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What are your thoughts on the draft concept plans for the Pedestrian Place locations?
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We're finishing up the design process of developing illustrations of what the Pedestrian Places might look like in the future. For each of the three locations - N. Mountain Ave./E. Main St., Walker Ave./Ashland St., and Tolman Creek Rd./Ashland St. - there is a draft concept plan including illustrations of a catalyst opportunity site as well as suggested streetscape features and improvements.
Pedestrian Places are small walkable nodes that provide a concentration of gathering places, housing, businesses and pedestrian amenities grouped in way to encourage more walking, bicycling and transit use. Amenities may include plazas, bus shelters, shade and seating, drinking fountains, public art, landscaping, information displays, and bicycle parking. Pedestrian Places can help create vibrant, livable places where people congregate, and can function as neighborhood centers. If you’re interested in viewing the project background and comments from the first two Open City Hall topics, click here.
The third public workshop was held on February 22, 2010 at the Ashland Middle School. The draft concept plans were presented, and participants were asked to answer three questions about the plans.
- Building Blocks for a Pedestrian Place: Do you think these concepts include the building blocks that were identified for Pedestrian Places? Building blocks include great streets, gathering places, new shops/offices, transit improvements, public art and new housing.
- Streetscape Improvements: Are these the right treatments for the streets and intersections? If not, what is missing?
- Neighborhood Character: Do you think development of this type will be a good addition to the respective neighborhoods? If not, please explain?
When Does Development and Redevelopment Happen?
This planning effort is looking at changes that could happen in the Pedestrian Place locations in the future, but may potentially take 10 years, 20 years or more to be fully realized. The developments and redevelopments depicted in the illustration plans for catalyst opportunities sites are intended to show conceptually what could happen on the site should a variety of actions take place. Change of an opportunity site would first require the property owner of an opportunity site to initiate development. Change in these areas could also be encouraged by public actions. Public actions could include capital improvement projects to enhance the streets, or offering incentives to development proposals that match the vision.
Opportunity sites are properties that have been identified as having future development or redevelopment potential because the sites are vacant or underutilized. The potential for future development is an opportunity to create places that move the individual site as well as the general location towards being a Pedestrian Place.
Redevelopment can’t be forced or mandated by policies or ordinances, even though both can encourage it and guide it toward a desired community vision when it does occur. Significant changes in land uses, such as those being envisioned as part of the Pedestrian Places project, typically occur when five things fall into place:
- There are perceived real estate market conditions indicating a good probability that there are customers, buyers and renters for new businesses and housing.
- There are favorable financing conditions for the private investment needed for new developments.
- There are property owners whose interests are served by selling and/or developing the property, and so they become willing sellers.
- There is an interested and experienced developer(s) with a financially feasible plan.
- Requirements of City approvals process can be met.
Learn More
City of Ashland community members attended a presentation of the draft concept plans and recommended implementing codes for Pedestrian Places at a Planning Commission Study Session on Tuesday March 29. City Staff is in the process of evaluating the recommended updates, in consideration of comments received, and developing draft Land Use Ordinance amendments for consideration by the Planning Commission and the Ashland City Council. For information about future meeting dates, time and location see www.ashland.or.us/pedplaces.