Making Franklin Safe for Pedestrians: Grass Roots Crossing Guard Event

Throughout Franklin Planning events, participants repeatedly pointed out how hard it can be to cross Franklin – especially during the evening rush hour. Our task forces suggested having volunteer crossing guards help raise pedestrian visibility on Franklin. On Bike Walk Day, Thursday May 14th, we organized grass roots crossing guards at three high traffic intersections on Franklin (24th, 25th and 26th Aves). We wore brightly colored vests and carried bright yellow flags to alert drivers of pedestrians who needed to cross the street. We also handed out flyers the summarized right of way laws.

Through our interactions with people walking on Franklin, we learned that most pedestrians do not know that they had the right of way at all intersections. Even if there isn’t a marked crosswalk, a pedestrian has a right to cross as long as approaching cars are far enough away to easily stop. Since most cars don’t obey this law, pedestrians are often trapped at intersections or even in the middle of the street as they wait for cross-traffic to stop. Many walkers were grateful to have the crossing guard escort them across the street, and expressed how it is too difficult and dangerous to cross at the unmarked intersections like 24th and 25th. Redesign hopes to organize more grass roots crossing events in the future again, to continue reminding pedestrians and cars of this issue.

Some ideas to talk about

Ideas--visual interpretations of some of the ideas from the Task Forces. What do you think? Add comments below.

At Blue Nile--planters and trees

How about eliminating parking on the north side of Franklin for really good bike lanes?

A really interesting crosswalk

At Minnehaha and Franklin--a signature sign, painted crosswalks, small solar powered pedestrian level lighting


Planters and plantings at Northern Clay


Franklin at 25th Avenue looking north. Banner and painted wall at Northern Clan, "green street" for 25th Avenue, curb bump-outs, sculptures.

Planters and twinkle lights at Metroplace



26th Street north of Franklin (looking west toward Triangle Park)--only one lane each direction, crosswalk between Towers West and the park

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.”

Draft Core Values

Last week the Task Forces worked on a common set of core design values starting with the DRAFT below. Expect to see the revised set within a couple days

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DRAFT CORE VALUES--FRANKLIN AVENUE PLANNING

Good Design

• Buildings, signage, landscaping and other elements of the streetscape should be artfully designed to reflect the character of Seward. To do this, time, energy and resources should be invested to design (not just produce) those elements.

Multi-Modal Movement

• People from outside the neighborhood (who will most likely arrive by car, LRT, bus or bike) should easily be able to get to Franklin. Once here, it should be intuitive for visitors that arrive by car to park and then walk around 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.
  

Identity

• Franklin Avenue is part of the Seward neighborhood, the main street and our front door. Franklin’s identity should express the character of Seward as a whole. Key elements include that we are culturally diverse, arts-aligned, green, a destination, safe, comfortable and accessible.
  

Local Sourcing

• 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.
• 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.
  

Stewardship and Safety

• Franklin Avenue should look well-cared for and have well maintained places where people can gather. These neighborhood gathering places are active throughout the day and into the evening, where neighbors can have eye-to-eye contact, where community conversations happen and where the seeds of community activism grow.

Seward is Green

• Literally – Franklin needs more trees, plants and landscaping – both because these things make Franklin a more comfortable and attractive place and also because they contribute to the environmental health and sustainability of our neighborhood and the world.
• 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 repair/reuse existing infrastructure whenever possible.

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