Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Step it Up 2007
National Day of Climate Action
Nothing like spending a crisp Fall Saturday enjoying, well crisp Fall Saturdays. Find a local movement planning to rally your communities to press their governmental bodies to respond to the Climate Change Crisis. Already 71 Members of Congress and 7 Presidential Candidates will be joining local movements, pledging their support in making America more proactive to the looming environmental emergency and making our politicians aware of plans and priorities to slow global warming.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
APTA release Public Transportation Website
APTA (American Public Transportation Association released a new website to disseminate public transit info including some iPod maps (San Francisco BART) and county specific system information hopefully making public transportation easier to understand for those of us who use it but are still confused by routes due to construction or just plain old route changes.With all the discussion about sprawl and climate change one starts to wonder when or even if there will be enough of a personal stake to utilize and capitalize on public transportation systems or if American society will continue to pull away and concentrate on solitary lifestyles perpetuated by personal vehicle usage.
In other news part of Euclid has the Corridor project 'completed' and will be opened sometime this month to regular traffic. I am curious to see how people react to the new traffic patterns. Heck, I am curious to see how I react to them.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Kauffman Park in danger - signs of greater troubles?
Public Meeting on Kaufman Park
Monday, October 29th, 2007
7.00-8.00 pm
Lakewood Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1382 Arthur Ave. - Fellowship Hall (Basement)
hosted by- Tom Bullock for Lakewood
There is an allure to Lakewood, Ohio that is relatively easy to discern. For an older suburb it still works the way neighborhoods did at the dawn of the century and in the way that new developers like to sell their developments as working. People here walk. There are parks to walk to, stores (specialty and grocery), libraries, movie theaters, all manner of bowling alleys, art galleries, restaurants, churches, bars, etc.
There is also a reason people walk. It is easy. The blocks are small, there are two major commercial strips that run parallel to (and create the spine of) the city, the sidewalks are big without being unreasonable gigantic, the crosswalks are marked and logical and commercial buildings are fronted right up on the street. Amidst a collection of single story to mid-rise the scale and composure of Lakewood 'downtown' has a particular feel; a small town without disjointed connection where one can easily peruse the windows whilst on your way to your destination.
If you are one who feels driving to your destination is quicker have no fear, there is ample side street parking or building specific parking nestled behind the buildings against the street (except for a couple of locations, noticeably Marc's surface lot that is somewhat tucked behind another building and park). These hidden parking lots do a few things that are rather nice to those of us that still enjoy walking the neighborhood. It keeps the front of the stores, and their windows, against the street making it easy to glance in and see if anything catches our eyes, it keeps eyes on the street due to proximity to the stores and it keeps large, barren, and crummy looking parking lots hidden away from the main image of the street.
With this in mind I bring up the Public Meeting on Kauffman Park tomorrow. I am not sure if this is an actual public meeting or just a publicity stunt for an elected official. I also am leery as I read the flyer which talks more about increasing safety forces at the park then attempting to create a way for future development (proposed office and retail) to keep the 'main street' feel instead of having a sea of asphalt butt up against Detroit Avenue. Yes, I fear that Detroit Avenue will turn into something akin to Mentor Avenue (Route 20) in Mentor, a strip of small retail stores, buffered from an uncrossable street by even more asphalt, parking entry and egress haphazardly tossed about until the whole street becomes a orgasm of commuter frustration . I feel that with a little bit of creativity and a small attempt at rational thought there would be a way to save most of the park, reorient the retail center and even add the possibility of office or even some residential units (if Lakewood needs more residential units, there are an awful lot of homes for rent/sale and adding to the mess doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense yet).
However that would mean that someone would actually want to spend time trying to design something that not only would sell but also something that would fit the sense and scale of the place and, well, work with the neighborhood and community.
Which probably means the usual suspects aren't up for the task no matter how many lamp-posts with banners declaring the 'Drug Mart Neighborhood Condo District' say they are.
resources
Plain Dealer Article
Monday, October 29th, 2007
7.00-8.00 pm
Lakewood Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1382 Arthur Ave. - Fellowship Hall (Basement)
hosted by- Tom Bullock for Lakewood
There is an allure to Lakewood, Ohio that is relatively easy to discern. For an older suburb it still works the way neighborhoods did at the dawn of the century and in the way that new developers like to sell their developments as working. People here walk. There are parks to walk to, stores (specialty and grocery), libraries, movie theaters, all manner of bowling alleys, art galleries, restaurants, churches, bars, etc.
There is also a reason people walk. It is easy. The blocks are small, there are two major commercial strips that run parallel to (and create the spine of) the city, the sidewalks are big without being unreasonable gigantic, the crosswalks are marked and logical and commercial buildings are fronted right up on the street. Amidst a collection of single story to mid-rise the scale and composure of Lakewood 'downtown' has a particular feel; a small town without disjointed connection where one can easily peruse the windows whilst on your way to your destination.
If you are one who feels driving to your destination is quicker have no fear, there is ample side street parking or building specific parking nestled behind the buildings against the street (except for a couple of locations, noticeably Marc's surface lot that is somewhat tucked behind another building and park). These hidden parking lots do a few things that are rather nice to those of us that still enjoy walking the neighborhood. It keeps the front of the stores, and their windows, against the street making it easy to glance in and see if anything catches our eyes, it keeps eyes on the street due to proximity to the stores and it keeps large, barren, and crummy looking parking lots hidden away from the main image of the street.
With this in mind I bring up the Public Meeting on Kauffman Park tomorrow. I am not sure if this is an actual public meeting or just a publicity stunt for an elected official. I also am leery as I read the flyer which talks more about increasing safety forces at the park then attempting to create a way for future development (proposed office and retail) to keep the 'main street' feel instead of having a sea of asphalt butt up against Detroit Avenue. Yes, I fear that Detroit Avenue will turn into something akin to Mentor Avenue (Route 20) in Mentor, a strip of small retail stores, buffered from an uncrossable street by even more asphalt, parking entry and egress haphazardly tossed about until the whole street becomes a orgasm of commuter frustration . I feel that with a little bit of creativity and a small attempt at rational thought there would be a way to save most of the park, reorient the retail center and even add the possibility of office or even some residential units (if Lakewood needs more residential units, there are an awful lot of homes for rent/sale and adding to the mess doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense yet).
However that would mean that someone would actually want to spend time trying to design something that not only would sell but also something that would fit the sense and scale of the place and, well, work with the neighborhood and community.
Which probably means the usual suspects aren't up for the task no matter how many lamp-posts with banners declaring the 'Drug Mart Neighborhood Condo District' say they are.
resources
Plain Dealer Article
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