Click the image below, which is the Shoppes at Wyndham Village "Pedestrian Access Plan," for a larger image.
I've traced in RED the Pedestrian Routes indicated on the site map submission. The YELLOW line indicates a line labeled on the plan as "Proposed Public Sidewalk" - - presumably, either the city pays to put it there, or there will be no walkway available.
What is it we're talking about when we say that Franklin City Center zoning guidelines - - to which Mr. Carstensen agreed to adhere when getting this land re-zoned to allow for this project - - call for building groupings that are pedestrian-friendly?
From an "intra-development" standpoint (i.e. how things are arranged within the site plan, as opposed to how the site relates to its surroundings), the City Center guidelines are rather specific in stating that the zone should be "slightly more urban" than the surrounding suburb in terms of buildings allowed to be closer together. It also states that, whenever possible, parking should be behind the buildings rather than out front.
This allows:
- a clean, attractive facing of building facades out front (which is visible to Drexel AND the neighborhood beyond),
- a noise screen that acts as a barrier between the neighborhood across the street and slamming car doors, and
- a desirable, enclosed courtyard effect behind.
It also means pedestrians can move among the buildings without traversing "parking plains." This can most certainly be accomplished while maintaining the same amount of parking.
On this plan, we see that a single structure, BUILDING 7, adheres to the "parking behind" guideline.
Note the pedestrian relationship between BUILDING 4 and BUILDING 7 - - there is none. Once again, the suburban curse: "when nearby is still far away." A direct route between BUILDING 5 and 6? None.
Note the strip mall-like expanse of unimpeded asphalt between BUILDINGS 5, 6 and 7 and the TARGET/SENDIK'S location - - it almost appears as though two different developers are building on the site, and those two developers don't talk to each other.
One has to wonder if this strip mall standardization is locked-in because of the influence Target exerts as the site's anchor. Does Target demand a huge expanse of unbroken space in front of its stores? Perhaps Carstensen's site planners are not lacking in imagination, but rather are constrained by the ironclad "guidelines" of Target.
A question for the Plan Commission meeting this Thursday at 7pm, held at the Franklin Law Enforcement Center, undoubtedly.
The City of Franklin website is still down, by the way ...
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