NYC DOT and the MTA have developed three design concepts for Select Bus Service on Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard in southeast Queens, and two of them go further than previous SBS routes to keep cars from slowing down buses [PDF]. All of the options include some measures to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians on one of the city’s widest and most dangerous streets. Read more: First Look: Woodhaven BRT Could Set New Standard for NYC Busways
How to critique a Transportation Master Plan that says all the right things? All the current urbanist jargon and concepts are here. The first part of the plan could have been written by algorithm mining from on-line content trendy notions of "complete streets", "walkability" and "a good transportation plan is a good land use plan." So, no fault can be found in the introduction and one is encouraged that based on these urbanist concepts, visionary and transformative actions are surely to follow.
But, I'm reminded of the band leader who, when asked to play a dreary old chestnut that both he and his band loathed, said no they didn't play that tune but you'll like our next selection instead — it contains many of the same notes.
Some background. Nanaimo is a small city on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is often referred to as 5 minutes wide and 45 minutes long. By my estimation its land mass is five times greater than makes any sustainable sense. By comparison, Victoria, the Provincial Capital 100 km to the south with a comparable population of around 85,000 is 7.5 sq miles to Nanaimo's 35 sq miles. This is the elephant in the room in all important planning, economic development and mobility challenges our little city faces.
While brief, passing reference is made to this very low population density, its ramifications are not dealt with here in any realistic manner. The report has some blind spots and this is certainly one of them. To the report's credit the linkage between zoning and land use and mobility in the city is identified but in a way the weather or the city's geology might be discussed. At some point cities have to face the limitations of a real estate driven sprawling development model that was great fun through the boom years but has left us struggling with its consequences. It is possible, though not discussed in this document, that a one-size-fits-all multi modal mobility plan is simply not feasible in a city as sprawling as Nanaimo. Concerns I raised in an earlier post here.
@neil21@spirit_of_urban There is a salvageable, city in #Nanaimo’s core. 1st rate walk/ bike infra, modest transit are doable today...
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 6, 2013
A wise friend said early days in this planning process, "a transportation master plan is about everything", there's nothing in city life that transportation in the city doesn't touch for good or ill. To me the first and overarching question in thinking about transportation planning is "what kind of city do we want to have." Here's two examples of plans that show vastly different approaches. The first is the City of Red Deer, Alberta. They brought in two very high profile urbanists who are in demand around the world: Danish architect Jan Gehl and Gil Penalosa former Parks Commissioner, Bogata Columbia who now heads the Canadian based 8-80 Cities. Link here. The second is a report done for the City of White Rock by the consultant Nanaimo hired, Urban Systems. Link here.
The new North Vancouver City Hall proclaims itself to be "A Community Space". The architect talks of its innovation, "celebrating the importance of wood", the Manager of City Facilities talks of a "wow factor", the consulting engineer explains the structural innovation, a resident talks of the building being "welcoming" and the beginning of "a whole new phase for the city".
Nanaimo has just completed construction of a City Hall Annex building. The project stemmed from an engineering report cautioning that the previous building fell well short of earthquake readiness. Previous to this report the need for a new facility had not been identified as a priority. Nevertheless, the construction of any large capital project gives rise to the opportunity to leverage progress towards urban renewal and economic development goals. The site chosen was a City owned parking lot directly across from the 1951 City Hall in what is known as the Quennell Square precinct. The project happened quickly and without consultation with stakeholders and without a long called for and badly needed master plan for this remarkable inner city site. The project could have been a catalyst for the renewal of other precincts including the Terminal Avenue ravine and the Wellcox waterfront railyards.
If the architects are proud of their work here, they've left no indication on their website: Only this rendering which barely resembles the completed building. There are also no boasts that I've been able to find coming from the local construction contractor, the consulting engineer, local newspapers, senior City Management, City Councillors or citizens.
In terms of scale and integration with its neighbours the building is, uhh... insensitive. Look at it from Franklyn St (above and below) and see how harshly it relates to its heritage craftsman and Victorian neighbours. And how the pretty little 1950s City Hall now looks kind of silly sitting in its shadow.
A building got built. That's about all. No contribution to urban renewal, to the building of community, to enhancing the neighbourhood and I really am at a loss to explain it. The inescapable conclusion seems to be that this is the result of a bankruptcy of vision and ambition. Not surprisingly no one here is speaking of celebrating this lifeless building as "A Community Space", with an innovative "wow factor", "welcoming" and the beginning of "a whole new phase for the city".
Post script: The original building which was essentially condemed by an engineering report and vacated by the City has been purchased for $1 by a local engineering/contracting firm. As part of the sale, the City, in addition has agreed to pay the purchasing firm $40,000, the equivalent to two years worth of property tax and the purchaser must complete upgrades to render the building 60 per cent compliant with the seismic requirements or demolish the building within the first two years of taking ownership.
In fairness, it's not true that the project makes no contribution to inner city public space. At the rear of the building (with a view of a parking lot) there's this:
Nanaimo's Terminal Avenue ravine has been recognized for many years as having a negative impact on the city. It is technically still part of the Trans Canada Highway system and prior to the construction of the Island Highway Parkway, which allows inter city traffic to bypass the city, was the only north/south route for all Island traffic (transport and logging trucks included). It was claimed when the Parkway was constructed that the redirection of this traffic to the bypass would usher in a bright new era for the renewal of the downtown which had gone into decline as shopping mall and sprawling residential development stretched thinly along this 30km ribbon. Fifty years after Jane Jacob's common sense observations Planners and Traffic Engineers are reluctantly coming to the realization that traffic behaves as if a gaseous substance. You can move it and shift it temporarily but it will return to fill vessels available to it. The Terminal Avenue highway is, if anything, more destructive to Nanaimo's economic development and to the neighbourhoods it slices through than ever. Reclaiming this stretch as shared public space will require calming the traffic and the elimination of the inter city commercial traffic.
These 2006 before and after sketches are by Nanaimo architect Jolyon Brown.
The area is currently undergoing a remediation study initiated by the Downtown BIA. The Downtown Urban Design Plan and Guidelines document addresses the Terminal Avenue ravine and its adjacent precincts. From that document: The design of Terminal Avenue with its unique curving geometry, continues to act as a barrier that disconnects the Old City from the downtown core and the waterfront. However, any proposed design changes to the streetscape will require extensive consultation with the road's current authority, the Ministry of Transportation.
A terrific street redesign is assisting economic development in a southern California community that has suffered from changing economic conditions but is nevertheless seeing significant population growth. This is a story of municipal foresight, excellent recent planning, and green ambition.
And a model for the redevelopment of Nanaimo's Terminal Avenue ravine:
