Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

RETROFITTING SUBURBIA: "The next 50 years' big sustainable design project"

RETROFITTING SUBURBIA author Ellen Dunham-Jones on "the next 50 years' big sustainable design project": 

   

Storm prompts branch and brush collection

ABOVE: Lucky to lose just a couple of large branches

From FranklinNOW:

A special tree and brush collection will be taken in Franklin beginning at 7 a.m. July 1 as a result of severe thunderstorms Friday and Monday.

Tree branches must be cut to five-foot lengths and limited to a pile four feet long and four feet high. Residents with more than that can haul the material to the Public Works garage, 7979 W. Ryan Road, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday or make arrangements with a private hauler.

For information, call the Public Works Department at (414) 425-2592.

Read the rest at: Storm prompts branch and brush collection - FranklinNOW

Franklin Storm photo set on Flickr

P1080697, originally uploaded by John Michlig.

Serious storm last night - power lines and trees down in my neighborhood. Of course, living in a cul-de-sac means NO OTHER WAY OUT until the power lines are removed.

GREAT JOB by the power company, though; power restored by 2:45ish a.m., even with lines still down.

Franklin water tower panorama

Franklin water tower panorama, originally uploaded by John Michlig.

Taken during a Father's Day bike ride around town. Click to embiggen.

51st Street Reconstruction in Franklin, Wisconsin

51st Street Reconstruction - 03, originally uploaded by John Michlig.

Reconstruction of 51st Street in front of Franklin High School begins in earnest. Click on the title in the caption above to see a full set of photos on Flickr.

One more step to sane streets: 76th Street reconstruction includes a sidewalk

ABOVE: The untenable parking situation that occurs at the Franklin Little League Complex every game day as a result of lack of safe pedestrian and bike alternatives.

Last week the Franklin Common Council voted to ensure that a sidewalk will be part of the configuration of 76th Street when it is rebuilt from W. Terrace Drive to W. Puetz Road. (The four configuration choices are listed after the jump.)

The sole "no" vote was by Alderman Steve Olson, who, while interested in seeing a sidewalk added to the stretch of road (which includes the city's Little League complex and would provide a walking/biking route to the Rawson-76th Street commercial area), evidently saw nothing in any of four alternatives presented by the county that he would support. He was also, apparently, more interested in creating in his constituents the notion that he voted against spending city money (see below).

Lest he try to make hay of the notion that he "voted against city spending," you will recall that Olson is one of the major proponents for Franklin's $500,000 expenditure on the Drexel Interchange in Oak Creek. I await his economic mitigation plan for the damage that particular move will cause; it's an episode that will be looked at in hindsight as one of the steps to the path of Franklin's Edge City status if steps aren't taken.

Also, Olson did not mention in his letter to constituents addressing the vote on 76th Street the fact that Jack Takerian, interim director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation and Public Works, explained to the council that new federal policy and related grant funding all but ensure that part or all of Franklin's $860,000 portion (Olson rounded up to $900,000 for the "benefit" of his constituents) will be eliminated. The street is within 2 miles of the middle school, for instance, so it is eligible for Safe Routes to School funding. Much, much smaller communities than Franklin -- who have committed to the grant application process -- have spent a few thousand dollars only to see a half million come back in funding for sidewalks and walking amenities.

During the discussion, Alderman Steve Taylor made a good point: There are numerous subdivisions along 76th that are effectively cut off from one another by the dangerous street. A sidewalk would be an enormous amenity, and also allow access to the businesses on Rawson.

Mayor Tom Taylor had this to say before the vote:

While I originally vetoed this proposal and only wanted to go with alternative A; if alternative B was selected tonight, I would not move to veto it.

...

I think that Mr. Michlig, Mr. Fowler [Franklin Trail Committee Chair], Alderman Sohns [former Trail Committee Member], Alderman Kristen Wilhelm, and many others in the community have totally convinced me that we need to be pedestrian friendly; we need to have a connected city.

Still think things can't change if you agitate a bit?

Add this to the 51st Street reconstruction in front of the high school, which includes pedestrian facilities at last (Olson voted against that, too), and it becomes just a bit easier to foresee a community build to serve people as well as vehicles.

Smart Growth in 30 seconds

 

Big Box reuse in Milwaukee: Old Menard's converted to indoor bike park

Big Box reuse in Milwaukee:

Trek Bicycle Corp. didn’t just give Ray Petro a little boost to ensure he would be able to open a Ray’s Indoor MTB Park for riders in Milwaukee. The Waterloo-based company bought Ray’s business.

That was the news in a release sent out promoting the expected opening of a Ray’s in a shuttered Menard’s store at 8365 N. 76th St. in November.

Read the rest at: Trek buys Ray's Indoor MTB Park - ensures expansion in Milwaukee - JSOnline

"To stay competitive, suburbs need to create walkable urban places with a critical mass of activity"

ABOVE: Enjoying an evening in Sierra Madre, California

Many suburbs like Franklin, with committees and commissions populated by folks who settled here back when most of their neighbors were farmers and open fields, have a hard time with this concept.

Good center cities need not only retail and housing but offices as well, to make these places come alive day and night. On the commercial corridors, revitalization efforts should focus on the key intersections, where the shops and restaurants already want to go. People go where they will see other people.

"People go where they will see other people." The opposite of the "I moved here to get away from people" paradigm of the early far-flung suburbs -- but not mutually exclusive. Large suburbs can create central civic centers while maintaining sparse subdivisions, and people will self-select newer dense neighborhoods.

I'm quoting from a white paper entitled "The New Urban Workplace" by Rod Stevens of Spinnaker Strategies. The white paper describes the exodus of corporate headquarters from suburbs to downtown:

Talented young workers increasingly pick the city first and the job second.

The make-or-break for both companies and cities is their ability to draw college-educated workers who have come of age since the turn of the millennium. This is a generation that has grown up with more choice than ever before, that has learned to mix and match not only the clothing it buys, but its work and leisure time as well. Flexibility and convenience drive their lives. Many start the workday in mid-morning, break for a workout or a meal out with friends, and then go back to the office for more work far into the evening. The office of the future may look a whole lot more like the neighborhood coffee house.

Milwaukee Magazine's Newsbuzz site reports that the growing popularity of downtown is measureable:

In 2000, following the completion of the last U.S. Census, the Brookings Institution studied American downtowns and pegged Milwaukee as one of five (and the only one in the Midwest) with a residential population “on the edge of takeoff.” A couple years prior, in response to a Brookings survey, Milwaukee leaders guessed Downtown’s population would grow to 13,500 by 2010.

It’s beaten that mark, according to a report released earlier this year by Milwaukee’s Downtown Business Improvement District. Downtown population estimates prepared by a GIS consultant say about 15,000 people live in Milwaukee’s Downtown, more than Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Memphis or Nashville.

Why They Hate Us: A New Urbanist dissects the movement’s critics

Libertarians, Mods, and Saint, oh my ....

To drive to Kentlands from historic Georgetown is a disappointment, but to drive there from sprawling Tyson’s Corner is a revelation. That experience, and the hard slog that led to it, is what keeps us in the fight.

Read the rest at: The Evolving Debate Over Smart Growth - Urban Development, Planning, Design - Architect Magazine