"The best economic strategy you can have as a city...is to become a place that people want to be." |
|
In his book, The Walkable City, architect and planner Jeff Speck explains that great streets have four essential elements. Great streets are useful, safe, comfortable and interesting.
In short, a great street is designed for people first. It can handle automobiles, but not at the expense of being useful, safe, comfortable and interesting for people not in an automobile.
- Useful. There must be places to go that are worth going to.
- Safe. People need to feel safe visiting the street.
- Comfortable. Time spent in the street needs to be pleasant and enjoyable.
- Interesting. The street can't be monotonous but instead needs to have some life to it.
In short, a great street is designed for people first. It can handle automobiles, but not at the expense of being useful, safe, comfortable and interesting for people not in an automobile.
|
There are thousands of examples of great streets around the country that handle more traffic than South 6th Street yet do it with a platform that builds wealth. One example close to home is Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. It handles more traffic than South 6th Street with just one lane in each direction, on street parking, sidewalks and a tree-lined boulevard.
Go to Google Maps and explore how the buildings all face the street. That's what happens with a good design. We can do that in Brainerd. |
|
Not only will a better South 6th Street not have five lanes -- or even three lanes -- it will be designed in a way that acknowledges and respects the properties all along the corridor. Some key elements of a new design include:
Pedestrian Crossings: If we want people to be here, we need to make it easy for people to be here. South 6th Street is currently a moat for pedestrians. They need to be able to easily and safely flow back and forth across the street.
On Street Parking: Brainerd needs more investment and that means areas currently being used for off-street parking need to develop in the coming years. There is a tremendous amount of real estate being wasted today that should be on-street parking. Not only is this a higher use, but parked cars make sidewalks and bike lanes safer by forming a protective barrier between people and moving automobiles.
Pedestrian Crossings: If we want people to be here, we need to make it easy for people to be here. South 6th Street is currently a moat for pedestrians. They need to be able to easily and safely flow back and forth across the street.
On Street Parking: Brainerd needs more investment and that means areas currently being used for off-street parking need to develop in the coming years. There is a tremendous amount of real estate being wasted today that should be on-street parking. Not only is this a higher use, but parked cars make sidewalks and bike lanes safer by forming a protective barrier between people and moving automobiles.
Restoration of View Corridors: South 6th Street is designed to end in Gregory Square, which is what Gregory Park used to be called. The idea was that the view all along the street would end with the fountain, pillars and trees that form this public square. It is a subtle design trick (think Cinderella's castle at the end of Disneyland's Main Street) meant to improve the experience of the street. Today we block these views with traffic signals and highway signs, but it doesn't need to be this way.
Street Trees: There are a lot of trees along South 6th Street today, but they are being used as a last resort buffer to shield properties from the negative street. Good street trees in the boulevard provide shade for people walking on sidewalks, help them feel safe and protected and, visually, frame the edges of the street. The effect is the same as a picture frame only highlighting the great space the street should be.
Street Trees: There are a lot of trees along South 6th Street today, but they are being used as a last resort buffer to shield properties from the negative street. Good street trees in the boulevard provide shade for people walking on sidewalks, help them feel safe and protected and, visually, frame the edges of the street. The effect is the same as a picture frame only highlighting the great space the street should be.
|
Brainerd's Walkable DNA
Brainerd officials have spent the past 50+ years trying to make a city that is designed to be walkable into one dominated by the automobile. Yes, today people drive, but Brainerd's strengths are its walkable downtown and nearby neighborhoods. We need to play to those strengths. Getting the design of South 6th Street right is one critical step, but it's not the only thing that needs to be done. The city's ordinances need to be completely reworked. The city's capital investments need to be refocused. Our approach to subsidies, housing and economic development all need to shift from emphasizing expensive horizontal expansion to making high-returning investments in Brainerd's core neighborhoods. |
|
|
We can make these changes over time, but they won't have the same positive impact if South 6th Street continues to be a drag on the city's tax base.
The best economic strategy you can have as a city is to become a place that people want to be. We've made Brainerd a place that people want to drive through and we've spent millions making it even easier for them to do so. Let's change that. |
|
