Don't you love this? Walkable Charlotte, eh?
This particular barrier to pedestrians is on Brevard Street, between Fourth and Third streets, a half a block from the Transportation Center -- a spot to which thousands of people walk daily.
Last time I asked about it, several years ago, someone at either CDOT or the city planning office told me they were waiting for that property to develop and when it did, they'd make sure the sidewalk got built. That's been several years. Guess they're still waiting. I'll see what interim CDOT chief Danny Pleasant has to say.
And to be fair, I'll say that CDOT has improved dramatically in its attention to pedestrian comforts, and that uptown Charlotte is, square foot for square foot, the largest pedestrian friendly site in the city. Does anyone know of any others that would compete for that distinction?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Yesterday: Don't Drive. Today: Don't Walk?
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6 comments:
Charlotte does have its problems, but it is also doing surprisingly well in todays economy. With all the talk about dropping home prices, I was very surprised that I landed a job with Brentwood Homes, a "green" homebuilder in the carolinas. In spite of all the negativity, we are planning on building 4 new communities in the Charlotte region in the next 6 months.
Ugly brick. But still not as bad as riding a bike on the sidewalk and encountering construction.
Obviously, contractors can do little to appease bikers and walkers with all the equipment laid out, but hey, why not post some signage well before I approach the construction so I can cross the street BEFORE I hit the mayhem?
Mary,
You seem to be walking around Uptown just looking for things that annoy you. First the Confederate Monument, now a sidewalk. Missing the urban utopia of Boston I guess...
Why not just be thankful that global warming is taking a break and giving us some nice cool weather in August?
Eric,
Why are you riding on the sidewalk? If you can't ride in the street like you are supposed to, then you probably shouldn't be riding.
(...and yes, I ride on roads that don't have bike lanes - that's not an excuse. And yes, I observe stop signs and the required traffic signals.)
Rick, good to hear from you, and thanks for signing your name, as always.
I've been taking the bus and walking from the Transportation Center to my office or, as I did Monday, to the Government Center for a meeting. Who knows what else I'll find to take a picture of?
Cheers,
Mary
How are you defining "pedestrian fiendly?"
My neighborhood of Spring Valley is very pedestrian friendly where you could walk continuously for several miles without the bother of busy intersections, plenty of sidewalk and wide streets for bikes, jogging strollers, etc.
Very friendly people,too!
Have to agree with Mary on this one. I'm familiar with that space and, yes, it's a little strange.
For another odd, if unrelated city feature, take a look at where they relocated all of the free paper racks that used to be in front of Charlotte Plaza on College St.
They're across the street, but on a strip of "sidewalk" that's pretty much inaccessible to passersby without walking into the street in front of traffic exiting the BB&T parking garage.
I guess this is how the city sends a hint.
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