Draft 2 – Franklin Avenue Planning Core Values – May 21, 2008

Here is the next draft of the core values the Franklin Avenue Planning Task Forces have been working on. Feel free to get involved in the discussion at any of the Task Force meetings or at the SNG Board Meeting/Pot Luck on Wednesday, May 28 at Matthews Center.
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Good Design
We envision Franklin Avenue as a well designed place that reflects the urban character of the Seward neighborhood.

• Buildings, signage, landscaping and other elements of the streetscape should be human scaled, urban, green, artful, easily maintained, safe, graffiti resistant and durable.
• Time, energy and resources should be invested to design (not just produce) elements of our streetscape. We are willing to invest in design while keeping it affordable for everyone.

Multi-Modal Movement
We envision Franklin Avenue as an active, interesting and safe place for all pedestrians.

• We want Franklin to be a destination that draws people from both inside and outside the neighborhood. Franklin should be easy to access by bus, LRT, bike or car. Once people arrive in Seward, it should be intuitive that non-motorized transportation is the preferred mode between destinations on the Avenue and in the neighborhood.
• For people in the neighborhood, biking, walking and public transit are primary modes of transportation. We should make changes to the Avenue so that pedestrians, bikes, wheelchairs, strollers, skateboarders, etc. have a safe and pleasant experience so they can use all of the parks, restaurants, shops and other resources on Franklin.
• The LRT area and the 3-4 blocks east of it are unique. Seward wants to develop a chain of attractions or complimantary commercial activity that extend the Franklin Avenue business district and the identity and feel of our community all the way to the LRT station area.

Identity
We envision Franklin Avenue as a destination that draws people into our unique neighborhood.

• Franklin Avenue is our Main Street / Town Center and should express the character of Seward as a whole. Key elements of our identity include that we are culturally diverse, arts-aligned, green, urban, welcoming, student-friendly, safe, comfortable and accessible.

Local Sourcing
We envision Seward as a place where a strong local economy and grass-roots activism meet.

• Decision Making – our community is organized, well-informed and committed to leading decision making and implementation of changes in our neighborhood.
• Shop locally – Seward residents and business owners use our dollars to support local businesses. Supporting these businesses helps them support the community.
• Work/employ locally – Encourage employers to hire local talent; create opportunities for people who live in the neighborhood to find a local job; and create ways for people who work in the neighborhood to find a place to live in the neighborhood.
• Connectivity – . We will work to attract new core businesses that meet community need, desire, and match our values. but also draw people from outside our neighborhood. We, in turn, should be good neighbors to our neighboring neighborhoods by supporting their destination businesses.

Stewardship and Safety
We envision Franklin Avenue as a well-cared for and well maintained place where people can gather throughout the day and into the evening during all seasons.

• Businesses and other destinations along the Avenue should be connected by neighborhood gathering places where neighbors can have eye-to-eye contact, where community conversations happen and where the seeds of community activism grow.

Seward is Green
We envision Franklin Avenue as a place that contributes to the environmental health of both our neighborhood and the world.

• Literally – Franklin needs more trees, plants and landscaping – in addition to contributing to the health of the environment, these things make Franklin a more comfortable and attractive place year round.
• Buildings – Buildings should contribute to the environmental health of our neighborhood through reduced energy consumption, on-site storm and waste water management, reuse and recycling of materials and other green technologies.
• Infrastructure - Seward does not want the City or County to tear up and replace our infrastructure but instead to explore ways to improve through the repair/reuse existing infrastructure whenever possible.
• When making decisions about amounts of parking, lighting or other factors that impact the environment, we should always strive to have “just enough.”