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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NO MOTOR VEHICLES

I noticed this sign heading west from Riverside Park along the walking and biking trail.  We must have a massive problem with motorized vehicles on the mixed-use path because this is a pretty big sign.  It's 2' by 2' and you can't miss it.  Does it really need to be that big?

The problem I have with it is twofold.. first, is it really necesary?  I'm not sure there's a motorized vehicle problem on the riverside trail and I doubt the problem is absent because of the signs.  It's absent because people inherently know that motorized vehicles don't belong on a riverside trail.  

If the sign is necessary, why not make it the same size as the truly unnecessary 'CAUTION BOARDWALK AHEAD' sign that's about 100 yards up the path.  This one is one quarter the size of the NO MOTOR VEHICLES sign and fits better into a park setting.

We really need to stop polluting our city with pointless signs, and if we must scar the scenery with metal signage, we should make an effort to reduce the impact on the visual landscape.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Proceed with caution, there's a boardwalk ahead and this park closes at dark for YOUR safety. 

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Extending the Riverside Trail Network

If you listened to Mayor Wood's recent State of the City address, you may have heard him briefly mention that there is money set aside to extend the riverside trail from its current terminus at Azalea and Willeo Road all the way down to the Chattahoochee Nature Center and beyond to the Cobb County line where it will join up with the Lower Roswell Road Trail. 

I've been to a couple meetings on this and am in complete favor of the extension.  Anything to build trail connectivty is a good effort in my book.  There are two main alternatives as well as a third which basically a combination of the two.  I'm in favor of the third which is the last in the series of images below taken from the environmental impact assessment prepared by the city in partnerhsip with the National Park Service.  

I'd love to see this extension with both alternatives and I think it will become a reality.  When you take into account the proposed pedestrian and bike bridge from Sandy Springs, work on the Roswell Loop, as well as the muti-use trails from the square to Willeo and from the square to Riverside/Azalea, we could see a major improvement in the trail network over the next 5 years.  Now, we just need neighboring subdivisions to connect to the  network and to see trail focused development along the network.

CNU Atlanta Monthly Meet-Up

For anyone interested in the true root cause of SnowJam 2014 and potential solutions, this month's CNU Atlanta monthly meet-up will be quite informarive.  The theme is "The Day We Lost Atlanta and Answers for Tomorrow."  Rebecca Burns will be discussing her widely circulated Politico article, The Day We Lost Atlanta, How 2 lousy inches of snow paralyzed a metro area of 6 million.  We will also have Charlie Harper, exectuive director of PolicyBEST and editor of Peach Pundit to talk about advancing the transportation discussion in a post-TSPLOST world.  

Event Details

• What: CNU Atlanta T3 - Urban Talk Featuring Rebecca Burns & Charlie Harper
• When: Thursday February 20th, 2014; 530pm - 730pm
• Where: Steel Restaurant, 950 West Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta

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image: CNU Atlanta

The State of the City.. Walkability Has a Bright Future

If you can take one thing away from the State of the City address that was delivered by Mayor Jere Wood earlier this month, it is that walkablity has a bright future in Roswell.  It's refreshing to know that we have city leadership that for the most part understands that a focus on creating a more pedestrian friendly environment is critical to building a sustainable city.

The mayor hits on Old Town Roswell's status as one of the 27 existing Walkable Urban Places (WalkUPs) in the metro Atlanta and discusses building on our existing good bones in what he is referring to as Old Town Roswell which many may know as Historic Roswell.  Here are some of my favorite quotes...

For the past 60 years, we knew how development occurred...  There are no farms left, there is very little vacant land.  So we're looking for a new pattern. That growth is going to occur primarily in the hwy 9 corridor from HBR s to the river which includes Canton St.

For the purposes of this talk, I'm going to call that area Old Town Roswell.  Because it really is pretty much the boundaries of the city in 1854.  That's where you are going to see the growh in the future occur.  It's going to occur by converting old strip centers and old apartments into a walkable village.  A walkable village is someplace that you can easily walk to every where you go every day without getting in a car.

To be walkable, a community must be compact.  The residential and commercial uses must be next to each other not spread out and segregated as we have seen in the past. So this isn't your typical subdivision.  This is what you think of when you think of a village.

To be walkable, a community must be connected.  That connection is through a grid of streets, alleys and sidewalks.  Fortunately, that is what we have in Old Town Roswell.  We're gonna add to that grid.  It's totally different than what you have seen in the past which is a subdivision with cul-de-sacs and shopping centers that are not connected to their neighbors.  We're seeing a new development pattern.  Again, this is in Old Town Roswell and I don't see it going beyond that at this point in time.

We're going to grow by compact development within Old Town Roswell.  

There are a number of other great points in the video which every Roswell resident should watch.

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The Most Dangerous Ditch in Roswell

I was headed out to eat in Milton this weekend and passed what must be the most dangerous ditch in all of Roswell or maybe even all of North Fulton for that matter.  The site is on Crabapple Rd just south of the intersection of Houze Rd on the east side of the road.  Here's a picture from Google images from last year.  

I would tell you to beware and to keep your hands at 10 & 2 when passing this perilous ditch.  However, there is no longer any need as we now have 6.. count 'em.. SIX road hazard signs along this ~100 yard stretch of road to protect those drivers who can't seem to stay on the road.  (do you really think drivers who are having trouble staying on the road are really paying attention to road signs?) 

Here's a shot of two of the freshly minted hazard preventers.  Just take notice how much better the streetscape looks and feels with these beauties now assaulting your optics.  

You can almost hit your side view mirrors on these stupid things they're so close to the road.  There must have been a rash of incidents where cars plowed off the road.  Do we really need these signs?  Are drivers going to pay more attention here because of these signs?  These liability signs are popping up everywhere and they are ruining our landscape.  They are insidious and sneak up on you... beware.  (but don't forget about that ditch. Its a doozie).

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I'm Not Feeling "Bicycle Friendly"

Up front, I want to say that I’m an avid supporter of all things cycling.  That said, I’m not sure we are a “Bicycle Friendly” city.  We have the signs, we have the designations, the complete streets policy as well as tons of road bikers.  What we don’t have are safe streets and comfortable rides that allow kids, novices and the elderly to easily ride around our city.  If you don’t own spandex, you probably don’t bike much in Roswell and if you don’t live on a cul-de-sac or in a gated subdivision, your kids probably aren’t riding their bikes unsupervised much unless you are driving them to one of our destination parks.

Around the holidays the city even has Safe Play areas for children who received outdoor toys for presents.  The city blocks off a few parking lots at three of the city parks for children to safely play with their new toys.  This isn’t inherently a bad thing but just the fact that it is even necessary raises the question of whether we are truly a bicycle friendly community.  There will always be children who live near busy roads or in areas that are just plain inhospitable to safe cycling but there should be plenty of places to go in our city aside from a park parking lot.  If we had properly designed our city with connected streets and separated bicycle and walking paths, we would be much better off.  

The Bicycle Friendly community designation is administered by the League of American Bicyclists as part of its Bicycle Friendly America campaign and Roswell was the first city in Georgia to achieve the designation way back in 2006.  The campaign is laudable and well intentioned.  It has done and will do many great things to advance cycling.  There are five areas of measurement, known as the 5 E’s; Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Evaluation (& Planning).  The 2014 application has 90 questions across these five categories and I’m sure Roswell meets the criteria for the Bronze level certification that we have.

We have a fantastic advocacy group in Bike Roswell and there are many great events like the Criterium & Cycling Festival and the Mayor’s Ride.  The Roswell Loop is a long-term project that, when finished, will significantly upgrade pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in the city.  We will likely host a Gran Fondo road race in October which will bring between one and two thousand riders.  We have weekly rides during the warmer months and all classes of riders are welcome.  We have excellent parks such as the network of parks along the river that provide a great casual riding environment and Big Creek Park has mountain biking trails and the greenway.  Future plans call for a pedestrian and bike bridge that will span the Chattahoochee and a mixed-use trail that will make its way from the river to the square.  These are all great but don’t do much to get the general public out on their bike for everyday activities.

If you take issue with what I’m saying, ask yourself: 

• How many plain clothed women have you seen cycling in Roswell?
• How many people do you personally know that commute by bike?
• How many of your regular destinations in Roswell have bicycle parking?
• Would you feel comfortable if you children rode their bike anywhere within a half mile radius of your home without your supervision?

Likely answers: None, One, No Idea, Heck NO!

What does that say about our bicycle friendliness?  It may be semantics but I believe we are a (mostly) Pro Bike community and have miles to go before we are truly Bicycle Friendly. We need more and better bike friendly infrastructure.  Sharrows and signs are for show.  Bike lanes are good when done right but we truly need bike and ped paths.  We need to connect this city through our subdivisions, gated communities, retail centers and office parks by building mixed-use paths that will form a web of connectivity safe for all types of riders.  The city can create simple incentives to accomplish this in both new and existing developments.

Building a more interconnected city through an extensive multi-use trail network will fuel the local economy.  Bicyclists tend to shop locally.  They also tend to spend more when they shop, potentially due to gas savings.  Property along trails often sells at a premium.  For an example of how an area can be transformed by a simple path, look no further than the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta.  The Beltline Eastside trail has been an amazing catalyst for change.  Businesses located along the trail are quickly opening up entrances that front the trail to capitalize on the foot and bike traffic and new residents are flocking to an area that even five years ago was a very rough part of town.

Bicycling is good for health, wealth, community and business.  The next time you hear about a development, ask yourself how that will impact the ability to bike in Roswell and keep pushing our leaders to become truly Bicycle Friendly.  Checklists and designations aren’t enough.  When women and children on bikes are as common as men in spandex, we will truly be Bicycle Friendly.  Until then, let’s continue to be Pro Bike.

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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

Support the City Hall Green

This is an open letter from local designer and urban planner Lew Oliver in support of the DDA's vision for the City Hall Green. There is a presentation of the project tonight at 530 at City Hall for anyone interested...

Hats off to Monica Hagewood and the DDA for championing a winning design for the City Hall Green. This project will provide the much needed active civic space that is essential to revive our historic core.

As an active design participant in Woodstock Downtown, Avalon, Vickery, Serenbe, Glenwood Park, of recent, Savannah River Street West, as well as many more downtown revitalization projects worldwide, I have seen the successes of many parallel projects.

When implemented, the project design, along with the street scape improvements shown in the master plan, will stimulate new development in our downtown. Without it, Roswell will fall behind. The real danger now is of losing momentum, and failing to attract top talent, new families, creative youth, the new class of empty nesters, and ultimately, our ability to develop a new economy.

This project should be endorsed wholeheartedly by you, our elected
officials, with full funding. Many of us have anticipated bond referendum money to be made available at this time. While it is prudent and responsible to consider phasing of the project, the full aesthetic impact and usability of the project cannot be achieved without full implementation--that is, no one will use a park that is not complete with excellent detailing. The project will achieve efficiency in construction by condensing many phases into one. We are now in a positive upturn, and must now seize this opportunity. This window may not stay open long.

Many have rallied behind you for this very goal to be achieved. It is the product of diverse visions which have united behind a common cause...to provide the catalyst for our renaissance.

While the plan needs tuning and polishing, it can be done so now with full City support. It is time to act proactively, showing the DDA and your community that you are indeed leaders with bold vision and action.

Thanks for your support.

Lew Oliver

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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