Upcoming Event: Seattle Great City Initiative
Join Seattle Great City Initiative for a brownbag lunch discussion led by T Frick of Mithun.
T Frick, an Associate Principle at Mithun and a former colleague of mine, will be leading a discussion this coming Thursday April 10, on how to transform Seattle streetscapes into usable, pedestrian friendly spaces.
T will be highlighting her recent work on the Taylor 28 project - a residential, mixed-use development that transfers underused roadway width into useable public space. With her strong background in urban ecological design, T has also incorporated innovative natural drainage elements that not only function to clean and collect storm water runoff but also reveal it to the public. Taylor 28 will be the first in a series of intersections between green streets and plaza streets for a new pedestrian-focused neighborhood.
This is a great challenge in our young city where sidewalks have typically been seen has hazards and dead-spaces. These public right of ways are currently being wasted as opportunities to inject some green public zones into the grid. This is something Seattle is desperate for considering our intense lack of public open space.
Our favorite sustainable sister city to the south, Portland OR, has more than a few great examples of transforming sidewalks and right of ways. Tanner Springs Park -above, is a great Northwest example of how a public project reclaimed up to 30-40 feet of the public right of way on three of four sides of a city block. Unlike the standard 12-15′ sidewalks we have here in Seattle, these wider sidewalks allow for places to sit, gather and enjoy urban nature.
Another Portland example of using the public right of way for pedestrian enhancement is the SW 12th Avenue Green Street Project -below. This project not only serves the function of safely moving pedestrians but also sustainably manages street stormwater runoff. These spaces were created from previously underutilized areas between the sidewalk and street curb.
Tanner Springs Park and the 12th Avenue Green Street Project are just two examples of converting unused right of way spaces into usable pedestrian friendly experiences. I am excited to hear about the Taylor 28 project right here in our own front yard.
I encourage all to attend the brownbag lunch sponsored by Seattle Great City Initiative Thursday April 10, 2008 from 12-1:30 at Triad Urban Center on the NW corner of 3rd and Cherry. Click here to RSVP
