30A+

Well, I’ve taken a pretty long vacation from posting for a couple of reasons.  Most importantly, for me, I was on vacation in Florida with the family.  Now that I’m back, I’d like to post a little recap of the New Urbanism that I was able to see in the panhandle and suggest that you go take a look for yourself sometime.  First, don’t let the reports of oil scare you.  I didn’t see one tar ball on the beach, we visited Pensacola Beach, Seaside and Deer Lake State Park.  BP has cleanup crews covering the beaches pretty well.  Second, if you are at all an enthusiast of New Urbanism and you have not ventured to the beaches of South Walton, aka 30A, aka SoWal, you must go.  There are five major developments that incorporate principles of New Urbanism along a 10 mile strip of 30A.  These are Seaside, Water Color, Rosemary Beach, Seacrest and Alys Beach.

My parents live in Gulf Breeze just between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach and while I was there, I wanted to check out Aragon Court and Downtown Pensacola.  Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures while I was driving around.  Aragon is probably Pensacola’s best attempt at developing a New Urbanist community.  It a small plot of 20 acres that is located adjacent to the historic downtown on property that was formerly a blighted housing project.  It is probably about 75% complete now and there is one small building with some retail.  It looks like the retail piece of the project has suffered tremendously due to timing.  The community connects seamlessly to the street network of the historic downtown and the development fits in beautifully.

As you drive into the historic district, you find that many of the old residences have been turned into professional businesses with a couple cafes.  There is park access and you can walk to some of the night clubs and restaurants in the historic district.  I like what they are starting to do in the downtown with the programming but there is still a very big lack of residential in the area.  At night before the nightlife takes off, you can really feel the dead zone.  It’s unfortunate too as there is ample opportunity to turn some of the space above retail and office space into condos or lofts.  I’m not sure if the market is ready for that though.  The last thing that I’d like to say about downtown Pensacola is that the proposed Maritime Park is in my opinion a huge disappointment.  They originally wanted to add residential, office, park, museum and a ballpark.  However, that has been scaled back considerably in the revisions and now does not include any residential.  I think this is a huge mistake and will continue to give the downtown area an empty/professional feeling.

Moving east down the panhandle, we drove over to Seaside.  We were fortunate enough to spend a week in a cottage there.  Seaside is known as the birthplace of New Urbanism and the 80 acre town couldn’t possibly serve as a better ambassador to the movement.  Our small rental cottage (virtually all of the homes in Seaside are cottages though not all of them are small) was a stone’s throw from the town center.

We stumbled upon a tour of Seaside put on by Mark Schnell of Seaside Walking Tours and Schnell Urban Design via the free seasonal newspaper the Seaside Times.  The tour was informative and gives a great history of Seaside and a quick primer on New Urbanism.  Bring a drink if you are going during the summer.

I have so much more to talk about from this trip but for brevity's sake, I'll just recap each town with a couple bullets and pictures starting with my favorite.

Seaside

• Fantastic Town Plan
• Great Mix of Merchants in Town Center
• Perfect Size and Amenity Mix
• Too Many Bicyclists not Paying Attention
• No Street Connections to Water Color 

Rosemary Beach

• Beautiful Architecture
• Great Layout
• Prices Must be Outrageous
• Unfortunate Gated Access to Beach from Public Square

Alys Beach

• Gorgeous Architecture
• Unbelievable Pool and Restaurant
• Probably Only Half Way Finished
• This Will be Beautiful if They Can Finish

Alys Beach Residences. You can see a lot of open space.Entrance to the Caliza Pool. This was truly an awesome place.

Water Color

• Very Comfortable Feel in the Neighborhood
• Much More Corporate Than the Others (St. Joe Co.)
• Smaller but Functional Town Center
• Strange Town Layout

Quick Shot Facing South on Water Color's Small Retail Center

Watch & Learn: The Future of the City - The Atlantic Interviews with Richard Florida

We recently got turned on to the Atlantic's special report The Future of the City. There were so many interesting articles and good comments on the articles that were featured that we can't even begin to explore them all. However, one of the really interesting pieces was an 8 part video/interview with writer and city enthusiast Richard Florida. I have embedded the eight videos below. When you have some time, check them out. There are many points made that can be applied to our city and region. Enjoy..

The Smart Growth Roswell Project - A Roswell Case Study of the Smart Growth Manual

If you have been staying abreast of my posts here at New Urban Roswell, you are aware that I think very highly of the recent book The Smart Growth Manual.  We posted an introduction to our project several months ago and we have answered a few questions that we posed in subsequent posts.  Now, it's time to dive in a little deeper and actually take the book and dissect it page by page and compare Roswell to it's recommendations.  

Over the coming months, we will dive into each of the topics covered in the Smart Growth Manual.  We are looking forward to examining Roswell's Region, Neighborhoods, Streets & Buildings and hope that you will check back regularly for updates.

New Urban Roswell Review

I think the big thing going on in Roswell this past couple of weeks was the movement forward on the Grimes Bridge/Norcross Street round about.  I am a strong proponent of the round about for several reasons not the least of which is safety.  Kudos to the city council for making the necessary concessions to the residents impacted.  Enjoy this installment of the New Urban Roswell Review!

Roswell

Roswell to Present Plans for Big Creek Bridge Project - AJC

This will be presented tomorrow night, June 29th, at the Doubletree on Holcomb Bridge.

Roswell Mayor Says He'll Veto City Budget - AJC

This quote from Mayor Jere Wood says it all:

"For the first time in memory ... the City Council has voted to spend more to run Roswell’s government than we expect to receive,"

Region

Atlanta Leaders Hope Streetcar will Win in 2nd Round of U.S. TIGER Grants - Saporta Report

I'm not so sure about the proposed route.  The former proposal was a much better proposal for actually impacting transit in the city for people that live in the city.  I feel that this proposal is reaching and grasping for anything that we can get.

Opportunity Exists to Create a Regional Transit System; New Leaders at the Helm - Saporta Report

Sounds like people in high places are actually starting to realize that a truly regional transit system is needed here in Atlanta.  Notable Excerpt:

"the real opportunity that is unfolding is that the Atlanta region is starting to think about consolidating all our disparate transit agencies into one integrated system — fulfilling the original vision of four decades ago when MARTA was supposed to be a five-county transit agency."

Developer: Work on Streets of Buckhead to Resume - AJC

Ben Carter claims to have the additional funding needed to resume and finish construction on his Streets of Buckhead development.  That hole in the ground needs to get finished otherwise it will leave a huge scar in one of the nicest spots of Atlanta's most famous streets.  He says construction will resume in July.  We'll see.

Is it Game Over for Atlanta - NewGeography.com

This article posits that Atlanta has reached maturity and it will be much harder to grow and improve for the capital of the New South. Notable Excerpt:

Though perhaps it is too early to declare “game over” for Atlanta, converging trends point to a possible plateauing of Atlanta remarkable rise, and the end of its great growth phase.

The converging trends they discuss are: Slowing Growth, Aging Infrastructure at Capacity, Other Competitive Cities in the Southeast, Being Caught in the Middle of its Sprawling Growth Phase and its Urbanization Phase at the Wrong Time and finally Atlanta Being at Maturity

Ga Tech to Study Aerotropolis Health Impacts - Atlanta Business Chronicle

$147k to determine the health impacts of building on a former industrial site right next to the Airport.  Is constant jet noise hazardous to your health?

GM Doraville Plant Plan Still in the Works - Atlanta Business Chronicle

New Broad Street of Florida is still looking to purchase and develop location of the former GM Plant.  We should know more by the end of the summer.  On the company's website they quote president David Pace as saying;

"this is the best urban infill site in the country for a large transit-oriented development."

I don't disagree.  This is also the same company that did Celebration and Baldwin Park in Orlando.  

Beyond

Why They Hate Us - A New Urbanist Dissects the Movement's Critics - Architect Magazine

This is Jeff Speck's rebuttal of an article that was moderately critical of his most recent book The Smart Growth Manual.  He does a good job dividing up the critics and addressing each group. Notable Excerpt:

How, by any possible stretch of the imagination, could it be considered efficient, healthy, or even acceptable to have spent the better part of a society’s wealth constructing a national landscape in which most citizens require a one-ton, poison-belching prosthetic device to satisfy their daily needs?

The Death and Life of Buffalo's Parks - City Parks Blog

This post makes a good quick case for smarter development.  Essentially, it states that we have invested so much in expensive infrastructure that we are not able to progressively work on schools, parks, cultural institutions and other public services.  This made me think of Mayor Wood's promise to veto the Roswell city budget due to deficit spending.    

Enraged at the Gulf Spill and the Appetite for Oil that Led to it? Stop Land Development on the Fringe - Kaid Benfield NRDC Switchboard

The first paragraph sums it up: "Enraged at the spill in the Gulf and the American appetite for oil that ultimately caused it?  Stop land development on farmland, forests and other fringe locations and direct future development to close-in opportunities.  A massive new study, years in the making, makes it crystal-clear that it can make a big difference."

Poverty Comes to the Suburbs - Governing.com

Suburbs watch out.  Christopher Leinberger calls them the next slums and this article takes a look at the reality of increasing poverty rates in a wealthy Chicago suburb.  Notable Excerpt:

Poverty is on the rise in suburban areas nationwide. Some of it is pure demographics: More people are moving to the suburbs, so more poor people live in the suburbs. But there's more to it than that. The housing crisis and recession have hit suburbs harder than other places, which means foreclosures and unemployment have an outsize impact on suburban communities. By 2008, according to the Brookings Institution, the nation's suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the nation.

Facts & Fun

Painfully Hysterical Daily Show Clip on the Presidential Response to the Oil Spill

81 percent of Georgians live in the 15 metropolitan areas in the state, 84
percent of the jobs are in these metro areas, and they account for 89 percent of the GDP of the state.

Watch & Learn: Cycling in Copenhagen

Man.. This made me want to ride my bike to work or at the very least get out and ride somewhere. Too bad work is just a little out of reach. If they could somehow connect the Big Creek Greenway to the historic district, I suppose I could make the 12 mile trek to Alpharetta every once in a while.. wishful thinking.

Copenhagen - City of Cyclists from Copenhagenize on Vimeo.

Are drivers able to effectively move around town without accessing congested arterial roads?

This is more of a rhetorical question here in Roswell.  Our city is unfortunately at the convergence of multiple major state highways; 400, 9, 120 & 92.  This creates some significant transportation problems for the city.  Additionally, we are handcuffed by some unique geographic conditions that prevented a more robust road network in certain areas.  Think hwy 9 at the Chattahoochee as well as the 9/120 intersection at the square.  That being said, we still have a ton of dendritic neighborhoods that lack any type of networked connectivity.  Think about virtually any spot outside of the historic district.  Unfortunately, we didn't make a number of intelligent decisions when they could have been made that would have mitigated much of the gridlock that we experience at major intersections.  Some of the worst of these are complete disasters at rush hour such as 400 and Holcomb Bridge.  

So, what does the current traffic situation in Roswell actually look like.  First let's look at some statistics from the 2006 Transportation Master Plan:

• 7% of trips are totally within the cities boundaries
• 52% of trips start or end within the city
• 41% of trips are through the city with no start or end in Roswell
• 393 miles of public streets are in Roswell. Of these, only 165 miles, 42%, connect to more than one street to form a network
• 58% street miles are dead end or cul-de-sac streets

I continually make the argument that had the city created more of a grid type street network when the streets were laid out, some (not all) of these problems would have been mitigated.  This image from the 2006 plan illustrates how traffic collects in a typical suburban network and how it can be disbursed with a network which puts less demand on any one road and keeps the intra-city trip completely off the arterial.

Another great visual from the same report is this one which illustrates the effective street network.  That is the network of streets that people use to actually get somewhere outside of their neighborhood, i.e. work, school, shopping, out of Roswell, etc.

The report sums up the consequences of our limited network nicely and hits on many of the ideals of smart growth and new urbanism; "This low percentage of "effective network" has the effect of focusing large amounts of traffic on a limited amount of roads. This creates growing pressure on key corridors and intersections, slowly deteriorating the quality-of-life of the residents and businesses along them. As already illustrated, more network and connectivity balances and distributes traffic, providing more routing options and flexibility particularly for local trips."

To conclude, at this point in Roswell, there are very few ways to get anywhere without accessing one of the major arterials.  Without some major overhauls, that won't change.  One big project that was actually being unveiled to the public tonight is the Big Creek bridge across 400.  It will provide relief to the Holcomb Bridge/400 intersection by offering an alternative route from East Roswell to West Roswell.  The plan looks solid and hopefully the city council will give it the green light.  We certainly need progress in this area.

Image Credits: 2006 City of Roswell Transportation Master Plan

Watch & Learn: Tom Vanderbilt with StreetsBlog

This week's watch and learn is a conversation between StreetsBlog and Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic. This is personally, one of my favorite recent books. The interview actually cuts to the chase and hits on some of the most prescient topics that were covered in the book, driver distraction and pedestrian safety. Enjoy...

New Urban Roswell Review

Downtown Atlanta could use some work. These nature band aids as Jim Kunstler would call them don't make pedestrians feel warm and fuzzy.We're playing a little catch up here with the backlog of interesting stories that are worthy of comment.  Here's a recap of what we've seen out there on the interwebs of late.

First though, I could probably do a whole post on this but I thought everyone would like to read what Jim Kunstler started is blog post recapping his trip to Atlanta for CNU18 with...  "If the Devil created an anti-city, a place where people would feel least human, Atlanta would surely be that place -- despite the prayerful babble of tongues emanating from the evangelical roller rinks at every freeway off-ramp.:  To read the full post click here.  Also, his most recent podcast focuses on the city of Atlanta and you must check out his post The Horror of Downtown Atlanta. It's hysterical and painful all in the same breath.

Roswell

Georgia DOT and City of Alpharetta Plan Improvements to Hwy 9, Eventually - North Fulton Blog

Personally, I think Alpharetta needs the city center project a whole lot more than it needs a beautified Main St/Hwy 9. I drive that route every day at rush hour from Roswell to Windward Pkwy and back. It is rare that there is significant congestion. Don’t get me wrong, it does get backed up but nothing like other areas. The more you cater to the car, the more cars will come. I do like the fact that there will be sidewalks and the streetscape will be beautified but that won’t do as much for the city. What has a beautified streetscape on Windward done? It’s brought a bunch of crappy development that can’t be accessed by anything other than a car. Yes, there are sidewalks but they don’t get much use. 

Roswell to Present Plans for the Big Creek Bridge Road Project - AJC

Any relief to the dreaded congestion on Holcomb Bridge Road is welcome.  There will be an informational session held at the Doubletree on Holcomb Bridge Rd in Roswell from 630pm - 830pm on Tuesday June 15th.  The current plan is for a two-lane road with bicycle lanes and a multi-use trail which will connect east and west Roswell across Ga. 400.

Georgia

Four Keys to How HB277 Can Mean a Better Transit System for Metro Atlanta - Saporta Report

Here's a sneak peek at the four keys...  Read the article if you want more detail. 

1. Allow road and transit projects to compete evenly.

2. Create the right road/transit balance.

3. Persuade the region that we all benefit from the plan.

4. Create a truly regional transit system.

Notable Excerpt: Georgia ranks 49th in per capita spending for transportation and is the only state among the ten largest (and one of only six overall) that provides no state funding for transit.

State Wants Federal Money for High Speed Rail - Georgia Public Broadcasting

Apparently the GDOT has been doing a little work on some rail planning.  We've already fallen behind the 8 ball in the HSR game but I guess it's never too late to ask for help.  The state is asking for $16.5M to plan the construction of a HSR loop that would go from Atlanta to Athens to Augusta to Savannah to Macon and back to Atlanta.  Wow!

Funding Key for Cobb Light Rail Proposal - AJC

This came as a surprise to me.  I had never thought of a light rail system in Atlanta that connected to no other train systems.  Essentially, Cobb is looking at a 14 mile light rail line running from the Cumberland Galleria area in Smyrna to the Town Center area in Kennesaw.  It would link into bus systems but it would  not connect to any other rail systems.  In a way, I like the idea as it will reduce traffic along a major corridor but I think I'd have to see a lot more TOD in the area to be convinced that it would really work.  It wouldn't be in place until at least 2019, so we can take some time to figure it out.

Beyond

The Man Who Reinvented the City - The Atlantic

This interview with Andres Duany definitely sparked some buzz. His suggestion that the millenial generation behaves like locusts when they find a downtown area with atmosphere, basically coming in in huge groups that the area wasn't designed to accommodate and ruining the urban fabric, caused quite a stir. This is worth a read. Good luck loading the comments though. 

Smart Growth Incorporates Lessons from Planning Mistakes - Washington Post

This op-ed from Roger K. Lewis makes a good, layperson case for smart growth. It addresses the common concerns from most suburban dwellers about density, road building and traffic congestion. It is the common mis-conception that smart growth will immediately bring downtown urbanity to the suburbs and that quiet suburban neighborhoods will be forced to accommodate throngs of automobiles and traffic. This just simply isn't the case and more op-ed's of this nature are needed to help people understand.

Detroit to Demolish Itself, Historic Homes and All - WSJ.com

I've really been curious about how Detroit is going to deal with the shrinking of it's population.  It has approximately 90,000 vacant or abandoned structures.  They are planning on tearing down 3,000 of those before the end of September.  

Notable Quote: "Neighborhoods that are considered stable are now at 20% vacancy," said Deborah Younger, a development consultant involved in the demolition effort.

Feds Approve High Speed Rail Plan - CFCnews13.com

Florida continues to stay one step ahead of Georgia (and this isn't just football).  They have received federal approval for their HSR plans to connect virtually all of the major cities in the state.  

Facts & Fun Stuff

Planetizen posted a really cool Periodic Table of Planning

Streets take up approximately 1/3rd of the typical american city.

One in five American drivers could not pass the written driving exam. 

Walkscore Ranks Turner Field the 24th most walkable baseball stadium in MLB.

Fire Truck Fail

Watch & Learn: James Howard Kunstler - The Tragedy of Suburbia

Our second installment of the weekly video is a great piece by one of my favorite pundits on suburbia and new urbanism, James Howard Kunstler. Always provocative, this is a very entertaining talk that he gave at TED in 2007. He also has a recent podcast about his recent trip to Atlanta for CNU18. I will link to that in a subsequent post. Enjoy...

Do you have more than two entrances/exits to your neighborhood?

An unfortunate by product of our cul-de-sac nation is the proliferation of neighborhoods with only one entrance.  The cul-de-sacs feed the collector roads and the collector roads (Norcross St) feed the arterials (Holcomb Bridge) creating the need for all cars to go to the same road to go anywhere.  The problem is simple, you can't get anywhere easily and neither can anyone else.  The benefit, your kids have a nice, usually safe, place to play until their pre-teen years.  After that, mommy turns into soccer mom and now lives a meaningful life complete with packing the car, shuttling the kids to and from all of their daily activities and then unpacking the car.  Some people like this lifestyle but I think more of them don't realize that there is an alternative.

The alternative is well connected streets in neighborhoods with a mix of uses that include parks, ball fields, schools and businesses that kids can visit.  Let's not forget that they might be able to walk down a sidewalk to their friends' houses a block or two away.  The map below is a good illustration of a networked (not perfectly) street grid and a dendritic street grid here in Roswell.  Now, forget about the demographic for the moment and just consider life for a kid in one of the two areas that are highlighted.

Now, the three neighborhoods in the red box are completely unconnected to each other or the city park right next door.  In order for the kid living in the top left of the box to get out to the adjacent lot on Norcross Street, they would have to go all the way down to Grimes Bridge, hang a left and then hang a left on Norcross Street.  You may be looking at a mile walk, bike or ride to go to the lot in your back yard.  Another example is the western most lot on Meadowland Dr trying to get to Waller Park.  Hang a right on Grimes Bridge, then another right on Oxbo and then down to Dobbs Dr.  You're looking at about two miles to get about 500 feet.  Obviously, kid's aren't going to do this, they are going to climb a fence or trespass on someone's property to take the coveted shortcut.

Now, if you take a look at the streets highlighted within the green block, you can see that there is well connected network with many more options to getting in and out of the neighborhoods.  As the city begins to reinvest and encourage development in these kinds of areas, you will see a very swift recovery and the residents will experience a completely different environment than those in the red box.  

The point of this is that our neighborhoods should have many more entrances, exits and connections than they were built with.  At this point, most of our neighborhoods are kind of stuck.  There are some options for pedestrian activity as Kaid Benfield pointed out in a post back in October.  Neighborhoods faced with this dilemma should strongly consider putting in paved pedestrian and bike paths to connect their cul-de-sacs and dead ends.   New development should have a connectivity mandate and work to reduce congestion rather than create it.  I think we are moving in the right direction here in Roswell with many of the plans that are being put in place.  Only time will tell.