Where are the people spaces downtown? (Birmingham, Lynn: buy, theatre, school)

[raj kapoor]

Downtown is coming along really well. New businesses on a small scale. No big businesses until we are out of the downturn, and then only if a miracle. (some people think we are out of the downturn because they don't hang around any regular people that are definitely still hurting) Part time jobs do not a national economy make>>>

To enhance the residential growth and new restaurants and bars downtown, there need to be some people spaces. (plazas)
Between Lynn Park and Railroad Park I can think of maybe one place and there is no where to sit. That is nine blocks without a people specific amenity. Think of anyone walking continuously for nine blocks without the ability to simply sit in the sun for a moment and make a call or whatever. People don't move like that. People by nature meander. Like in and out of shops in retail centers. Retail will never be that big downtown again so it needs an alternative to attract pleasant walking, not the focused purposeful walking of someone on lunch hour.

One of the best places I can think of for just this need is the parking lot across from the old KRESS building. (red mountain theatre) It is on the opposite end of the block the LYRIC THEATRE is on. Nineteenth and Third North. It is perfect because of its size and the fact that it doesn't have buildings around it on three sides giving a feeling of truly being out in the open and safe due to full visibility to what is going on. Unlike places like Lynn Park where , unfortunately the trees can make one feel vulnerable to aggressive panhandling. (and no, don't cut the trees down) Also, it is in the middle of four of the biggest and latest redevelopments downtown; so am I alone in seeing that it does not need to be filled with cars, but with people before and after their adventures in this vital area.

One good additional parking deck downtown could take care of several of the 'LOTS' which are eyesores that could reinvent the way we walk around downtown. For instance, we avoid the streets that are fully developed to the point of creating a wall along a narrow sidewalk especially on the shaded side of the street. (that would be Third between Twentieth and Nineteenth)
If there were some plazas (one for every two or three blocks), we might see the urban grid in a more friendly way.

In fact, I believe that a problem arises when a public space becomes too large in a downtown area. One should still feel somewhat connected to the sidewalk and areas around the space. This is a problem for many people with RRP. (and I can't blame them)

My travels have shown me that we have the spaces to do what other cities have done. And in many cities the spaces are provided and built out by private companies but Birmingham has hardly been that fortunate with its corporate community. (the same community that builds success here and then leaves, like LIBERTY NATIONAL) Oh, and they took their statue out of DT, but fortunately left it here when they completed their move to Texas.

At any rate, if you are aware of such spaces and want to share their potential or want to share about some you have encountered in other cities. Just realize I am not writing about parks, just public or private spaces open to the public that soften our walking environment and therefore encourage us to enjoy walking DT.

I would like to point out that UAB and the UA SCHOOL of MEDICINE have done a good job of taking this on. The plaza in front and behind the new BENJAMIN RUSSELL Children's Hospital is a great example of space given over to the potential pleasantness of the street experience. (especially the fountain on the front side and even the pass through under the building.)

The main caveat is that being on a fairly strict grid does make this hard to do here in the 'ham. This is ingrained in the metro mentality, as none of the 'hamlets around the city have done much with this sort of thing. Probably why big meandering open air shopping is so popular, where else do people walk outdoors in the city.

Hopefully some of you will inspire the rest of us and plant the ideas where trees and benches may someday grow.

raj

[bluebeard]

I think the area is slowly progressing, as it has since I've moved here. Eventually the bright spots will connect. I agree with adding trees and benches along the sidewalks. I think its very possible to have concrete and greenery co-exist.

I think UAB would do more to make the street-level of some of the buildings to be retail/restaurants. This would encourage walking around.

I'm not sure I buy the grid argument. Most of the great walking cities in the US are grid-based. I also am not sure what you mean by being developed to the point of a wall. If you mean that it is a naked side of a building, I suppose. But if there is something street-level (shops etc....) up against the sidewalk, that probably actually encourages walking.

I think the city is poised to increase cyclist accessibility.

I agree about the parking deck. There simply should not be any surface lots anywhere in the downtown/UAB area. Period.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

I think the area is slowly progressing, as it has since I've moved here. Eventually the bright spots will connect. I agree with adding trees and benches along the sidewalks. I think its very possible to have concrete and greenery co-exist.

I think UAB would do more to make the street-level of some of the buildings to be retail/restaurants. This would encourage walking around.

I'm not sure I buy the grid argument. Most of the great walking cities in the US are grid-based. I also am not sure what you mean by being developed to the point of a wall. If you mean that it is a naked side of a building, I suppose. But if there is something street-level (shops etc....) up against the sidewalk, that probably actually encourages walking.

I think the city is poised to increase cyclist accessibility.

I agree about the parking deck. There simply should not be any surface lots anywhere in the downtown/UAB area. Period.

About the grid. I , on the other hand think that American cities are not as walkable because of it. We all know Americans don't walk like the rest of the world and hardly any of the cities of the world are on a grid. (not meaning original villages, but the greater city evolved in a less planned way and is somewhat organic which appeals to the senses.)

The grid is just my thought. Colonial cities usually have grids but they also have plenty of those plazas that I mentioned. Just my take. (our sidewalks are so narrow in so many places)

raj