More West Federal Street News: Aug 6 Meeting

The CIC requested the city to hold a meeting to provide details on the West Federal Street deconstruction. The meeting will be held Monday, August 6, 2007, 3:00 pm, at City Council Chambers, 6th Floor, City Hall, 26 S. Phelps St. The CIC requests courtesy of RSVP by Wednesday, August 1 to Lynn at 330-779-0602.

Please plan to be there and come prepared to question the wisdom of the ill-conceived parking-lot approach to revitalizing the historic downtown. Take a look at this business plan from Columbus:

Planners and downtown advocates nationwide now see the advantages of balancing the need for efficient vehicular circulation with the need to make the Downtown environment friendlier for pedestrians, visitors and residents, who are there to enjoy Downtown’s assets rather than speed back to their homes at the end of the day. Streetscape improvements also provide for a more pedestrian-friendly environment Downtown. Potential streetscape treatments include: widening the sidewalks to create a “promenade” and allow for a double allée of trees, seating areas, and a redesign of existing bus stops and shelters.

Sidewalk widening has been used in many downtown revitalization initiatives, including 17th Street in Denver, State Street in Chicago, 3rd Street in Santa Monica and others. The plan proposes these enhancements in a number of areas. Other projects, such as the proposed Broad Street median, are also being considered.

That’s right, coveted development elsewhere that already exists in downtown is going to be ripped out. Reminds me of that song about paving paradise to put up a parking lot.

My wife and I went out Saturday night at 10pm to Imbibe and parked right across the street. That doesn’t sound like a parking problem to me. And even if we had to park in any of the open lots, we would have only needed to walk a block or two. Show up, be respectful, but speak out and don’t be bullied by discussions of parking. To say the least, the plan is inconsistent with current leading thoughts in city planning and architecture.

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