the 'ahead' sign is there because it is at the crest of a hill coming up Oak St to warn approaching cars that there is a pedestrian crossing under the assumption that cars wouldn't be able to see the two signs at the actual crosswalk.  

But, there is NO WAY a driver would miss the TWO signs that are actually at the crossing as evidenced by the second image which is a Google Street View from roughly 300 feet away.

Serously folks!  We need to chill with the unnecessary signs.  It's going to kill the charm we have in our public places.

Even More Infill Development on Canton St?

Wow.. It's been busy around here lately especially in the historic district!  This week, I've posted on potential develipment at Providence, Canton Street Walk and at Woodstock Rd/Canton St.  But, I have yet another project to put out there.. 

This one is a fairly small infll of four townhomes at 1075 Canton St.  The townhomes would replace the old blacksmith shed that is located at the rear of the property behind the house that fronts Canton St.  The site plan was approved with conditions (unsure of those details) at the 9/10 Design Reveiw Board meeting.  Here's are a couple images to help you get your bearings.

I'm a big fan of this type of development.  Taking existing parcels in walkable areas and adding quality development without taking away from the historical quality of the street.  I'm just hoping the architecture is high quality.  I have no doubt that these will be pricey but the new residents will have easy access to the Fickle Pickle and Swallow at the Hollow which will help take the bite out of the price.

Canton Street Walk Resurrected - Sort Of

As we detailed in our previous post, Canton Street Walk was a victim of the Great Recession.  However, there was still some undeveloped property that was not acquired by Lehigh Homes when they purchased the land to build Providence.  That is a small parcel in the center of the property adjacent to the original Canton Street Walk buildings.  

The good news is that the parcel is likely to be built on soon which, along with Providence Phase 2, will virtually complete the development in that area.

The bad news is that it will eliminate what has become a de facto park for the residents of Providence.  That said, it seems that a good number of the residents of Providence understand that the complete buildout of their property will increase the vibrancy of the area.

Here are some images:

The new building will align with fronts facing west and rears facing east just south of the left most providence building. Someone will lose their parking spot.

Providence Phase 2 - More of a Good Thing

I've always been a fan of the brownstone development just off Canton Street behind where Nine Street Kitchen sits today.  In its first iteration, it was called Canton Street Walk (not to be confused with the new Canton City Walk apartments).  That development went belly up during the real estate bust and Lehigh Homes came in and build Providence.  

There was alwasy the intent to finish off the development by going further east and back to Webb Street and that plan will likely be realized in 2014.  The plan was approved recently by the Historic Preservation Commission.  The elevations below are on file with the city and illustrate what the additional buildings will look like.  Once it's all said and done, there will be four additional Providence townhome buildings and three single family residences along Webb St.

I love this development because it engages another street in the historic district and brings more residential in to complement the vibrant business and shopping district.  Will it bring some additional traffic?  Yes, but we're building a walkable community which will enable the people who live in and around the historic district to leave their car in the garage once they get home.

Here are the images:

Site plan showing four townhome buildings along the north side of Webb St and three single family homes along the east side.

Side view of townhomes stepping up Webb St from west to east.

Front an rear elevations of building 1

Side views of building 1

Grimes Produce... No More?

Although this plan may get changed a bit as the developer has pushed out their hearing before the Design Review Board to next month, I figured I'd post this to get it out there.  The parcels that are currently at 1207 and 1213 Canton Street are potentially going to be redeveloped.  That intersection, in my opionion, has some of the greatest potential in our historic district.  It is a unique spot that is the gateway to Canton Street for anyone coming from the north and west of Roswell.  It should set the tone for visitors. 

That is why it is important to get the buildings at that intersection right.  That said, I'm not sure this new building does that.  It could be worse but it could be a whole lot better.  Here's the front rendering that would face Canton St.

And this is what is there today from Google Street View.

The new building will sit where the two buildings on the right currently sit with roughly the same setback from the street.  There will be another slightly smaller (25% smaller) but similarly designed building that will sit behind the new building aligned perpindicularly.  I understand that the primary use of the new buildings will be office but I don't have many details.

There is one primary issue I have with this plan as is.

The building does not reduce the setback.  If you want to create more of the success that is found at the south end of Canton St, the setbacks must be reduced.  Buildings need to front streets to create appealing walkable environments.  I would suggest moving the new building 20 feet closer to Canton St and moving all front parking to the rear of the building.  In it's place, a patio with landscaping similar to the one in front of Sweet! would be appropriate.  

Aside from that, it looks good but not great and the use is probably appropriate for that spot but I'll hate to see Grimes Produce go if that is indeed what will occur.

I'll post more on this as I get details.  Please add to the comments if you have any additional details.

Pedicabs Are Finally Here..

We first mentioned the possibility of pedicabs (aka Rickshaws) coming to Historic Roswell here on NUR way back in February of 2012.  That was when the city adopted an ordinance that allowed businesses to operate pedicabs in and around the Canton St area.  This is a fantastic addition to transportation options around our historic district.  It effectively increases the radius where someone living in the area would choose not to take their car to get to another destination.  I'm a supporter of anything we can do to get people out of their cars in the heart of our city.  I live here and walk as much as possible but this additional option will definitely make me reconsider taking the car for a few of the trips where we choose not to walk.

The pedicabs will begin operation this weekend starting on Nov 8th.  They will operate from noon until midnight Friday through Sunday.  The original map of approved operations shows that they will be allowed to go from Prospect Street on the north to King Street on the south and from roughly Liberty Lofts on the east to the end of Goulding on the west.  That is better illustrated by the map below.

I can't wait to try one out!

"Poster Child of Sprawl” to “Champion of Walkability”?

I’ve been excitedly awaiting the WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Atlanta report that was released last month.  The report, authored by Christopher Leinberger and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at the George Washington School of Business, takes a look at the Atlanta region’s pattern of development over the past 20 years and makes a compelling case that the era of sprawl may be over.  Mr. Leinberger is a well known land-use strategist who is famous for labeling Atlanta of the 90’s as the ‘fastest growing human settlement in the history of the world’ in terms of acres consumed per capita.  

Although, an impressive claim, we all can agree that the outcome wasn’t all great.  Sure, there are a good percentage of Atlanta area residents who have nice yards, lots of square feet and ample big boxes to shop from.  Conversely, most of us have to drive to virtually everything in sometimes excruciating congestion, relegating the young, elderly, poor and disabled to a subservient existence waiting on buses with 30 to 60 minute headways.  Additionally, the environmental impacts of our carelessly planned sprawl have wreaked havoc on both our air, via tailpipe emissions, and water quality, via runoff.

The report did not disappoint in its findings.  It chronicled development across the Atlanta region and looked at the two primary market supported forms of development, drivable suburban and walkable urban.  Drivable suburban is characterized by separated uses and automobile dependance.  Walkable urban is characterized by mixed-uses, multiple viable transportation options and a high degree of walkability.  Atlanta has been characterized as the ‘Sprawl Capital of U.S.’ and videos have chronicled “Sprawlanta” in a negative light.  When I moved here in 1999, being able to walk was the last thing on my mind.  However, today’s college graduates and corporate re-lo’s are a different animal.  They want walkable places with a mix of uses and those preferences aren’t expected to shift anytime soon.  The good thing is that Atlanta is apparently working to answer the demand.

The report found that there are 27 Established Walkable Urban Places (WalkUPs) in the region.  Oversimplifying for this column, the Established WalkUPs were identified as places having Walkscores greater than 70.5.  There were nine locations with Walkscores between 57 and 70.5 and those were labeled Emerging WalkUPs.  There were also ten potential WalkUPs identified through other methodology.  The report also ranked the WalkUPs on two factors, Economic Performance and Social Equity.  It gets into further detail by classifying the WalkUPs into seven types, Downtown, Downtown Adjacent, Urban Commercial, Urban University, Suburban Town Center, Drivable Suburban Commercial Redevelopment and Greenfield/Brownfield.  

Matrix of land use options in metro-ATL. Source: WalkUP Wake Up Call

In a speaking engagement surrounding the release of the report, Mr. Leinberger stated;

We have seen the end of sprawl in Atlanta. The suburbs are not dead.  This is the urbanization of the suburbs. 

So, how did the northern burbs fare?  Just okay.  North of the river, there are only two established WalkUPs, Downtown Roswell and Downtown Marietta.  No surprises there.  There were two emerging WalkUPs, North Point and Town Center (Kennesaw) along with three potential WalkUPs, East & West Windward and Encore Park.  There were a bunch of established and potential clustered in the Perimeter area and the majority of the others were in Buckhead and Atlanta around MARTA lines.  One glaringly absent area... HBR & 400.  This absence is not the fault of the authors.  It is the lack of creativity from Roswell and due to the outcry from a small minority (see last month’s column) it looks like the UDC will remove any changes to current zoning from that area.  

Notice there is a little activity in North Fulton. source: WalkUP Wake Up Call

Notice, there aren't many established WalkUPs in the northern burbs. source: WalkUP Wake Up Call

All of that is interesting but what does it all mean?  Some of the key findings: 

• Established WalkUPs account for .55% of the region’s land area and Emerging WalkUPs take up another .33% for a total of .88%.
• From 1992 to 2000, the share of income producing property development (office, retail, apartment, hotel) in Emerging or Established WalkUPs was 14%.
• From 2001 to 2009, that share increased to 26%.
• From 2009 to present, the share was a whopping 60%.
• That means that since 2009 60% of the region’s development has been concentrated on .88% of the land.
• Since 2009, 73% of development in Established WalkUPs went around MARTA rail stations.
• Almost 19% of the regions jobs are located in the 27 Established WalkUPs.
• Using Washington DC as the de facto model of WalkUP development, the Atlanta region could support another 8 WalkUPs.  
• On a price/sq.ft. basis, the 27 WalkUPs saw a 112% rent premium over the rest of the metro area (30% for office, 147% for retail, 12% for rental residential, 161% for for-sale residential)

That last point bears repeating.  For-sale residential in the 27 Established WalkUPs saw a 161% price premium compared to the rest of the region.  It’s safe to say that the market is SCREAMING for Walkable Urban development.  It is not only desirable, but highly profitable.  So, if you don’t want your city to fall by the wayside, you might want to support walkable development.  

Attn. Roswell... HINT... HBR/400 MUST BE Zoned Mixed Use in the UDC.

Attn. Sandy Springs... Great work on your city center plans.

Attn. Johns Creek... Mayday.. Mayday.. Mayday..

Attn. Milton... Horses need walkability too.

Attn. Alpharetta... Walkability is coming whether you like it or not.

For the full report click here.

Be Afraid.. Be Very Afraid

The witching month is upon us and some local ghouls, pundits and politicians would have you believe that one of the most terrifying moments in Roswell’s history is looming.  They will have you believe the Unified Development Code (UDC) will cast a shadow of doom over our great city that will be wrought by our current crooked city council and their greedy developer cronies.  These oracles will try to convince you, the naive and credulous, that this new code will usher in smothering density, rampant apartments, skyrocketing crime, soaring infrastructure costs, high-rise buildings, dysfunctional schools, choking traffic and the most ghastly of all...  URBANISM!!!

The UDC does allow for increased density and apartments in certain areas.  Will it be smothering? Is Vickery Village in Cumming a smothering Place?  Are the Providence Townhomes on Canton St smothering?  How about the Bricks and Founders Mill?  What about Liberty Lofts?  I guess they’re right.  Density is unbearable.

Some local examples of Unbearable Density. Clockwise from top left; The Bricks, Founders Mill, Vickery Village, Providence

What about the apartments?  Our current apartment complexes are unmitigated disasters.   Most were not well designed, poorly maintained and thoughtlessly located.  They segregated residents by class and effectively created billboards of indigence.  Lessons have been learned, just take a look at the Canton City Walk plans.  We need new, well-designed apartments like these.

The latest renderings of Canton City Walk illustrate the power of a quality architectural scheme coupled with walkability.

Will we see skyrocketing crime? I have faith in the men and women in law enforcement here in Roswell and the laws we have in place to prevent criminal activity.  It’s just not going to happen.

Infrastructure Costs will soar. Hmm.. Developers pay a lot of infrastructure costs up front and a tighter development pattern reduces infrastructure maintenance costs.  The alternative is to continue a sprawl pattern of development which has proven to cost more to maintain in the long run.  

Evaluation of Urban Residential vs Suburban Residential development in Sarasota, FL. image: Urban3

They’re bringing high-rises.  It’s the ghost of Charlie Brown.  Seriously folks, we have to move on.  The parcel of land at 400 and Holcomb Bridge is too valuable not to redevelop.  The UDC will permit buildings up to 8 stories in that area.  Additionally, it will likely be a future MARTA station.  It’s coming.  Get over it.  It’s only 8 stories.  The next most towering height permitted is 6 stories at Hwy 140 & 9.  There are 6 story buildings all over North Fulton.  Several other areas permit a lofty 4 stories and the rest of the map allows up to 3 stories.  (Correction: 6 stories are permitted in most of the industrial areas North of Mansell along the hwy 9 corridor and east into the industrial areas.  I did not clarify that in the published column.)

Roswell East (aka Charlie Brown) is a little too intense for Roswell. The UDC isn't dictating that this type of development be built anywhere.

Density will destroy our schools.  Huh?  Transiency, poverty and social disorder kill schools not people.  If we build a place where responsible people want to live, regardless of whether they are renters or owners, we won’t have a school problem.  

We will Choke on Traffic.  Our Transportation Master Plan that was approved in September helps address these issues but I challenge anyone out there to name any thriving city that does not have traffic?  Cities and towns without traffic problems are dying cities and towns.  Detroit’s done a fantastic job solving its traffic problem.  

They’re mandating URBANISM!!! - Let’s set this straight.  Urbanism is a design philosophy covering the spectrum from low density to very high density.  Urbanism does not mandate Manhattan but it allows it, just as it allows single family residential. Urbanism promotes connectivity, proximity, mixed-use, walkability, bikeability, incremental change and value creation through effective and thoughtful land use.  

The transect outlines development patterns from Rural to Urban. New Urbanism does not mandate high density.

Canton Street, the Mill Village, Milton Crabapple, Historic Norcross and Marietta Square are all examples of good URBANISM.  So is Seaside which is the only place I can think of that consistently and genuinely has the idyllic “white picket fence” that seems to define the “small-town feel.”  So, how is it that the world’s preeminent model of ‘urbanism’ provides exactly the idyllic, small-town feel that these public agitators preach will be destroyed by said ‘urbanism’? Go sell your Revelations somewhere else preacher men because I’m not buying it.  (30-A stickers anyone?)

The process has been rushed!  I disagree.  Our 2030 Comp Plan was adopted in Oct. 2011.  Amongst other things, it aims to revitalize declining areas, add additional housing options and update existing codes to attract high-quality projects.  Our current codes could not easily accomplish this task and in May 2012 the city brought in Code Studio to assist with the mammoth effort of updating and simplifying them.  A stakeholder committee was formed and has worked diligently over the past 16 months to get to this point. There have been over 40 meetings since the process began and all of them have been open to the public. The process has been well documented and open to the public.

All legislation should have a clear purpose.  The purpose of the UDC is to aid the city in implementing the 2030 Comp Plan and its Strategic Economic Development Plan.  Those that proselytize against the UDC have no plan, they just don’t like this one.  Some of their concerns have some merit but to spout off every worst case scenario to sack legislation is immature and disingenuous.  The bottom line is that Roswell has a plan that was created through a very open process with SIGNIFICANT and UNPRECEDENTED community input and the UDC helps implement that plan.

The kicker is that almost everything the UDC allows could be done today but it would take a lot more effort between the city and developers, builders & property owners thereby wasting taxpayer money and sending a discouraging signal to anyone wanting to do business in Roswell.  The UDC will help Roswell execute on its vision by reducing red tape, clarifying the vision and enabling the private sector to more efficiently and effectively put capital to work.

The Devil’s Advocate likes to say the Devil is in the Details.. I say the Devil is in Delay... NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO AGREE WITH EVERYTHING IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Let your mayor and council know that you support the UDC by sending them an email at  RoswellMayorandCouncil@roswellgov.com