Would this work on Bridge Square?

Public policy and politics can get so serious; planning sparks passionate, often opposing, opinions.  Why not think about how we can make cities fun?  For more trends for 2012, see PopUp City’s Top 10 list.

Luther, rather than being controlled by the devil, was rather media savvy

On the flip side of social media use by government is social media use against the government: How Luther went viral.

Social media in social uprising is not new, but good reformers centuries ago learned how to use the communications tools and networks available at the time to reach their audiences.

Perhaps we can generalize that government and authority which are geared toward stability (or stasis or worse depending on the critic) will usually lag behind those with passion and zeal for change.  But, government officials can learn to use grass-roots tools – even the Vatican has a YouTube channel.

On one hand, this article gives me a little more support for my contention that big schemes like the 530 acre business park are ill-conceived and not destined for success.  On the other hand, even the more entrepreneurial efforts at economic development programs take a beating here. The last paragraph says it all and, indeed, this is what I’ve been advocating all along.  No silver bullets, no simple answers, just do government well over the long term.

Please give Northfield the resolve and resources needed to adopt and implement the Local Open Government Directive in 2012.

Thank you,

Betsey

Maple Street project map

Last week, I went to the first neighborhood meeting for the Maple Street reconstruction project.

One planned addition for this street is adding sidewalk on the east side of 44′ wide collector street with existing sidewalk on the west side.  So far in my Northfield experience, sidewalks – new sidewalks where none had existed before, that is – always generate opposition and Maple Street is no exception.

Here are the biggest objections plus the existing policy infrastructure of the City:

Property value: Sidewalks will lower property values.  For a particular home in Northfield, it’s difficult to say whether adding a sidewalk raises or lowers property value without a comparison of similar homes with and without sidewalks.  However, realtors are reporting higher prices and preference for neighborhoods with high walkability – sidewalks, places to walk to, proximity to stores, schools and other services.  In addition to Complete Streets advocates, powerful lobbying groups like AARP are advocating for neighborhoods with better pedestrian and transit opportunities.  There’s no readily available evidence to show sidewalks lower property values, except when they’re in poor condition.

Cost: New sidewalks are too expensive.  On the individual plus side, Northfield does not assess property owners for sidewalks.  On the collective downside, the cost of new sidewalks is spread across the entire tax base of the city.  Policy-wise, I think this means the City believes the sidewalk network benefits the entire community, not just the property over which they run.  As a dollar amount, sidewalks add to the cost.  However, if the citywide goal is a comprehensive sidewalk network, this is the least expensive way to do it.

Usefulness: No one will use it (because: they walk in the street anyway, there’s a sidewalk on the other side, there aren’t sidewalks on connecting streets). Obviously, neither I nor the folks on Maple can know what will happen on a future improvement since it’s not there yet.  There is a sidewalk on the west side, but there is also a sidewalk on the east side further south and I look at the addition of sidewalk as completing an unfinished project to link Jefferson Parkway (and soccer fields, walking trails, playground) more completely.

There are not sidewalks on connecting streets yet.  Certainly Woodley Street is the most critical street on which to add sidewalks to connect to Maple and when that segment is set to be reconstructed, I am sure sidewalks will be a major topic (we try to add sidewalks when reconstructing streets to decrease the overall cost). Retrofitting sidewalks is an incremental process – right now, the opportunity is Maple Street (and our other 2012 projects on Linden/Lockwood, Roosevelt Drive and 8th Street).

Neighborhood character: Adding a sidewalk will change/ruin the neighborhood.  There are several issues which surface here: loss of trees, loss of green yard space, or just that the look will be different.  Certainly the sidewalk is a change, however, it may not be a bad one.  The city is really trying to find ways to save mature trees and increase the number of trees overall, but, yes, trees may be removed for both the street reconstruction and a few more for the sidewalk.  The yard space is city-owned right of way, so there’d be the loss of use of it, but no loss of property (private landscaping in the right of way may be destroyed).  Perhaps, a sidewalk will be a place kids will play, families will meet, and more kids will walk to school.  But, yes, a sidewalk will change the neighborhood.

Safety: Most sidewalk opponents considered the west side sidewalk sufficient for safety (traffic speed was the big safety issue- and it is a big one).  For me, however, it’s a big consideration.  There’s a lot of research to show that pedestrians are safer on sidewalks.  With Sibley School in the middle of this stretch of street, there are elementary school kids walking to school from all directions including through Sibley Swale park which empties onto Maple almost at the school with no sidewalk or obvious place to cross to the other side.  Starting in January, Northfield Transit begins its route deviation system which will run south to north on Maple Street so people will board (and wait) on the no-sidewalk side.

Established city policy and practice: Northfield has developed policies to support connectivity, foster streets as places for people to meet and interact, increase pedestrian access, and pedestrian safety.  Northfield’s Comprehensive Plan and Transportation Plan lay the policy groundwork for a multi-modal transportation network with high quality, pedestrian friendly streets.  The addition of the sidewalk on Maple Street is called for by the Safe Routes to School study completed in 2009.  The Land Development Code calls for sidewalks on both sides of collector streets (of which Maple is one).   We’re planning for a Complete Streets policy to ensure streets are safe and accessible for all.  Maple Street is an opportunity to continue implementing this vision and eliminate a gap in our sidewalk network.

Let's see, we'll put the single family homes over here away from the commercial districts

The Urban Land Institute has reminded us that zoning law turns 85 this year; the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of local zoning law in 1926 with Euclid v. Ambler Realty.   Envision Minnesota juxtaposed Zoning at 85 with We need more zoning and asks “More zoning or no zoning?” but they got the question wrong since both articles favor more land use planning, but less emphasis on traditional zoning (no matter what the titles may read).

Zoning is an extremely blunt instrument – Euclidian zoning the bluntest of all since it does not attempt to regulate the relationship of buildings to one another and doesn’t usually reflect much in the way of community character or encourage innovation, but is primarily a government tool to prevent nuisances.  Form-based codes are slightly sharper by planning and regulating the physical shape and the relationships among buildings and to the street.

But the articles above (and many others) are starting to get beyond zoning and city planning to placemaking, a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces.

But placemaking is not like more zoning or more top-down city planning.  We don’t need more zoning-like regulations, we need fewer.  Rather placemaking is bottom-up, grass-roots community building with an emphasis on improving the spaces we all share, like streets, parks, and public places.  Government’s role is to enable private groups to shape the vision and do the work.

If placemaking becomes the new model for development, will zoning live to be 100?

Grrreat!

Great news for transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians! said the Transit for Livable Communities update that appeared in my Facebook newsfeed.  The great news is that Northfield has been awarded a $1.6 million TIGER grant (with a $500,000 match from the city), one of 46 recipients from a pool of 848 applications, for a grade-separated crossing of Highway 3 for non-motorized transportation using the underpass near Greenvale Avenue.

My Council colleague, Erica Zweifel deserves a huge round of applause for her leadership in bringing this project forward, soliciting community support, and working with Bolton & Menk preparing the application.  Grreat!

Other information about the grant and project:

The official DOT notice of grant awardees with descriptions of all 46 projects in this round of TIGER grants

Local coverage of the project during the application process: Northfield News, Patch, Locally Grown

Northfield has spent 2011 upgrading its technology infrastructure and updating the website is planned for 2012.  I’d like to think 2012 will also be when the City starts using technology to increase accessibility, transparency and accountability in local government.  If there are particular kinds of information or access you’d like to see Northfield offer, let me know.

As I noted in in a previous post, I think the 2008 “smart growth” Comprehensive Plan is fiscally smart, too.  The economic sustainability aspect of our development pattern is also why I’m a big fan of Strong Towns.  The Strong Towns message is getting out all over the place since their Curbside Chat companion booklet was published including:

As small cities struggle, a look at the high cost of low density development (Smart growth network)

How suburban sprawl works like a ponzi scheme (Atlantic Cities)

Paying for past choices: cities struggle with infrastructure (MPR article) and In an era of austerity, MN cities face tough decisions (podcast on MPR with Jim Miller of League of MN Cities).

I’m pleased that Chuck Marohn will be at the Council worksession on Tuesday, 11/29 to give a brief presentation to the Council.  I’m hoping my Council colleagues will find his information compelling enough to schedule a full blown Curbside Chat so the entire Northfield community can participate.