What’s a Streetscape?

[Mark Timieski]

Miriam Webster provides a definition: The appearance or view of a street.

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/streetscape

NOACA has given our Main Street Program a grant to find ways to make Detroit more pedestrian friendly. The idea is to generate a streetscape plan that can meet this goal.

How far do we want to go? Lamp posts that light the sidewalks? Allow shops out on the sidewalks? Stop the traffic, dance in the streets? What should Detroit look like? What would make it nice for us? Do we really want to be friendly with pedestrians?

The Main Street program is hosting a public forum 7:00pm, January 31st at Grant Elementary 1470 Victoria (the spaceship like school just behind Marcs).

I figure we are the experts. This is our city and we use it. We should be involved in fixing it up the way we would like it. This would be a time to get involved.

I do think there is some importance as to being specific as to what our needs are. I worry a bit about throwing around loose terms like “green spaceâ€Â

[Charyn Compeau]

The first stop really should be identifying why we think it is NOT friendly.

This entire process starts with the premise that Detroit Avenue (presumable the downtown part) is not pedestrian friendly. Lets take that question first...

Is it really unfriendly?

If not - we are focused on the wrong goal, if so - WHY??

My answer is yes, it is slightly due to the abomination that is the Marc's plaza. Re map the parking lot - find another way to flow the traffic (both in and out on the Warren side IMO) and create the walkable space where the cluster of driveways and crosswalks are now.

Any other ideas out there?

Peace,
Charyn

[Jim O'Bryan]

NOACA has given our Main Street Program a grant to find ways to make Detroit more pedestrian friendly. The idea is to generate a streetscape plan that can meet this goal.

Mark

I thought the grant was to find ways to smooth traffic from Rocky River to Cleveland?



.

[Dan Slife]

This calls for inquiry into the nature of consulting, as an industry.

[Shawn Juris]

While the pedestrian friendly issue is one portion, the part that I'm more interested in is the design standards of the city. Whether it assisting our local shops to bring their original buildings back out from under 70 years of built up stuff (think Geiger's or First Federal before the facelift) or setting the standards for the next franchise or business to abide by. My question is where does Lakewood fall in the spectrum of city streetscapes? Think of Independence with every building that fits together architecturally including the the McDonalds. Now before Jim busts me for wanting Lakewood to be Independence, I am only using that as an example of flow that it at an extreme of the spectrum. The part that I like about Main Street is that it has focused on bringing back older architecture not by doing what Stark and Crocker Park do and popping up a prefabricated edition like a tent and claiming that it has old time charm but by using what is there and making improvements. Now back to where Lakewood is on the spectrum of flow and consistent design. Some may use the excuse that we're eclectic. That it's makes the city interesting to have an early 20th century building followed by a 1 level building covered in brown aluminum then a neo-contempory Faith Ministry then a Mexican adobe. Well that's the beauty of this. If the citizens and the businesses owners take the side that disjointed design and a free spirit is what is best for Lakewood then so be it.

I still find it funny in a sad way to hear stories about City Hall giving a hard time to a small shop that wants to put a sign in both windows so that it looks balanced but then allows IHOP to put up their prefabricated building, the YMCA to build a huge facility as close to the street as they can, have bodegas and other various shops that offers nothing to the city with their window displays of offers for knife sharpening, vacuum parts, various tobacco products, oh and the military recruitment displays (but in all fairness the military has alot of their funding tied up and we shouldn't expect them to help improve the appearance of Lakewood). Sounds like we may have some priorities out of whack. Shame that it takes a consultant to come in from outside to point this out and work on the solution. But sometimes that's all it takes to get the ball rolling.

[dl meckes]

iHop is a bad example to use, because they had to make a unique design for that building and they had to place it right on the sidewalk like other period buildings per the Architecture Board of Review.

If a business wants to do something with a sign, they also have to go talk with the ARB.

Their meetings are fascinating, although sometimes they run very long. These are citizens who have very definite ideas about preserving the Lakewood look.

The city also has a storefront rebate program and many business owners participate. Sweet Designs did when they bought their new building, Rozis has used the program, as has Donoto's and many others.

A prime example of what you (and I) want is bela dubby. Off went the siding and the brick and windows were allowed to see the light of day again. It was a beautiful job.

[Jennifer hooper]

"Mark Timieski"
"I do think there is some importance as to being specific as to what our needs are. I worry a bit about throwing around loose terms like “green spaceâ€Â

[Charyn Compeau]

Jennifer -

Thank you for your post. For those of us that are unable to attend - can you please specify what the parameters are when we are talking about revamping the streetscape?

For example - I assume tearing down an existing office building is out; however, is changing the size of the sidewalk possible? We are not working with a blank canvas so if I am to think about these things sincerely, I should understand what changes I can and cannot make.

Additionally - for those of us who have bad memories and take poor notes, could please restate where exactly we are referring to on Detroit. I understand it is the Warren/Belle area - but can you say again the specific streets that bound the area of Detroit to be considered?

Thanks!!
Charyn

[Mark Timieski]

I grew up in a suburb that at the time would have been considered “outer ringâ€Â

[Jennifer hooper]

Charyn,
The Main Street District is from Bunts to Arthur, however this grant is to study ALL of Detroit Avenue from W. 117 to Rocky River border. Common improvements will be made to the entire length of the street but we will pay special attention to the Main Street district. We may also incorporate unique aspects into the different districts (East end, Main Street, West End etc) to help build identity.

When we refer to "streetscape" we basically mean the appearance and function of the public domain of a street. Meaning the street itself and the sidewalks. Building to building. As mentioned, this grant is to specifically find ways to make the street and sidewalks more pedestrian and bike friendly. What are ways to accomplish this? Everything is on the table and up for discussion at this point. These improvements could include but are not limited to, widening the sidewalks, reconfiguring traffic patterns, new landscaping, new public gathering areas or greenspace, public art, new lighting, seating / benches, bike racks, repaving the sidewalks with decorative materials (bricks, colored pavers etc).

Think about other communities where you have visited where it's fun and popular activity to just park your car and walk around, window shop, get a cup of coffee, read a book on a bench under a treee (tourist areas are a great example). What makes these areas more pedestrian friendly than Lakewood? Main Street does not have the answers, this is something the Lakewood community has to flush out and prioritize. And the venue to do this is the public meeting on 1/31 at 7:00.

Lakewood is already pretty "walkable" especially compared to other suburban cities. However, I think most would agree there is room for improvement. That is one of the tenets of the Main Street program, to build on and improve our assets.

Part of the discussion at the public meeting will most likely include problem areas, or areas that need to be improved or changed. Like the earlier example given of the Marc's Plaza parking lot entrance. As well as areas that are the true gems of the street and ways to capitilize on these.

Some of the other suggestions given by Mark and Shawn, like design standards for building renovations and signage will be developed by the Main Street program further down the line. Meaning that these issues will surely be discussed as part of the Streetscape project but will need further analysis and work that is not covered by this particular project.

Hope this helps answers some of the issues raised, but again I cannot stress enough the importance of attending the public meeting on 1/31 at 7:00 at Grant Elementary. The consultant will take the ideas and concerns raised at this first meeting and recommend ways to deal with them. They will present their tentative ideas at a second public meeting scheduled for the end of March.

[michael gill]

Hey Mark. Those are all good points, and it seems to me within the city's powers to accomplish.

I especially agree that Lakewood already is quite pedestrian-friendly

We could also clean up visual clutter by burying phone and power lines, and removing the poles. Several neighborhoods, especially old commercial corridors like Coventry, have done this. In addition to being easier on the eyes, it frees space on the sidewalk.

In my mind the most important issue is to somehow deal with the width of the sidewalk.Through most of the city it seems to me the sidewalks are narrow and almost immediately adjoin the street, with little or no buffer. It's less comfortable for walking (cars pass so close, and if there are puddles, pedestrians get splashed) and just not as attractive. If there were room for planters to create a buffer, that'd be great, though under current conditions I fear that they and their contents would be destroyed by snowplows and salt in the winter.

I understand the city's ability to make the sidewalks wider is limited by the fact that Detroit is a state route. However, its width also fluctuates wildly--something like 7 wide lanes between the new and old Giant Eagle, and just four skinny ones in some other places. If a change in the width of the state route could be legislated, maybe a diagonal parking lane--set off with little "bumps" at the crosswalks--could add parking spaces and create a buffer between pedestrians and cars.

[Charyn Compeau]

Jennifer,

Thank you very much for the reply - it was exactly what I needed. I would also want to know, as Michel Gill astutely points out, what limitations are presented due to the fact that Detroit Avenue is a state route.

For example - must the street be XX meters wide? Is closing off a portion of it forbidden?(hush peanut gallery - its just a question <vbg>)

Thank you again, as I said, I cannot attend due to previously scheduled engagements; however, I would like to think about this and present my thoughts to MainStreet via email.

Kind Regards,
Charyn

[Jennifer hooper]

What Michael points out is correct. Detroit is a state route and because of this there are certain parameters that must be maintained per regulations with ODOT. What are those parameters you ask? Frankly, I do not know, that is why we hired a professional consultant who has worked on similar projects (namely Coventry) and have worked with ODOT and are much more familiar with regulations, laws etc. I should mention as well that City Architecture sub-contracted part of the work to a traffic engineering firm to investigate more specific traffic issues.

As Michael also points out, the width of Detroit varies from block to block. Do not quote me on this, as I'm not sure it is correct, but logic would tell you that if Detroit at its narrowest width is the minimum width to be maintained, that areas where it's wider could possibly be narrowed.

Again we have not explored specific issues at this point because we first want to determine what the priorities of the community are. If the community decides that widening the sidewalks is very important, then the consultant will take that idea and run with it. It is the community's job to create a wish list of improvements and the consultants job to tell us how we would implement those things and how much it would cost.

[Mark Timieski]

I think of our city as a nice place to live, work and play. I don’t think of our city as a particularly good place to drive through at a high rate of speed. ODOT has spent the last half of a century trying to find the most efficient ways to move traffic, probably a mistake. If we can do things to “bollix up trafficâ€Â

[DougHuntingdon]

From your own link, that means to bungle or throw into disorder! I agree with that definition. However, I realize that the vast majority of people are probably in favor of government funds for street narrowing, sidewalk widening, "green spaces," hanging flowers, and who knows what else for the goal of better "streetscaping." There is no use to try to fight against the tide. If Lakewood is destroyed, then I will move somewhere else.

Doug


One entry found for bollix.


Main Entry: bol·lix
Pronunciation: 'bä-liks
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: alteration of bollocks
: to throw into disorder; also : BUNGLE -- usually used with up
- bollix noun