This week urban design experts will work with the Sacramento Mayor, city staff and the public to explore design options for a revamped J-K-L corridor as reported by Sacramento Business Journal. The team is in Sacramento Sacramento
The recommendations are expected to be unveiled at a public presentation between noon and 1 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
The team offered plenty of other ideas. They include:
ReplyDelete• Improve downtown's connections to its near neighborhoods;
• Invest in quality for streetscape, landscaping, parks, trash pickup, maintenance and graffiti prevention/removal;
• Activate public spaces year-round with events and recreation that draw different demographic groups and make use of undeveloped lots;
• Promote informal, spontaneous uses of public spaces and different activities for different sites;
• Enhance major streets with more landscaping and a green infrastructure of open space and natural areas, starting with 10th and J streets, then expanding to I Street and beyond;
• Educate property owners and residents about the economic benefits of preserving and adapting historic properties, such as Sacramento's original street level hidden away in basements and hollow sidewalks;
• Reform permitting and regulations to make development less confusing, less expensive and less time-consuming;
• Build safety by adding downtown guides at night;
• Review efficiency of one-way streets;
• Improve on the almost-nonexistent access to Sacramento and American rivers;
• Build downtown's identity through mid-rise buildings that stand out from the low-rise residential buildings of surrounding neighborhoods.
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/45791/Downtown_is_focus_for_urban_design_experts
After looking at the downtown with my son (Urban Planner around Portland), we just about split a gut laughing at the incredible blooper previous planners made and the "Experts" inability to deal with the consequences.
ReplyDeleteAs we know, J Street and L Street are I5 feeders, with heavy daytime traffic which any pedestrian blanches at passing. The noise -the smoke - the speed! The real deal killer, though is the blockage of K Street by the loading docks and offices of the Sacramento Convention Center. These ought to be along 14th Street, between J and K. By blocking K street, the downtown is crammed into a space as small as the downtown of Marysville, a town of some 7,000 souls.
Unlocking East and West transit at K and 14th streets is key to improving neighborhood connections. I do not believe this will take place, though fixing the Convention Center qualifies as a "Large" vision. It's like dancing. You don't dance at a performance of the Messiah. Dance music is different, but in Sacto the Pooh-Bahs don't dance!
Thanks for your input Eightcats Home. Many of our "Experts" were City Councilmember’s who have no experience with urban planning. One that just left office was more concerned with her view from her City Council office being blocked of the Capitol dome than what a proposed residential tower would have done to bring more people to live in downtown (Lauren Hammond). She along with a bunch of other forgotten councilmember’s really misplaced the cities priorities concerning downtown.
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