Behold.. The Crooked Creek Superblock

This is a little outside the normal NUR area of interest but I thought it was an incredible case study into the lack of foresight that many of our cities and subdivisions have around connectivity and the importance of the effective network. The case relates to the Crooked Creek subdivision in Milton that is located along highway 9 between Bethany Bend and Francis Rd on the west side of the highway.  

The golf subdivision is looking to install gates to curb 'cut-through' traffic.  (Full disclosure, I live in a gated subdivision and would prefer that the gates be removed lest ye think me a hypocrite)  There are a couple hurdles Crooked Creek must clear before it can be done and I'm completely uninformed as to the prospects but I'd wager that it passes both.  The first is the 67% HOA vote.  The second is approval from the city.  The criteria for city approval is basically whether it is in the best keepoing of the community and the city and that it does not impact the surrounding community.

The city will no longer have to maintain ~7 miles of road which is a huge plus.  But, at the same time, its grid is being clipped and there will be one fewer connection in an area that is already, and will be moreso in the future, starved for connectivity.  I'm not sure what is worth more and Milton will ultimately need to decide on that but I generally side on more connectivity and you could definitley argue that gating this subdivision will negatively impact the surrounding community.

There are ways to make roads safe, even for children, without gating them.  The main road, Creek Club Dr, is WIDE and thus encourages and accommodates higher speeds.  The lanes are 12 feet in each direction.  That's as wide as an interstate lane.  No wonder Crooked Creek has a speeding problem on their 'cut-through' road.  

Pinching in the road and adding traffic calming would significantly reduce speeds while still enabling connectivity.  I use Vickery Village frequently to illustrate a place that has high connectivity with safe driving speeds.  Anyone can drive in Vickery and kids are ALL OVER the place.  The car just isn't given free reign to drive at unsafe speeds.  Ultimately, if you narrow the roads and you increase safety.  

Gating this subdivision will hinder connectivty and will significantly reduce pedestrian and bike options for those living around Crooked Creek.  They are already almost non-existant but that doesn't mean no effort should be made to keep what little connectivity exists.

My point on this is illustrated below.  Clipping the grid, so to speak, takes what were two superblocks of 670+ acres each and creates a single superblock of 1347 acres.  The perimeter of the new 'block' is 6.3 miles.  That's 10% of the ENTIRE I-285 PERIMETER which is just a little over 63 miles.  So, you're effectively creating a mini-perimeter in Milton and those living ITP will be the only ones benefitting.  (well they will have to pay for their roads with no subsidy from the rest of the city's tax rolls)

Superblock 1

Superblock 2

Superblock 3

For additional insight, check out the NorthFulton.com article on the subject here. 

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Big Creek Parkway Visualized

The Roswell DOT released a traffic visualization earlier this week that gives a glimpse into what a future Big Creek Parkway might look like.  I'm a proponent of this as it increases connectivity and will help reduce traffic cross the Holcomb Bridge / GA400 bridge. 

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West Roswell Elementary - Multi-Use Path?

It looks like the City of Roswell is doing the right thing and going to the Fulton County School Board to request an easement for a multi-use path along Hog Waller Creek.  The request went before the school board tonight and I'm not sure of the outcome yet (will update).  The path would be 10 feet wide. Here's an image of where the path would run.  

If this is approved, the next step would be to connect it down to Norcross St.  That would be a great step toward connectivity and toward making some safe routes to school for kids to walk and bike.

Rezoning Silliness

There is a rezoning battle that is coming up on Monday at City Hall and NO, it's not the UDC.  It's actually probably not much of a battle but it piqued my interest.  To me, it illustrates just how ridiculous our whole zoning process really is.  The lot in question at 1270 Strickland Rd, pictured below, is actually quite a beautiful lot.  It unfortunately abuts some ugly industrial lots to the north but that said, it has some charm.

We have a developer, Brightwater Homes of Sandy Springs, that is looking to build homes on the 5 acre parcel.  Given the current R-2 zoning, they would be able to build 14 single family units.  They are looking for a reclassification to give the parcel a R-2 Conservation subdivision classification.  The change would allow 15 homes on smaller lots while also conserving 1.79 acres as greenspace.  Additionally, the developer plans to put a walking trail on the greenspace for residents of the new homes.  

There are obvious technical differences in the classifications but come on...  1 additional home on some smaller lots??  I say that if it makes sense, looks nice and will have a positive impact on the city, then we should allow it.  But, it's never that easy and the opposition was out for the August Planning Commisison Meeting.  The notes were a bit long and a number of neighbors voiced their concerns, some valid in my opinion and some not so valid.  I've summarized and added commentary to several.

• Reductions in Set-backs - One resident feels that the request to reduce the building set-backs will reduce the natural beauty of the parcel.  Well, putting 14 or 15 homes on that parcel is going to degrade it regardless.  If it is going to be developed, it should be designed to be the most walkable as possible and the further homes are from the street, the less walkable the environment.

• Traffic (ALWAYS A CONCERN, RARELY AN ISSUE) - A point was made that the size of the neighborhood is increasing by 50% from 30 to 45 residences and this will cause problems at the Prospect St and Hwy 9 intersection.  I'm not sure I'm buying this.  Of course, there may be some additional traffic but it's not going to be catastrophic.  Is that intersection ackward?  Yes.  Should that be rationale to deny one extra home?  No

• Our Children Won't Be Safe!! - Some other concerns were voiced that the increase in car volume coupled with the non-cul-de-sac design would potentially pose a danger to the children in the neighborhood.  What poses a danger to the children in the neighborhood is actually the straight-away design of Valley Dr with lanes that are as wide as the lanes on GA400.  Lane width is a major determinent of the safety of a residential or city street.  The wider, the more dangerous.  A small block is no more or less dangerous than a cul-de-sac.  

• Nothing is Being Saved - The argument was posed that the site layout would not change much regardless of the zoning type because most of what is being conserved in the Conservation Subdivision plan is in the floodplain.  Point taken but there is something being gained in the form of a walking path and increased walkability in the site plan.

All that said, the Planing Commission has recommended that the change request be denied and the city council is voting on it this Monday 9/9.  The Planning Commission commentary centered around these points:

• Conservation Subdivision vs Standard Zoning - They seemed to like the conservation aspect but had difficulty weighing the consequences of rezoning.  The trail was a hit but some concerns were voiced about maintenance, public access and security.

• Why Not Fewer Lots with Bigger Homes? - This was the argument that seemed to be the deal killer.  Most of the commission members thought that fewer homes would be a better fit for the neighborhood.

My opinion is that the R-2 Conservation Subdivision site plan with 15 lots provides for a more walkable design.  I do take exception to the 12' lane widths which are wholly unnecessary for this type of road regardless of what the DOT and Fire Department tell you but that's a whole different story.  The jury is still out on whether the architecture will amount to much of anything.  You be the judge.

R-2 Site Plan

R-2 Conservation Subdivision Site Plan

Quote of the Week: Grids vs Arterials

Overall, a gridded street network of two-lane roadways can accommodate both pedestrians in addition to much higher volumes of vehicles as compared to the large arterial/collector single intersection.  The superiority in capacity even holds when the grid system is compared against the arterial/collector without any pedestrian  accommodations whatsoever.  This research presented results in terms of vehicle delay and vehicle level of service; while not ideal in terms of truly understanding the impact of these large intersections in a complete urban environment, these results should instead be used to clarify many of the misconceptions that conventional traffic engineers have with regard to such large arterials/collectors intersections.   

Additional benefits of the grid system include real-time route decisions, increased levels of walking and biking, reduced vehicle speeds, and  as some recent research is showing, safer roadways for all users.  Critics may point out that the grid system increases overall vehicle delays for through traffic.  The analysis done as part of this study agrees with this assertion; however, the analysis is limited in that it assumes all trips begin outside the grid, travel through the grid, and then exit the grid.

From Supersized Intersections vs Gridded Street Networks: Comparing Capacities & Pedestrian Accommodation

Each week we feature a quote or an excerpt that clearly illustrates the benefits of new urbanist thought. 

Oxbo Reallignment - Increasing Connectivity

The city council recently approved the a design contract for the realignment of Oxbo Road!!!   This is not a project that is going to occur overnight but it will be a fantastic win for the historic district.  After the design phase, right of way acquisition ($3.6M) and construction ($3M) will still be needed.

It will add two new intersections to our network and will make an existing one way street into a two way street.  This will not only reduce congestion at the Oxbo/Atlanta St intersection but it will increase connectivity and walkability throughout this entire section of the historic district.  

You can get a more detail in the NorthFulton.com article here.

image: City of Roswell