Movement Task Force - Week 1, May 13, 2008

Vision & Values activity and discussion

This group’s emphasis was on the following areas:

Locally Owned Business

• Basic goods and services should be available in the neighborhood – within walking distance for residents
• Nice to be able to walk/bus from one errand to the next (trip-chaining)
• Businesses should match community needs
• It would be nice if businesses had bus schedules available
• No big boxes

Sense of Place

• Bus stops could be a gathering place – shelters/kiosks/other amenities at bus stop

Identity

• Pedestrians and bus riders have opportunity to interact with each other (conversation) – sense of community
• Signage is important

Public Safety

• More people on street going to businesses makes a place safer (cyclic … more pedestrians improves safety, more safety means makes more pedestrians, repeat)
• Pedestrian traffic (and public transit) is more sustainable and is inclusive of different economic status (don’t need to own a car)
• Safer pedestrian/car interactions
• Need increased visibility near LRT

Multi-Modal Access / Destinations / Accessibility

• Want Franklin to be a destination for people inside and outside the community; however, avoid BYOC (Bring Your Own Car) … want more people to arrive by foot, bike and bus
• Improve public transit – this allows more people to come without cars,
• #8 and #7 bus need more service (no bus service to new co-op location on weekends)
• For those who do arrive by car, we want them to park once they arrive, and walk between destinations in the neighborhood
• Parking and wayfinding should be intuitive
• Events like the walks are good because they get people out on the street, walking together – we could use more events like this
• Lots of accessibility issues near new Co-op locations

Public Spaces

• Franklin Avenue is a public space, not just a place to move cars – bikes and pedestrians should take a sense of ownership over the street – have places to stop and interact
• Can parking areas be public spaces? (ex. – “Mall” by Walker Library in Uptown)
• Discussion about edges/boundaries

Connections

• Enhance/incorporate LRT with other systems … peds/bikes/buses
• Better connection to adjacent neighborhoods
• Better connection and wayfinding to other locations in our neighborhood (eg, Matthews Park)

Accessibility

• Needs improvement – lots of issues near

Parking

• Parking areas could be better designed … more green

Ease traffic flow / noise / speed

• We don’t see Franklin as a thoroughfare or reliever for the highway … promote destination traffic instead of through traffic
• Landscaping and transitions as you enter the neighborhood could help slow traffic