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Savannah, GA to remove some of
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Macon vs.
Savannah seems to have a very different vision of road planning! |
CAUTION
Macon
Historic
2nd
Street Bridge in Macon, GA - South Downtown Connector project
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Savannah, GA to remove some of
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Macon vs.
Savannah seems to have a very different vision of road planning! |
Click on Link for Pictures
http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-28/growing-oglethorpe-plan-downtown-savannah Posted: February 28, 2010 "MLK corridor • Streetscape
improvements, including new sidewalks, revamped storefronts and added
lighting, would rejuvenate a 52-block area. • Removing the I-16 flyover
would allow up to 13 streets to be re-connected to the neighborhood’s
street grid. • If the state Department of Transportation approves
street changes, work could begin this summer on sidewalk, landscaping
and other improvements from Exchange to Gwinnett. "
Growing the Oglethorpe plan in downtown Savannah Author: LESLEY CONN Noble Boykin owns a prime piece of property just north of the Interstate 16 ramp at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Frogtown. He envisions a hotel, maybe a conference center. So imagine his reaction when Christian Sottile, a respected Savannah urban designer, approached him with the idea of cutting his 1-acre property in half to restore a neighborhood street to "improve connectivity." Perhaps even more surprising, though, is that after listening to Sottile and reviewing design concepts for the corridor, Boykin is contemplating the idea. "In most cities, you don't get to plan your gateway," he said. "Here you have a blank canvas. When you come off the interstate, you could make a statement that says, 'Now you're in Savannah.' "It kind of makes you want to take a paddle and start rowing." Eliciting that type of cooperation has been part of a slow-building process that has allowed city of Savannah officials - working with Sottile, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority - to forge a series of civic plans to the east, north and west of the city's historic district. Those plans carry on the look and feel of the original downtown laid out by Gen. James Oglethorpe in 1733, but they also hold the promise of restoring a city's waning population and injecting new commercial activity - while still preserving a historic district considered a national treasure. "The original plan had such intrinsic value," said City Manager Michael Brown. "It's our job to understand it ... and to ask ourselves, 'How do we maintain it, and how do we extend it?' The plan is strong. It centers people, cultural institutions and businesses." A pattern worth repeating Those who live, work, shop and play along the historic district's bricked sidewalks and green squares know intuitively it's a little more welcoming, a little more calming and a lot more enjoyable to navigate than more modern areas. The underlying reasons date back far earlier than Oglethorpe and 1733. In 1 B.C., a Roman named Vitruvius argued that architecture needed not only form and function, but also the ability to delight. The idea blossomed during the Italian Renaissance, when the idea of humanism took hold. In architecture, that meant reflecting the value of the human form - and creating a comfortable interaction with it - in every aspect of building. Savannah, Sottile says, was the first "field test" of humanism in the New World and remains one of the most vibrant examples today. The Industrial Revolution moved urban design away from that philosophy. Our buildings became unadorned and massive to reflect the machinery that powered our nation. Then the rush to the suburbs gave us urban sprawl and housing disconnected from town centers. The pendulum is swinging back, and as demand grows for a return to urban living, Savannah is poised once again to be a poster child for modern planning, said Tom Thomson, executive director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization. "There is a synergy in what we're trying to do," Thomson said. "We see the future of Savannah in trying to fill a need that the futurists and the populists say is coming. Baby boomers are retiring, and the Gen Xers are growing up, and they all want to live in smaller, more urban, more diverse environments." What works so well in the Oglethorpe plan, says Lise Sundrla, executive director of the renewal authority, is its "bone structure" allows for easy mobility and accessibility. "By following that bone structure, we can link to new areas that we haven't had access to in years and years and years," she said. "We're realizing that we need to go back to the patterns of the past." A
collaborative
process
Recreating a vibrant urban center involves a lot of partnerships. Some, such as the Savannah River Landing project, happen with private developers and government authorities. Others, such as the MLK and Gwinnett street projects, also must involve building relationships with residents, businesses and community groups to explore how to rework not only streets and public spaces, but also every property around them. Sometimes, that means balancing competing interests and constantly reworking ideas, which ultimately risks leaving someone unhappy. Boykin's support for removing the I-16 flyover was tempered when a revised drawing changed a boulevard concept into "a convoluted rat's warren of streets." He favors reworking the corridor, as long as it's a sound plan for the whole city and not in the interest of small groups. David Sovchen, a general partner in Tri-River Foods, which operates the Wendy's on MLK, has been rallying support for streetscape changes for more than a year. But that, too, came with negotiations. The first drawings removed 70 off-street parking spaces and created problems for drive-through access. Revisions lessened the impact. "This is the only stretch of low-cost, fast-food for tourists and residents," he said. "Anything that can help restore the integral value of the neighborhood, we're for. The main thing we don't want to lose is customer access." Incentive to change Sometimes, collaboration means offering incentives. With the Savannah River Landing development, Ambling Cos. agreed to devote 40 percent of its acreage to green space, instead of the usual 25 percent. It also agreed to lay out streets and squares in a way that would allow the city to eventually extend streets such as Bay and Broughton through the development. In exchange, the city handled infrastructure needs that could serve the larger public. The city obtained $9 million in state grants and paid another $1.7 million to extend a riverwalk and floating dock along the development. It plans another $20 million on President Street improvements and drainage upgrades that will serve the larger east downtown and islands areas. Ambling paid for $60 million in water, sewage and infrastructure on the immediate site. A tax allocation district was approved to finance the publicly owned infrastructure located off the site. It sets aside a portion of regular property tax dollars generated within a larger surrounding area. As the Ambling development has stalled, that's left the city carrying about $1.3 million in debt service with no new development to produce tax dollars. The partnership has not been without criticism from some in the taxpaying public and some members of City Council. Brown is confident that once the housing glut is absorbed, real estate investment will revive. "I think our role is not to predict (when the market will return) but to be prepared," he said. Kate Freeman, marketing manager for Ambling, said there was no one appropriate at Ambling to comment on Savannah River Landing. "Those of us who were once involved with the project are now working on other divisions of the company," she wrote in an e-mail. Perhaps it comes from his love of history, or perhaps it comes from a career working in stone, steel and granite, but Sottile, too, believes the decisions made will stand the test of time. "You measure this in decades, not in years, especially with an economic downturn," Sottile said. "Savannah is larger than any one of us. The decisions that we make will outlast us all." Click on Link for more Pictures http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-28/growing-oglethorpe-plan-downtown-savannah - Gwinnett Street corridor • A city of Savannah proposal would convert the state-designated highway to a neighborhood boulevard with a wide, tree-lined median. • Proposal returns a neighborhood feel, which would encourage safe bicycling and pedestrian use. • Planned development could include a 21-acre mixed-use neighborhood, a SCAD dorm and a new city arena. • A proposed greenway along the Springfield Canal would connect 14 neighborhoods and create walk and bike trails as well as boating opportunities. - Hutchinson Island/Parcel 7 • Encompasses 13 acres next to the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center, including a 1,400-foot slip. • A park, anchored at the southern tip of the property, ensures public access to the waterfront and views of the Savannah skyline. • Building heights would stay low closer to the water and rise farther inland to keep the Hutchinson Island shoreline in scale with the historic riverfront. Images courtesy of Sottile & Sottile - East Riverfront/Savannah River Landing • More than 21 of the 54 acres are committed to public spaces, including 6 new squares that reflect the character of the original historic squares. • The plan would allow for the eventual extensions of Bay and Broughton streets. • Design of blocks allows for layered mix of hotels, retail, commercial and residential, much like the current downtown. - City Manager Michael Brown. |
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| Smart Growth and Intelligent Transportation Systems are the wave of the future for smart cities. Unfortunately Bibb County and the City Of Macon have not embraced that philosophy yet. Rail is the only thing they have looked at. They have NOT incorporated in a meaningful way, transit (the 2025 Transportation Plan devotes only one paragraph to transit!!), pedestrian, bicycling, or 'system planning' in their transportation plan. You might want to look at some of the web sites listed below. They might help you with a 'quick read' about transportation ideas, issues and policies: |
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http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/tcalm/index.htm http://www.lincolninst.edu/home.html |
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- CAUTION Macon - |
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