tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post7262848887611277454..comments2023-09-28T08:13:11.489-07:00Comments on Only In It For The Gold: Is There a Downtown Austin?Michael Tobishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08229460438349093944noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-42007057048112717922008-02-26T12:29:00.000-08:002008-02-26T12:29:00.000-08:00There's a lot to like about Austin; just don't pla...There's a lot to like about Austin; just don't plan on parking and walking around.Michael Tobishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08229460438349093944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-30153574993976270172008-02-26T12:09:00.000-08:002008-02-26T12:09:00.000-08:00No there there?No <I>there</I> there?David B. Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02917182411282836875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-15862238341000406072008-02-26T11:11:00.000-08:002008-02-26T11:11:00.000-08:00Chicago has been doing wonderful things with lands...Chicago has been doing wonderful things with landscaping the median on streets comparable to Congress Av. It's a benefit of a powerful mayoralty, though.<BR/><BR/>I can't imagine Texas businesses on that strip, no matter how hip they are (and this picture is taken just north of one of the most interesting commercial clusters in Austin, facing north so they are just behind your view) putting up with losing the center turn lane.Michael Tobishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08229460438349093944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-4106416408734063742008-02-26T10:44:00.000-08:002008-02-26T10:44:00.000-08:00Wide streets are OK as long as:1. the building wal...Wide streets are OK as long as:<BR/><BR/>1. the building walls framing them are close to the street, fenestrated to make the walls permeable and at the human scale, and the ratio of width:height is less than 4:1.<BR/><BR/>2. There is sufficient safety features to allow pedestrians to cross without getting killed, e.g. refugia, medians, raised/signalized crosswalks, traffic calming features, etc. <BR/><BR/>Our phrase is: put that road on a diet!<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>DDanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03709762632849004871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-87378395099056732332008-02-26T10:14:00.000-08:002008-02-26T10:14:00.000-08:00"sued to" should read "used to" above."sued to" should read "used to" above.Michael Tobishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08229460438349093944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-49198638551402870482008-02-26T07:12:00.000-08:002008-02-26T07:12:00.000-08:00That's the original street in Austin. I think it w...That's the original street in Austin. I think it was always that wide. <BR/><BR/>Regardless of their cluelessness about urban fabirc, Texans have always liked wide streets. <BR/><BR/>I think in the old days they sued to stand around in them. According to Hollywood lore they would have the occasional shootout there too.Michael Tobishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08229460438349093944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-2659284175079346002008-02-26T05:38:00.000-08:002008-02-26T05:38:00.000-08:00That's a cr*ppy street, with poor streetwall enclo...That's a cr*ppy street, with poor streetwall enclosure, and the terminating vista doesn't do anything to distract from the wide street, designed for auto throughput rather than multiple transportation modes. <BR/><BR/>All jargon aside, tree canopy would go a long way toward moderating the effects of dark pavement. American Forests has a lot of good ideas. <BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>DDanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03709762632849004871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-73077790764519999112008-02-25T14:52:00.000-08:002008-02-25T14:52:00.000-08:00"[well, you do have a lot of land down there :-)]"..."[well, you do have a lot of land down there :-)]"<BR/><BR/>Irene and I have a motto regarding Texas: "no shortage". <BR/><BR/>Aside from a few minor exceptions (decent bread, sidewalks, water) there's no shortage of just about anything in Texas and there is definitely no shortage of Texas.Michael Tobishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08229460438349093944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-3895266961031651772008-02-25T14:02:00.000-08:002008-02-25T14:02:00.000-08:00I once got stopped by a cop for walking home from...I once got stopped by a cop for walking home from the (old) airport. "we don't usually see people walking". I lived 1.5 miles away, and taxi drivers were often rude and annoyed by the short trip. So I usually ended up walking.<BR/><BR/>I never thought of walking as a suspicious act before I lived in Austin.Nosmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18276735115398361316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8524070301101240472.post-39901122906307067022008-02-25T13:06:00.000-08:002008-02-25T13:06:00.000-08:00Donald Shoup, "The High Cost of Free Parking".Read...Donald Shoup, "The High Cost of Free Parking".<BR/><BR/>Read the reviews in:<BR/>http://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking/dp/1884829988/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203973059&sr=8-1<BR/><BR/>Buy this book, then give it to an Austin planner.<BR/><BR/>====<BR/><BR/>IF development ordinances mandate:<BR/>- a certain number of parking spaces per condo<BR/>- a number of spaces per employee, customer, or square footage of commercial or government establishment<BR/><BR/>THEN<BR/>- since it is much more expensive to dig underground parking, ground parking lots spread out, driving the buildings further apart [well, you do have a lot of land down there :-)]<BR/><BR/>- since in many cases, parking is free, it is a very large subsidy for using cars, and even when it isn't free, it is usually still so low-priced as to be a subsidy.<BR/><BR/>- and, the cost of the condo/apartment parking spaces gets baked into the purchase/rental prices ... so rational people would have to be nuts not to want a car... they already paid for the space, and for the highways, and besides, the buildings have been spread out so they *need* a car.John Masheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17786354229618237133noreply@blogger.com