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One of my biggest sources of frurstration with city leaders is that I don't believe they have invested enough capital in the Vista to keep up with the private growth there over the years. The Vista is a fantastic area, but it's still not visually appealing enough to create the sense of "place" that Columbia needs. It's not a great area to stroll around on a Saturday afternoon. The recent sidewalk improvements are nice, but not nearly enough.
With dozens of bars, restaurants, hotels, etc., the Vista is clearly the leading entertaiment district in Columbia. Yet, there is only one sign (near the Hilton) that lets visitors know they are in the Vista.
I would say that If the Vista was in Greenville, here are the things that would have been accomplished long ago:
-attractive signage throughout the Vista saying "Welcome to the Vista," and with signage pointing folks to restaurants, the river, attractions, etc. Signage is paramount to "place making," yet Columbia is consistently oblivious to the need for uniform and attractive signage.
-Park Street between Gervais and Senate lacks a sidewalk. I know this may be done with the new penny sales tax, but what on Earth has taken so long to put a sidewalk on this one block?
-The instersection of Gervais and Huger is an eyesore. This is one of the primary intersections in the entire city. The small empty lot next to By Farr studios could easily be landscaped to improve visual appeal.
-There is a huge empty median on Huger Street off I-126. This is a major gateway to the city--would it not be worth the investment to landscape the median?
-More trees....more trees.....more trees. Just "softening" the look of the area would be great.
Does anyone else agree, or am I off base here? I know the city is spending a good bit on Main Street, but we have a tremendous entertainment district already that needs a little more TLC from the city. The private sector has done their part. It's time for the city to keep up!
I keep a balance in my mind of what has been accomplished compared to where we were. I also measure accomplishments against potential. People have accused me of sunshine-pumping. I know what needs to be done, but I also take time to enjoy what has already been done.
The intersections of Gervais with Park and Lincoln are a considerable improvement for pedestrian safety and greenery. The median is looking pretty on Gervais. The plantings at and near the intersection of Lincoln and Senate are night and day compared to what they were last year this time. The same can be said for other planted areas around the Vista.
We could always use more trees, but the city has done a great job this year of replacing the diseased trees along Gervais with the type that wouldn't die if you burned them (exaggerating). Huger should get new sidewalks and street-scaping with the penny sales tax. When I look around at the trees the Vista has in general, it's hard for me to fault the city or be critical. Columbia isn't "Tree City USA" 33 years and counting for nothing.
When the State Museum's $20 million+ addition is done, it should scream for development of Gervais and Huger. Huger could especially use more trees in the city's right of way. Maybe it will get bombarded soon with the 10,000 trees in 10 years (or something like that) campaign.
I'm starting to like the philosophy of an urbanologist I've been following. He calls himself the urbanophile. He loves traveling to cities, mainly mid-sized ones in the Midwest, and he prefers cities that just go about the business of being themselves over the ones that are constantly on the prowl for compliments about how "happening" they are. I haven't read what he thinks about signs saying 'welcome to this' and 'welcome to that,' but their absence might go along with his preference for cities that just do their thing and let the rest take care of itself. The city did invest a few years ago in "way-finding" signs that are pretty much all over the original grid of the city.
Does New York have 'Welcome to Greenwich Village' and 'Welcome to Soho' signs. Maybe they do - just asking.
Last edited by Charlestondata; 06-18-2013 at 01:30 PM..
I keep a balance in my mind of what has been accomplished compared to where we were. I also measure accomplishments against potential. People have accused me of sunshine-pumping. I know what needs to be done, but I also take time to enjoy what has already been done.
The intersections of Gervais with Park and Lincoln are a considerable improvement for pedestrian safety and greenery. The median is looking pretty on Gervais. The plantings at and near the intersection of Lincoln and Senate are night and day compared to what they were last year this time. The same can be said for other planted areas around the Vista.
We could always use more trees, but the city has done a great job this year of replacing the diseased trees along Gervais with the type that wouldn't die if you burned them (exaggerating). Huger should get new sidewalks and street-scaping with the penny sales tax. When I look around at the trees the Vista has in general, it's hard for me to fault the city or be critical. Columbia isn't "Tree City USA" 33 years and counting for nothing.
When the State Museum's $20 million+ addition is done, it should scream for development of Gervais and Huger. Huger could especially use more trees in the city's right of way. Maybe it will get bombarded soon with the 10,000 trees in 10 years (or something like that) campaign.
I'm starting to like the philosophy of an urbanologist I've been following. He calls himself the urbanophile. He loves traveling to cities, mainly mid-sized ones in the Midwest, and he prefers cities that just go about the business of being themselves over the ones that are constantly on the prowl for compliments about how "happening" they are. I haven't read what he thinks about signs saying 'welcome to this' and 'welcome to that,' but their absence might go along with his preference for cities that just do their thing and let the rest take care of itself. The city did invest a few years ago in "way-finding" signs that are pretty much all over the original grid of the city.
Does New York have 'Welcome to Greenwich Village' and 'Welcome to Soho' signs. Maybe they do - just asking.
Your points are well taken. While you may be a "sunshine pumper," I tend to be quite the opposite regarding Columbia. Although Columbia is my hometown and I will likely be here for the rest of my life, I tend to treat it like an under-achieving child, because I just see so much more potential for downtown Columbia, and in particular the Vista, than what it currently is. So many cities lack potential, but downtown Columbia has so much potential that I do not think it has yet achieved. While the Vista is extremely functional, I don't see any type of "wow" factor that makes a 20-something member of the creative class from another state say, "This place is cool. I can see myself living here!" And I know there is a camp that resents that entire idea, and thinks that we should really just be ourselves and not work so hard to make a great impression. I just strongly disagree with that camp.
Regarding Greenwich Village or Soho, you are absolutely correct. However, my counter to the argument is that NYC already has a well-established identity. Columbia's challenge is that it has tradtionally had no sense of identity at all. So, rather than saying "Soho doesn't do it, why should we?", I would say "Look at other cities that have done a fantastic job establishing an identity for themselves, and see what they have done." I would argue that Columbia has not yet successfully created the sense of "place" that is so important for community building, and mainly because I don't think the city has done nearly enough to pour public resources into the Vista in the way that other cities have invested in their own core entertainment districts. Anyway, just my $0.02.
Columbia has way-finding signs all over the original 4 square miles of the city (the area I consider to be "downtown"), but I think they could be little larger.
Well, here's an email I just received from Chipotle after they got word that I think their new Vista restaurant's parking lot needs more trees.
"It has come to my attention that you are dissatisfied with the landscaping at my Chipotle development in the Vista. I’m sorry to hear that as everyone else I have spoken to thinks that it turned out lovely for an urban development that more than meets the landscape requirements, but then again, you can’t please everyone. My hope is that you would, as the city is, be thrilled with 70+ jobs we created, the $1MM + we’ve added to the tax base, the environmental mess we cleaned up and the absolute eyesore that was the old Raco gas station and motorcycle shop that we demolished and redeveloped respectively."
I responded to him that I'm aware of all the positives and that I appreciated them, but that I still think it needs more trees.
But as far as the Vista in general, when I walk down Lincoln Street from Lady to the convention center I'm pretty struck that the average person who isn't used to being in an urban district in which stores and restaurants are housed in old train stations on a brick-paved street is probably impressed, especially when they look down the hill past the convention center and see the sea of green. I also love looking down Gervais from around Park Street. I find it charming and picturesque. In addition, when Sasaki came to town and helped draw up the Vista master plan, one of the presenters who was from Baltimore gave Gervais Street as an example of what the entrance to a city should look like. "Now that's an entrance," he said. I think what has happened in more recent times is that the Vista got caught with its proverbial pants down as Five Points received a $30 million beautification and Main Street got a $12 million one.
I agree that the Vista has come a long way and that there's a lot of potential for even more to be done. I've said before that Gervais should be made to be more pedestrian-friendly with wider sidewalks with planters and narrower/less traffic lanes. I know at one point there were plans to enhance the crosswalks along Gervais to help slow down traffic but I don't know if those are still a go.
I think the Vista is pretty nice the way it is. It is never going to be the West End area of downtown Greenville though unless some kind of attraction goes in there.
I remember driving though that area in 1996, it's come a long ways since then. I would have never thought any restaurants would down there.
I think the Vista is pretty nice the way it is. It is never going to be the West End area of downtown Greenville though unless some kind of attraction goes in there.
I remember driving though that area in 1996, it's come a long ways since then. I would have never thought any restaurants would down there.
Some kind of attraction? You mean like the Metro Columbia Convention Center, The Colonial Life Arena, The Koger Center for the Arts, Carolina Coliseum, the Amtrak Station, The South Carolina State Museum, Edventure, Riverfront Park, Finlay Park, Memorial Park, dozens of bars and restaurants, shopping and Trustus Theatre? Your statement is obviously from someone who doesn't know Columbia.
I agree that the Vista has come a long way and that there's a lot of potential for even more to be done. I've said before that Gervais should be made to be more pedestrian-friendly with wider sidewalks with planters and narrower/less traffic lanes. I know at one point there were plans to enhance the crosswalks along Gervais to help slow down traffic but I don't know if those are still a go.
They've done bump-outs at Gervais and Park, Gervais and Lincoln, and Gervais and Gadsden. The pedestrian crossing areas have been moved. When they repave Gervais they are supposed to be putting in a different type of surface in the pedestrian crossings.
One example of the kind of enhancements being done in the Vista is at Jimmy John's. Where there was a dumpster and weeds between them and the antique mall, there is now some landscaping and mulch. And where the ATM was in the parking lot, there is now a painted raised planter with flowers in it and black bike racks in front of it.
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