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The question is purely hypothetical. Just interested in what urban improvements other people would make if they were czar for a day.
I would make several pedestrian tunnels downtown, particularly at assembly and gervais (going under assembly) and within the tunnels there could even be retail space and/or bars so that perhaps the tax revenue could eventually pay for the tunnels.
I just love being able to walk around without having to worry about traffic.
Does anyone know how expensive a pedestrian tunnel is ?
I would make several pedestrian tunnels downtown, particularly at assembly and gervais (going under assembly) and within the tunnels there could even be retail space and/or bars so that perhaps the tax revenue could eventually pay for the tunnels.
I just love being able to walk around without having to worry about traffic.
Does anyone know how expensive a pedestrian tunnel is ?
Taking feet off the street kills vibrancy. WALK/DON'T WALK takes care of the problem.
I don't think a tunnel simply going underneath Assembly st and reappearing on the other side of gervais would kill vibrancy at all. The main issue with them is they're likely just of expensive, but you would increase traffic going to and from main st to the vista most likely because it would be much easier to cross.. No waiting for a walking sign and also drivers not having to worry about people who ignore those signs.
Sorry but walking across assembly, especially during certain times and when the weather is hot/ cold is a pain. It's also annoying sometimes having those people turning right on red (even at lights where there's a sign prohibiting) that you have to watch out for, and it's more dangerous when there's 4 lanes vs 2. I realize a tunnel is not really all that practical with the city facing other more important issues, but I think making streets easier to cross in generals increases vibrancy not decreases.
I still don't see see much of a need to walk from Main Street to the Vista or the reverse. If you go eat soemwhere in the Vista, why would you want to walk to Main Street after that except on some rare occassioin.
We might be challenging the laws of human nature here.
I still don't see see much of a need to walk from Main Street to the Vista or the reverse. If you go eat soemwhere in the Vista, why would you want to walk to Main Street after that except on some rare occassioin.
We might be challenging the laws of human nature here.
Let's say you eat at Gervais and Vine. Then walk to, say, Art Bar for drinks afterwards. That is a much farther walk than, say, Cola's (in the Vista) to Main St. But Assembly St. is sort of a mental barrier I think being 4 lanes with fast moving traffic. A pedestrian tunnel would obviously solve the problem and I think increase vibrancy due to increased traffic.
I don't think a tunnel simply going underneath Assembly st and reappearing on the other side of gervais would kill vibrancy at all. The main issue with them is they're likely just of expensive, but you would increase traffic going to and from main st to the vista most likely because it would be much easier to cross.. No waiting for a walking sign and also drivers not having to worry about people who ignore those signs.
Sorry but walking across assembly, especially during certain times and when the weather is hot/ cold is a pain. It's also annoying sometimes having those people turning right on red (even at lights where there's a sign prohibiting) that you have to watch out for, and it's more dangerous when there's 4 lanes vs 2. I realize a tunnel is not really all that practical with the city facing other more important issues, but I think making streets easier to cross in generals increases vibrancy not decreases.
Furthermore, it's really just unnecessary. It would be much easier and inexpensive to put Assembly on a road diet. And with the hilly nature of downtown, flooding could also be a concern.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BHarrison84
I still don't see see much of a need to walk from Main Street to the Vista or the reverse. If you go eat soemwhere in the Vista, why would you want to walk to Main Street after that except on some rare occassioin.
We might be challenging the laws of human nature here.
It's a matter of making the downtown pedestrian experience more cohesive. It would be nice to make it easier for pedestrians to go from the art museum or Mast General to Finlay or along Gervais or to Trustus. But even after narrowing Assembly, you'll still need destinations in key spots, like at the lots at the Gervais intersection, to generate substantial pedestrian activity. One big issue for downtown is that due to its layout, a lot of uses are very spatially separated and it will simply take time to fill all those gaps in. Still, the city can focus on key corridors to help create a seamless experience from, say, the historic Mills District to the State Museum.
Furthermore, it's really just unnecessary. It would be much easier and inexpensive to put Assembly on a road diet. And with the hilly nature of downtown, flooding could also be
Interesting. I did not realize Houston had so many tunnels. I wonder how they deal with flooding being in a hurricane zone. To be fair, though, I really only want one tunnel. I don't want to turn Columbia into a tunnel city like Houston. We don't have the oil money here to afford that anyway.
I still don't see see much of a need to walk from Main Street to the Vista or the reverse. If you go eat soemwhere in the Vista, why would you want to walk to Main Street after that except on some rare occassioin.
We might be challenging the laws of human nature here.
The groups of people my partner and I witnessed a while ago crossing Assembly at Gervais in both directions as we crossed Gervais must have had their reasons. I don't know where they were coming from or going, but it's good to see. Also, while I'm on this topic, before we parked we turned right on Assembly from Gervais and witnessed a young man and woman holding hands and walking at a normal pace that you couldn't even call brisk, crossing Assembly. They started when the little man appeared on the walk sign and all but made it to the other side when the walk sign changed to its 26-second countdown. They could have crawled across in time, or at least made it to the median. While bump-outs and a median that serves better as a landing will make a difference, I still say the bulk of the problem at that intersection is the perception one gets because of the empty corners that should be buildings on the same scale as the ones that begin halfway down the block.
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