East West Alley Master Plan - Info Sessions..

If you are interested in what is going on with the East West Alley Master Plan, there are some meetings coming up later this month and later this summer that you will want to try to attend.  The Schedule is posted at the end of this post.  The first of the meetings will be next Wednesday at City Hall Room 220 at 5pm.  I'm really interested in seeing what concepts will be discussed.  Personally, I hope they look at making the alleys intos woonerfs (shared space where pedestrians and bicyclists have priority).  Additionally, we should look at paving them in brick from building face to building face.  This would add character and further enhance the pedestrian focus.

Here are a few imags from Jen Kempson's Integrated Alley Handbook that focuses on converting alleys in Seattle into actual livable places that add value to the city.  We could take a page from these concepts..

Meetings regarding Concept Plans

 

July 9, 2014 at 5:00p.m., City Hall, Room 220: Public Open House to present and discuss concept plans

 

July 9, 2014 at 7:00p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers: HPC Hearing - Discussion of Concept Plans with HPC

 

July 14, 2014 at 5:30 p.m., City Hall, Room 220: Work Session with Mayor and City Council to present and discuss concept plans

 

 

Meetings regarding Draft Master Plan

 

August 13, 2014 at 6:00p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers: HPC Hearing – Discussion of Draft Master Plan with HPC

 

August 19^th, 2014 at 6:00p.m., City Hall, Room 220: Public Open House to present Draft Master Plan

August 25, 2014 at 5:30 p.m., City Hall, Room 220: Work Session with Mayor and City Council to review and discuss Master Plan

September 10, 2014 at 7:00 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers: Present Master Plan for Adoption at Mayor and City Council Meeting

East West Alley Master Plan - Public Input Wanted

The public meeting for the East West Alley Master Plan is next week on 6/17.  Activating our alleys is an incredibly efficient way to expand the vitality of our Canton Street area.  There are numerous examples of successful alley conversions worldwide but I really like some of the concepts illustrated by the Alley Network Project.   They are small tight places that make you feel cozy.  They can be fantastic places for art installations.  And most importantly, they enhance connectivty and thus walkability and provide opportunities for creative reuse of space. So, if you want to add more vitality around Canton Street and continue to build our downtown, try to attend.  

My one piece of feedback is that we need to make these the first examples of active "Shared Space" or Woonerfs in the metro area.  

Here's the flyer.

Roswell Town Green Renderings

The DDA presented their vison for the Roswell Town Green to the City Council and what was probably an audience of 40+ citizens and city staff this evening.  Monica Hagewood and Dave Schmit of the DDA took the council and audience through the vision for the project and some of the key economic numbers that they feel justify the project. 

In all, the project would be completed in three phases and would cost an estimated $12.1 million.  This seems steep but when you weigh it against the expected private investment that the DDA feels it would spur on, it starts to look like a bargain.  They feel that this redevelopment could result in an additional $200+ million in investment in the core of our city.  These are estimates but they are being done by industry veterans and thus should have some credibility.  

The renderings were nice.  They illustrated the proposed vision but the DDA was careful to remind the audience that these are conceptual to illustrate the vision and that many of the fine details would need to be worked out as the project progresses.  Here are the illustrations.

images: Roswell Downton Development Authority

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Update on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 11:07PM by Michael D Hadden

I've added a petition in support of the Town Hall Green on Change.org.  If you are in support, let the Mayor and Council know!!  LINK

Town Planner, Bulb-Outs, Rickshaws and Food Trucks

Historic Gateway Master Plan Contract

It's looking like the city may be awarding a $110k contract to a team led by planning and landscape architecture firm jB+a at Monday's council meeting.  This comes as a surprise and small disappointment to us as two of the three finalists for the contract were Tunnel-Spangler & Walsh (TSW) and Duany, Plater-Zyberk (DPZ).  These two firms are at the forefront of New Urbanist planning.  TSW master planned Glenwood Park, Woodstock Downtown and the modification of the DPZ Vickery Village town center plan.  DPZ is known most notably for their designs of the towns along the beaches of South Walton, Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach.  

Comparing the three firms, it's quite obvious where the experience is.  DPZ has master planned over 200 villages and town centers.  TSW has master planned over 100.  jB+a has a more challenging resume to figure out in the master planning area but they did do work on the Sewanee town center and presented plans that they did for the downtowns of Mooresville, NC and Macon, GA.

When you're in the market for a heart surgeon, who do  you want performing the procedure? A Resident (JB+a), A General Surgeon (TSW) or the Best Heart Surgeon in the World (DPZ)?

I'm sure jB+a and team will do a fine job but I can't help but think we missed an opportunity to get a world class planner into our historic district.  (Click here for the memo)

Bulb Outs on Mimosa

We love this.  The city is planning on taking down a number of no parking signs along Mimosa.  You know how we love those road signs.  While they are at it, they will be installing 8 bulb outs along the street to bring curbs closer to the traffic lanes.  This will improve crossings and aesthetics and help reduce speeds on the road .  The project will also add 7 parking spots along the street bringing the total to 141.  Here's a link to the proposed map.

Rickshaws on Canton

Here's another recent item that we love.  Anything we can do to promote regular, everyday bicycling in the historic district is a good thing.  Having bicycle cabs (pedicabs) will definitely do that.  Continued visibility of bicyclists on the road is a key to improving bicycle safety.  When we see moms and kids regularly riding their bikes in the historic district, we will know that we are a truly bicycle friendly community.  But pedicabs are a great start.  I can't wait to take a ride on one.  I just hope they will come all the way down to the square. (Link to Story on the Roswell Patch)

Food Trucks

The Roswell Neighbor reported last week that the city is looking into how it can accommodate the rapidly growing supply of food trucks in our metro area.  Currently no food trucks are allowed to operate in Roswell however there have been some that have applied for permits.  However, we do have a 'food truck' inside INC which severs some sweet street food.  Personally, I haven't had the opportunity to enjoy any of the food trucks in the metro area (save the King of Pops) and it would be nice to have that opportunity here in Roswell. Check out the Atlanta Street Food Coalition's website to see what trucks could make their way out to Roswell one of these days...

Roswell Roads, Density Battle 2, Buckhead and the Beltline

Roswell News

Norcross-Grimes Roundabout Update - The roundabout is finally functional.  I’ve used it about 10 times in the past few weeks and so far I love it.  I have seen a couple of confused drivers and I’ve heard one honk at someone who wasn’t paying attention.  I’d love to see some stats on how many accidents there have been since it opened.  If there have been any, they surely can’t have been too bad as the speed within the roundabout has been low as predicted.  

Midtown Streetscape Project - The finishing touches are being put on the landscaped islands on Alpharetta Hwy.  The first one is just north of the Norcross St intersection and the last on is at the Hog Creek Bridge.  This one will be the largest.  I’m still concerned about the lighting and overhead wires.  To spend all of this money on streetscape improvements and overlook the most unsightly piece of the streetscape (aside from the crappy buildings along the corridor) is a disappointment.  

Historic Gateway Project - This project was included on the final list of projects submitted to the regional transportation roundtable.  It will be reviewed for potential inclusion in the list of projects that will be included in the regional sales tax initiative that is going to be on the ballot next year.  

Comp Plan Undergoes Changes After Residents Sound Off - Roswell Neighbor

There was a vocal contingent that voiced its concern over the types of uses the Roswell Comp Plan (Roswell 2030) was proposing for the Holcomb Bridge and GA400 interchange.  There are still thoughts of Charlie Brown in everyone’s minds.  I’m in favor of a massive revitalization of that area for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is a dysfunctional area in our city that has the potential to be a major jobs, residential and transportation center that Roswell and North Fulton can use.  Here’s a quote from the Roswell Neighbor article that outlines the types of changes that were made after the ‘sound off:’

Among the changes sought, according to Tolleson, is shifting density from the southeast quadrant of Ga. 400/Holcomb Bridge to the northwest quadrant. And instead of designating Holcomb Bridge Road as a commercial corridor, it would be the lower impact designation of neighborhood commercial, which would allow businesses “that support people who already live here, not the people passing through,” he said.

You can take that for what it’s worth but I think it’s a classic case of ‘we don’t want that type of people getting any closer to our space here in East Roswell.’  Also, what in the world is ‘lower impact’ ‘neighborhood commercial?’  If that is another way to say, ‘exactly what we already have,’ then I’m 100% against it because it’s not going to work in the years ahead.  

Regional News

Regional Light Rail All About Jobs North Fulton Chamber CEO Says - Alpharetta-Milton Patch

image: Metro Atlanta Northern Crescent Transit

Brandon Beach has been lobbying pretty actively to get transit into the northern burbs of late.  Most recently a public/private consortium of regional leaders met at the Cobb Galleria Centre to discuss the prospects of transit in the burbs.  It seems to have been an optimistic meeting with a caveat that most of the people there stand to benefit financially from transit development especially if it is primarily publicly funded.  Here’s a quote that I found interesting:

A survey conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2008 found that by investing $26 billion to $46 billion in transportation infrastructure, including light rail, Georgia could increase its gross domestic product by $114 billion and create 230,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

35% of Atlanta Homes Underwater - Atlanta Business Chronicle

YIKES!  This is well above the national average of 22.7% according to CoreLogic.

Stalled Alpharetta Project to Get New Life - AJC

Prospect Park is about to have a new owner.  North American Properties plans to purchase the land and build a more realistic and less grandiose mixed-use center on the 106 acre property.  They will begin community outreach in the coming months.  You may recognize North American Properties as the company that purchased the retail and some of the office space in Atlantic Station last year.  I believe they have done a good job engaging that community thus far to find out what they want to see at Atlantic Station.

MARTA Takes A $14M Step Toward Linking its Buckhead Station With Adjacent Developments - Saporta Report

image: Atlanta Business ChronicleBidding will open at the end of this month to improve linking the Buckhead station with developments on the north side of the station.  This is a great step to making MARTA more functional within neighborhoods (albeit wealthy a wealthy neighborhood) and job centers.

City Hall East Deal Could be Derailed by Feds - Creative Loafing

image: Creative LoafingThis is complicated and I find that generally when things get complicated, we’re doing something wrong.  My understanding is that the deal is being held up because the US Parks Department of the Dept of the Interior is not comfortable with what potential owner/devolper Jamestown Properties wants to do with the long vacant building.  Jamestown is applying for some $15M in tax credits???  Do they really need $15M in tax credits to make this thing work?  It’s a gem in an area that is revitalizing.  I think both sides need to give a little here.  I’d love to see this building get put to good use.  It’s a great pice of historic architecture in our region.

Go East, Young Beltline Fanatic - Creative Loafing

image: Historic 4th Ward Park ConservancyThe loaf has a good quick update on what is going on with the parks and trails along the Beltline.  The park in Old Fourth Ward was recently ‘officially’ opened and it has been getting rave reviews.  Just from the images I’ve seen, it looks incredible.  One of these days, I’ll make my way down to check it out.

Streets of Buckhead now Buckhead Atlanta - Atlanta Business Chronicle

image: Oliver McMillanSay what you will about the name of the project but I am certainly glad to see new ownership and the potential for progress.  The eyesore in Buckhead has been a horrible scar on our region’s most prosperous area.  You personally may never buy something from the shops that will be at ‘Buckhead Atlanta’ but the county’s tax base will reap benefits.  The new developer said this about the project:

One of the highest profile developments in the country halted by the economic downturn and financing drought. The new name signifies a departure from the concept of a single destination development and a move toward a mixed-use community that will fit seamlessly within the existing Buckhead Village

Atlanta Grants Siemens Contract for 4 Atlanta Streetcars - Green Building Chronicle

image: SiemensThis is a $17M+ contract with Siemens.  The city is expecting delivery of the first car in September 2012 with revenue service starting up in early 2013.  The Siemens facility in Alpharetta will be doing much of the work on the propulsion systems for the new cars.  

Bike Trails Proposed along GA 400 - Reporter Newspapers

image: Reporter NewspapersThis is a win in the Buckhead area.  Buckhead is great but it does have Atlanta’s lowest acreage of parks per capita.  The trail system is a partnership between several organizations including the PATH foundation, Buckhead CIT, Atlanta City Council and others.  The trail will begin at Loridans Drive just south of the toll booth and will continue 4.5 miles into Midtown also connecting with the Beltline trail system.  

GA400/I-85 Interchange Work Set to Start - Atlanta Business Chronicle

image: GDOTWill we finally be able to go northbound on I-85 from GA400 South?  Will those traveling south on I-85 be able to get on to GA400?  Looks like it’s happening.  You can thank the GA400 toll for this one.  

Plans for Upscale Apartment Tower at 12th & Midtown

image: Midtown PatchThis looks like a nice project.  It’s interesting to see another tower going up in Midtown in this environment.  The economics of apartments are definitely different than those of condos/lofts right now.  I’ll be interested to see how this one pans out.  Midtown is obviously doing well but I’m not sure it needs another tower right now.  However, it’s definitely better than a surface parking lot.  

Regulator Calls for 20-30MW Solar Projects - Atlanta Business Chronicle

The Georgia Public Service Commission would like to see plans in place to significantly increase the state’s renewable capacity given the increasing volatility in traditional energy markets.