Pop-up Dinner Series

On March 14th, Project for Public Spaces (PPS) hosted a 2 day workshop in the Gettys Courtroom, where RHEDC, community members, Placemaking team members, and city staff came together to identify placemaking opportunities in Knowledge Park. We participated in several group exercises, did a walking tour of downtown, and created concept placemaking maps for 5 specific locations. PPS then created a Placemaking Master Plan in the following weeks, designed to activate underutilized spaces in Knowledge Park that will attract knowledge workers, businesses, residents, and visitors. More information about PPS: https://www.pps.org/

http://mainstreetmomence.com/Documents/20%20Ingredients%20of%20an%20Outstanding%20Downtown%20(1).pdf

FYI; Some team members raised the idea of making Main Street a one-way. I broached the question with Stephen Turner. Let's just say it was a strong "not recommended." Here's what Jeff Speck had top say in his article about walkable cities; Protect the pedestrian. ("The safest roads are those that feel the least safe.") Here again, it comes back to driving. Jeff asserts that roadway "improvements" that facilitate car traffic – such as wider lanes or one-way streets – encourage higher speeds; thus, we should instead use narrow lanes and two-way streets. Intriguingly, he argues – as have other new urbanists – for stripping some roadways of signage and mode delineation. The idea is that, if drivers feel they might hit someone or something, they really will slow down or change routes.