blog revival!

alrighty, so it's time to revive this blog! 

there will be more images and discussions about city planning with a particular focus (most likely) on biking, walking, and place-making.  

get ready. 

Exploratorium Exhibits in Emeryville!

The Exploratorium has arrived in Emeryville!  There are now outdoor Exploratorium exhibits open to the public 24/7 at the Public Market in Emeryville.  How cool is that?!  Here are some images from a recent outing...

demonstrates the ocean tides of different places in the bay - and this one you get to have fun turning it!

demonstrates the ocean tides of different places in the bay

fun round mirror

demonstrates the ocean tides of different places in the bay

I highly recommend a trek out to Emeryville to play with these exhibits, as well as take in the awesomeness that is Public Market -- the first platinum level LEED-ND project in the US!  That's right.  Emeryville's got it goin' on.

trucks in the bike lane...

The other day I was doing fieldwork on bicycle boulevards in Emeryville, and I noticed this truck parked in the bike lane.  The bike lane is not a parking lot for trucks, cars or other vehicles.  It always bothers me to see vehicles taking up this precious space, which is supposed to be a safe space for bicyclists.

Polk Street - Community Forum

It was interesting to go back to another community forum for the Polk Street project.  It'll be interesting to see how they work with the issue of potentially decreasing on-street parking so that the bike lane can extend throughout Polk (and not just be sporadic).  Personally, I don't feel safe biking on Polk Street unless the bike lane is there.  Car drivers are just too careless, speedy, and unconcerned for the well-being of pedestrians and bicyclists.  I prefer defined spaces for different users.

I'm also still concerned about public safety, especially in Lower Polk.  While an array of transportation enhancements are great for the community, I still believe that there needs to be broader police involvement in the neighborhood.  I would like to see police walking or biking up and down Polk Street to assist with maintaining a calm, pleasant atmosphere.  Otherwise, some of the drunk, drug-induced, or mentally challenged people create an inhospitable environment.  I do not want my neighborhood reduced to such a place.

Scene: Emeryville Street Art

The other day while I was doing some fieldwork for my job (walking the streets and marking where the City needs to put up the bicycle boulevard signage), I happened upon this great street art piece.  There are lovely little street art pieces around the city.  You just need to have your eyes focused on these little treasures.

Accidents Happen, Gatzby

If you haven't meandered around Emeryville in a while (or ever), I highly recommend a little jaunt around the cute, little off-the-beaten path streets in the heart of the City.  Get off the freeway on those hectic commutes home for a leisurely little walk, or hop on your bike on a lovely sunny Saturday and check it out.  I certainly enjoy my little walks every day, and I often happen upon little street art projects that make me smile.

parking lot art

Personally, I'm moving into a mode of DOING, rather than simply THINKING.  I have had discussions with many different young (or energetic) urbanists, and the common thread we all have is our desire to get busy. We want to DO good work.  We want to be out there playing in our urban environment, interacting with it and each other, and trying to find new ways to make the human experience better.  One way to enhance our urban environment is through art, some of which is informal (like the below image).  Recently, a planner friend of mine and I were discussing this amazing parking lot art that we came across online:

Courtesy of http://roadsworth.com/

We kept talking about how we wanted do art projects like this, and even smaller street art projects that would be easier to plan, coordinate and implement.  Our art project may not be exactly like the one above, but it certainly is our inspiration.  We are still in the planning phase of our little art project, but it amazes me just how much you can actually do by energizing each other through an active discussion.  I am happy to say that my planner friend and I are making headway on our little art project and have received the 'OK' from a property owner to commence our art project!  Yay!  Ask.  You never know how easy it can be.

I'm excited!  Let's DO this.

muni stops: in need of better signage

The other day I was standing at the Muni N-train stop at Carl & Cole.  A girl in her 20s comes over to me and asks "Does this train go to downtown?".  Good question.  You'd never know that this train goes downtown because it doesn't say it anywhere on the sign...

This sign only says "To Caltrain".  If you do not know the system like the back of your hand, you will have difficulty understanding where "Caltrain" is, and whether or not that is through "downtown".


The fact remains -- we need better signage with better information at Muni stops.  I would suggest (especially at Muni train stops) to have a line with dots on it showing where the stops are, which stop you are at, and in which direction this train goes.  This is the same problem that I experience with BART too (lack of good signage with useful information).  This is basic signage which I've seen in other cities all over the world.  Perhaps I can make quickie magnets displaying this information and slap them onto the metal poles or on the Muni shelters....  I think this would be a cheap and easy fix to this lack of easily digestible information.