On the Tomorrowland Transit Authority this past week, I passed a model of Walt Disney’s original plan for an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). I got to thinking: “I wonder how many people passing this model on a daily basis know that the Walt Disney Company actually tried their own hand at an experimental community, albeit on a smaller scale?”
Celebration sits on roughly 5,000 acres at the southern end of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the same parcel of land on which the Walt Disney World resort is built. While billed as small-town americana, Celebration is actually considered a census-designated place (CDP): It is an unincorporated master-planned community with slightly under 10,000 residents, as of 2004 American Community Survey data.
Walk through the streets of Celebration and you’ll enjoy a very clean, crisp atmosphere. Everything is in its place, all of the shops and homes are freshly painted, lawns are manicured, and yes, those apartments above the shops are real apartments. There’s a small “downtown” core of shops, restaurants, a movie theater, schools… inhabitants of the community are encouraged to use their NEVs (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles… think, golf carts) to get around town. Just about everything has been thought of.
Forget, though, about affordable housing in this “mixed” community: two bedroom, two bathroom condo-style homes go for $400,000. The nearest mainline transit links are the route 55 and 56 Lynx buses that run on US 192, approximately two miles to the north, too far to be walked on a regular basis. These are quite possibly the fundamental explanations for why there are no people milling about the center of the community.
While the Walt Disney World company wasn’t trying to recreate Walt Disney’s vision of EPCOT with the founding of Celebration, they were definitely reaching back to try to recapture the small-town feeling of pre-1950s America. While they made a valiant effort, like so many of these new, master-planned communities, they’ve missed their mark. Without a connection to some sort of mainline transit, and without affordable housing, the Walt Disney Company excluded a huge portion of America that wants to live this quintessentially American dream: living, working, and playing all within walking distance of one’s home.
Tired of the tacky building-sized ads popping up everywhere? Ashamed that people are actually referring to them as murals? Here’s several of my favorite real murals in Philadelphia. It just goes to show what wonderful additions true murals are to a city’s public artwork. Which one is your favorite?
Continuing on our commercial focus, is buying car insurance an ecologically friendly decision? Geico seems to think so. Insure your car with Geico and they make a donation to support wildlife conservation. Imagine that? Who knew your 15 mpg SUV could provide funds to conserve wildlife? Give me a break…
I live next to a busy intersection in South Beach - Meridian Avenue and 13th Street. It’s the main entryway to FlamingoPark as well as the beach’s central avenue. It’s the only tree-shaded roadway around. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of traffic: cars, bikes and pedestrians.
Within the past few months, four-way stop signs went up at the intersection, making it significantly safer, or so I thought. One of the stop signs is all but hidden behind a tree. Cars blow past it all the time. This is doubly dangerous considering pedestrians now assume cars will stop at the intersection. There are people pushing baby strollers to the park, little kids going to shoot hoops, people walking their dogs.
I emailed the city to point out the problem. There had been small temporary stop signs in the middle of the road until recently, and I suggested they do something similar on a permanent basis or at least make the hidden stop sign more visible. Never heard back.
Walking home one night, I came across two Miami Beach motorcycle cops. They were there to run down cars that rolled through the stop sign. I told them people couldn’t see the sign, but they argued there is a warning sign farther back (small red octagon with arrow) and nothing that could be done. When I emphasized the inherent danger, one of the cops said pedestrians should be “alert” anyway.
So, I’ve contacted the county’s public works department. They tell me they’ll check it out. In the meantime, I have a strong feeling someone is going to get hurt or killed. I hope I’m wrong.
The past year has been a great year for cycling around the world. High oil prices, an increased interest in the environment and the success of bike sharing programs in Europe have been some of the highlights. Here in Florida, Governor Charlie Crist has proclaimed March as Florida’s Bike Month. This opportunity should not be missed to help increase awareness of biking, not only as a recreational activity, but also as an alternative means of transportation. There are many activities planned throughout all South Florida.
Here are some of the highlights:
Last Saturday, a 75-mile bike ride took place from Tequesta to Oleta River Park in Miami.
For the last month or so, we’ve been postingvideosshowing how Bogota, Colombia has made remarkable strides becoming less car dependent and more transit-oriented. Our friends over at StreetFilms (Streetsblog) have just finish their final video in the series about Bogota, which highlights the city’s recent efforts creating cycle paths, pedestrian plazas, and other livable streets improvements. It’s really amazing — it just goes to show that if a city like Bogota without a lot of money can accomplish this much, imagine what Miami could do!
After calling for people to join him in a gas boycott in this column, Daniel Vasquez has been blogging and recording his experience taking the bus or carpooling to work, combined with riding his bike for other errands every day this week. Read the posts and watch the videos on his Consumer Talk blog. It’s good to see someone used to riding in a car every day willing to try alternatives.
I was scanning through images on Flickr, when I came across the Tram which transports visitors to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. I couldn’t help imagine what Miami’s Museum Park would look like if our planners would integrate the existing (currently closed) metromover station with the upcoming structures. Unlike the Getty’s mover, ours would connect the museums directly to the public transportation system rather than a parking lot at the bottom of the mountain. Do our Museum planners have this type of foresight? Or will metromover users disembark in an unsightly and inhospitable delivery bay?
In a city as bicyclist-unfriendly as Miami, it seems ungrateful to critique any new two-wheel initiative. But what exactly is the point of a bike path that goes only two miles from essentially nowhere to nowhere?
The recently opened Kitty Roedel bike path extends from NW 87th Avenue to NW 107th Avenue. It parallels 836 to the south and CSX railroad tracks to the north. The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority built the 10-foot-wide asphalt path as part of a larger area beautification project. Certainly the landscaped bike path, which includes a wide, grassy right of way, is beauteous (except for the roar of traffic beyond the chain-link fence). Certainly it is a worthwhile addition for area residents out for a recreational ride or a gas-free trip to the Miami International Mall. MDX should be congratulated for taking the initiative on this project.
The path’s construction, however, seems to point up a Miami truism: bicycles are not considered a viable mode of transit. There are no plans to extend the path or link it to other roadways. The NW 107th Avenue access point involves jumping a curb if you’re coming off the avenue. The solution is easy, according to MDX spokeswoman, Maggie Kirkpatrick. “They have the sidewalk.”
Roedel, the path’s namesake, is a former MDX board member who apparently pushed for more “greenways” during her tenure.
Can anyone identify this popular City Center? Hint: This image illustrates the most defining part of any city center, the central plaza. Identify the city and central square…
This is the title of a paper, written by Lars Gemzoe, a Danish professor of urban design at the School of Architecture in Copenhagen. In this paper, he uses Copenhagen as a case study to illustrate the changes that helped change the Danish Capital from an autocentric city to a pedestrian friendly one.
During the first half of the twentieth century, Copenhagen didn’t have many outdoor gathering places. In the 1960’s Stroget, the main street of the inner city, was converted to a pedestrian only street. In the following years more plazas and spaces were also converted to pedestrian use only, and people started doing more than walking. They were strolling, sitting down to enjoy the weather, watching street performers, people watching, etc. It had become a destination — a high quality urban space.
The changes in the city came through a slow process, reducing parking 2-3% year, taking away traffic space and dedicating it to urban spaces, and implementing bike lanes, among other improvements.
Miami has its own success story, Lincoln Road. But maybe things shouldn’t stop there. Miami-Dade County could be more pedestrian friendly. We have the weather and tourism as an advantage. Up and coming areas like Downtown and the Design District would be ideal areas for pedestrianised areas.
With all the talk about Miami’s streetcar here, one would never have guessed that Fort Lauderdale is also planning one. The Sun-Sentinel today featured a detailed write-up and even a demonstration video on the project. They used the term “light rail” and “streetcar” interchangeably in the article, but the proposed system, called “The Wave”, sounds more like a streetcar. The Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority’s website includes some basic information on this project that has eluded the radar screen for seven years. This PDF flyer offers more detailed info, including maps of the proposed route alternatives that run from NE 6th St. to SE 17th St. The cost is expected to be $150 million for a 2.7 mile project.
Tuesday at noon, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the city commission will meet in City Hall to discuss funding. The Sun-Sentinel seems to be the only source of information on this meeting. If I didn’t have to work I would be there.
Perhaps it’s worth noting that there is at least one representative from a car dealership on the DDA Board, Gale Butler from AutoNation. Since the DDA is responsible for this project, it looks like the auto dealerships are more inclined to see this project happen than Miami’s streetcar. Let’s do The Wave!
For the next few weeks, Metro Monday will take a new, commercial direction discussing some of the subtle daily reminders of auto-centric life.
In this Farmers Insurance ad, we witness a businesswoman hitch a ride to work on a garbage truck, on the roof of other vehicles, and with a mounted policeman. Aside from the absurd creativity behind this ad, there is the underlying notion that without a vehicle, mobility is impossible. Farmers isn’t that far off though, they’re promoting the likely scenario of a solitary option of transportation in her suburban neighborhood. Notice the absence of sidewalks. Public Transit doesn’t work in these settings…
On the Tomorrowland Transit Authority this past week, I passed a model of Walt Disney’s original plan for an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). I got to thinking: “I wonder how many people passing this model on a daily basis know that the Walt Disney Company actually tried their own hand at an experimental community, albeit on a smaller scale?”
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