Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Come here to talk about topics that are not related to development, or even Kansas City.
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by beautyfromashes »

It used to be that the leaders of large companies in the United States had a loyalty to their corporations and the cities that they located in. Their reputation in the city they lived was determined by the good that they did for the community and how they treated their employees. Now, CEOs only work in those roles for short periods of time, sometimes don't come from the organization they are leading and have loyalties only to shareholders. They get their golden parachute and move back to wherever they came from. There has been a 'buy local' movement that is growing recently in America. We need to create the same for businesses. Nurture small businesses with our investments and support those organizations that show loyalty to the city and benefit the local society.
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DaveKCMO
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by DaveKCMO »

citizens for responsible government is fighting the proposed transit-oriented development policy: http://transitkc.com/wp-content/uploads ... eople.html

AGENDA 21 AMIRITE?
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grovester
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by grovester »

"...One thing I saw missing was the crematorium where they will send those of us over 70 who can no longer get to the streetcar or walk or bike everywhere."

I kid you not.
mykn

Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by mykn »

Woah, that's nuts. Was that on their facebook page? Do we have a screencap?
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DaveKCMO
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by DaveKCMO »

mykn wrote:Woah, that's nuts. Was that on their facebook page? Do we have a screencap?
it was an email forwarded to me. their facebook post at smartkc is somewhat subdued.
flyingember
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by flyingember »

grovester wrote:"...One thing I saw missing was the crematorium where they will send those of us over 70 who can no longer get to the streetcar or walk or bike everywhere."

I kid you not.
there's plenty that's a different viewpoints in that piece. This one is just sad.

My 93-year-old grandmother does not drive. she has to be taken places. She is good in that she can still walk reasonably well.

The streetcar needs a publicity image of a senior citizen in a wheelchair rolling onto the train, with a quote about how it lets him/her go places now without needing to be lifted into a van.
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by brewcrew1000 »

This just irks me
(we’ve all heard the whispers about doing away with the downtown loop on the north side). The plan is to eliminate automobiles downtown or anywhere light rail, streetcar, bike or walking paths will go. In several places within the TOD, it states the plan will limit incentives to business or areas that “have uses which only serve autos”.
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Highlander
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by Highlander »

flyingember wrote:
grovester wrote:"...One thing I saw missing was the crematorium where they will send those of us over 70 who can no longer get to the streetcar or walk or bike everywhere."

I kid you not.
there's plenty that's a different viewpoints in that piece. This one is just sad.

My 93-year-old grandmother does not drive. she has to be taken places. She is good in that she can still walk reasonably well.

The streetcar needs a publicity image of a senior citizen in a wheelchair rolling onto the train, with a quote about how it lets him/her go places now without needing to be lifted into a van.
As someone rapidly approaching retirement, my wife and I are looking in KC for the perfect location to live. This very thing weighs heavily on my mind - mobility past the age of being able to drive. My 90 year old father is in the same boat, he cannot drive for medical reason and lives in south Johnson County totally dependent on family members to go anywhere. We like locations around the streetcar line - just wish there were more condo's rather than the plethora of apartments. I want to be able to get out and around when older and have a vested interest in seeing the streetcar line expanded south.

That said what I read in the CFRG newsletter was pretty disgusting - both in an attempt to mislead and also in their world view. I suspect a lot of auto workers see public transportation as a huge threat and hence the appeal in the newsletter. I work in petroleum exploration - I am a huge advocate of public transportation because it works - it's the right thing to do.
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by flyingember »

I just thought of something. TOD is clearly a key step towards doing away with the e-tax. A denser city can of course sustain itself with less taxes per person.

Put that message out there and put a conflict into CFRG. What do they pick to support?????
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by TheBigChuckbowski »

They're already anti-incentive but complaining that this policy would limit incentives for cars.
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by DaveKCMO »

flyingember wrote:I just thought of something. TOD is clearly a key step towards doing away with the e-tax. A denser city can of course sustain itself with less taxes per person.

Put that message out there and put a conflict into CFRG. What do they pick to support?????
.
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by shinatoo »

brewcrew1000 wrote:This just irks me
(we’ve all heard the whispers about doing away with the downtown loop on the north side). The plan is to eliminate automobiles downtown or anywhere light rail, streetcar, bike or walking paths will go. In several places within the TOD, it states the plan will limit incentives to business or areas that “have uses which only serve autos”.
If we just dream a little, maybe it can happen.
pash
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by pash »

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Last edited by pash on Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
pash
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by pash »

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flyingember
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by flyingember »

A hierarchical distribution network should exist but it needs to be scaled properly.

Grids generally work well. You want a notable street nearby so people don't drive by homes all the time. 4x4 between notables is the tightest in the urban core through to 8x8 across much of JoCo.
8x8 is clearly too big in retrospect. Especially to limit the number of places people can enter the neighborhood.

Look at 119th/Pflumm to 127th/Blackbob for a really bad design. Not a single street inside the 8x8 block connects through from one side to the other (for true N-S to E-W through traffic). All traffic heading out of the neighborhood uses the same two intersections which become choke points. An accident in the wrong place would cause a major impact on the people living in that neighborhood because there's exactly one detour route and every resident in the neighborhood shares it for their movement. So everyone in the 8x8 is impacted.

In urban KC with a true grid people will get different routes based on their start and end destination distributing traffic more. Could have 6-8 different routes in a 4x4 grid. Every touching 4x4 grid saw no extra traffic or very little.
longviewmo
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by longviewmo »

It's actually 8x16 in most of JoCo. East-west blocks are numbered at double the pace. It's a weird quirk I've picked up on in Wichita too.
pash
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by pash »

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DaveKCMO
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by DaveKCMO »

hey, we like our stop signs!
flyingember
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by flyingember »

I'm bullish on four way stops

the downtown streets with stops signs are frequently faster to take because there's no waiting for zero cross traffic.
with the move to all two way streets all drivers have to look both left and right to check for other cars which is better for pedestrians and bikes

two way stops are a pain and should be used only on the quietest roads. Wyandotte at 7th and 8th is the most painful place to have to wait for other cars because Wyandotte is busy. Baltimore at 7th and 8th is easy to get through because there's no traffic on 7th or 8th most of the day
pash
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Re: Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

Post by pash »

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Last edited by pash on Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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