akahogfan
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Posts posted by akahogfan
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3 hours ago, arky said:
what's a "transit oriented development?"
In urban planning, a transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walkingdistance of public transport.
A TOD typically includes a central transit stop (such as a train station, or light rail or bus stop) surrounded by a high-density mixed-use area, with lower-density areas spreading out from this center. A TOD is also typically designed to be more walkable than other built-up areas, through using smaller block sizes and reducing the land area dedicated to automobiles.[1][2]
The densest areas of a TOD are normally located within a radius of ¼ to ½ mile (400 to 800 m) around the central transit stop, as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for pedestrians, thus solving the last mile problem.
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In that scenario it would just strengthen the Republican hold on the 3rd district- something that isn't assured forever.
This is something that I have been thinking about. The increase in population in NWA (assuming that it pics back up), especially with the Hispanic population in Springdale, is not going to be decidedly Republican. If Fayetteville is taken out of the 3rd I think that it would remove any possibility of this being a contested district in the future. On the other hand, keeping Fayetteville were it is would mean that a more conservative population would being moving out, further evening out the situation for NWA. Putting Fayetteville in the 4th district just seems shortsighted, something that might be reversed another ten years from now.
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Can anyone more familiar with road construction enlighten me as to any recourse the city has vs. contractors when the projects run long?
I ask because Mt. Comfort has been under construction since April '09, with a scheduled completion of Fall 2010. Obviously they've missed that, but there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency to finish up. I know weather plays a factor, but there have been plenty of nice weekends and nights that work could have been going on. Instead, one day of rain or cold weather during the week seems to keep any work from happening.
As a driver, there's nothing I can do, but as a taxpayer, I'm hoping that the city is at least getting a little bit of change back from the construction company the longer this drags on.
Good grief, I know. On the cone patrol section of the Access Fayetteville website (link below) the city mentions Sweetser Construction specifically. Almost sounds like they are trying to deflect some criticism. Also says that whoever is planning on laying that last layer of asphalt is waiting for warmer weather. How they were supposed to finish it at the end of November, who knows.
http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/projects/cone_patrol/index.cfm
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The general criticism of not being able to use their property as they see fit--that is too much of a stretch to me--Fayetteville's a city, and when you live next door to and on top of other people your rights become more limited, so as not to impinge on the rights of others. Large portions of the city code are concerned with restricting land use and reducing unpleasant or dangerous externalities...same thing with most any other medium-size or large city.
As for being overbroad and/or growth-limiting, that's certainly possible and something I'll look into. I have yet to even read the ordinance.
It seems like the ordinance could have been put in place so that it would only limit areas that are zoned as commercial or industrial locations. I don't think that you would see many, if any, problems with individual homeowners building a shed or making a garden. If the ordinance's goal is really to stop pollution, why bother with all the people who aren't going to be doing the polluting.
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In a totally separate matter there is talk of moving Fayetteville out of the third congressional district to the fourth. This isn't making republicans happy because it takes Fayetteville and puts it in an area where Democrats are a lot stronger. But it's also got a lot of other people concerned because well people in Fayetteville don't like the idea of being lumped in with south Arkansas. The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce has already voiced it's displeasure about the idea. Of course as I already stated if you're a local republican you're not happy about the idea. If you're a local democrat in some ways it does help because often times local democrats get blocked out because of the strong republican ties in the rest of NWA. But I think a lot of people even democrat ones aren't too happy about the idea of being lumped in an area like south Arkansas. Honestly I really don't know if it really has much effect on Fayetteville directly or if it could really 'alter it's image'. I'm curious to hear more about what everyone else has to say.
It seems like they would have to go out of their way to put Fayetteville into the 4th district jumping over Ft. Smith. How would the physical connection be there?
Besides, most changes would shift District 2 further left, so I would think that the changes would even themselves out if District 4 moves rightwards.
I dunno. I think that NWA would be best served if it is not split up though.
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The Brown Sugar Bakeshop
Yikes! A bit to strong of a pink for my tastes. Should have gone with the pink from the awning lettering.
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The exterior on the Walmart is nearly complete and they were putting in trees this weekend (I went out to JCPenny's this weekend- it was packed and the center was pretty busy overall), I can't imagine why it wouldn't be open by summer 2011 based off where things are right now. I'm ready for it to open so I can stop going to the Bowman Walmart or driving up to the NLR supercenter to avoid the Bowman Walmart.
What does the exterior look like? Is the facade well done, or is it the general crappy walmart with white cinder blocks?
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Pretty surprising about Boise, especially considering its size (LR MSA is touching 700,000), but in its defense, Boise has become a hot-spot for high-tech companies...so Apple may fit in well with the demographic. Macy's? They're everywhere. Cheesecake Factory? That's quite surprising.
It could be due to that fact that Boise is a bit more isolated that Little Rock in terms of surrounding metros. Tulsa, DFW, and Memphis are all closer to LR than Salt Lake is to Boise. After Salt Lake, the nearest metro with a Apple store is Portland (7+ hours). Same with the Cheesecake Factory.
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I think that most of the reason students complain is that they don't realize that Razorback transit is not meant to be a student only set up. Heck, even the name is misleading in that regards; the central hub is on campus, and the majority of the routes are designed to meet the needs of students.
From experience, I will admit that it is rather strange to walk into the Transport center and see dozens of people waiting on a bus, knowing that they are not students. It's not that different from some people opposing light rail because it might help bring "undesirables" closer to their neighborhood. And while I have never been really worried about such a thing, being a guy, I have heard several female students express concern over the situation.
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I agree that much of the drop off in parking, at least during the morning/afternoon, is students who are no longer wanting to pay. I know that I have several friends who would consistently park in the WAC lot last year, and have purchased a Harmon parking pass this year. This also coincides with a much more full Harmon deck (some of this might be the increased enrollment, however, even with the Garland deck being complete Harmon has been packed).
In the end, I think that this will help many of the businesses on Dickson. Most students parking there didn't spend money. Perhaps once the public gets used to the fact that Dickson is not nearly as "busy" during class times, there will be more actual business there. Also, though I was not in the best position to judge at the time, the place was packed on Saturday night. One of our DDs ended up parking on Meadow, or Spring. I don't remember. Anyway, he parked there not to get out of paying, but because he couldn't find a spot anywhere else.
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My one concern with the Fayetteville proposal is about the rent that would be generated by the outbuildings of the parking decks. Would that go to the city or the WAC?
Other than that it appears to be a great proposal. One that is, quite frankly, better than what I expected. One of the great things about it is that much of the total "cost" is already set up because of projects that are already planned and will benefit the city much more than just the WAC. (see infrastructure/540 interchanges) In addition to that, much more of the "cost" is for land that is not being used for income by the city.
If the WAC does choose Fayetteville, it might cause some complications with Bikes, Blues, BBQ though. Especially if one of the alternate placement plans is desired.
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Are there any requirements for walmart in the design of the building or will it just be the average grey cinder block?
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I just happened upon this info today and was very pleasantly surprised. With the average pay being $70,000, it will add an extra $49 million in salaries to the metro.
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This is really good for the center. This is a very cool store, not that i shop there, but lots of friends love it. They are owned by the same company that owns Urban Outfitters. Perhaps we will see one of thoes in the near future. This would be the first Anthropolagie in the state!! It deffently adds some UMPH!!! to the Promenade. I really hope this is what the center needs to get things moving. Although, are the Suite #'s listed the same ones that still have JCrew listed as leasing them?
How about the other stores listed as opening this springs, mainly the wine bar and other ones? Has work started on thoes yet? Bravo?
IMAX
DSW
Apple(PLEASE)
JCrew(PLEASE)
Anthropolagie
ALL FIRST FOR THE STATE!!!
Its always cool seeing new stores. Especially in LR. Though we have had an IMAX for a long time now.
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What is up with the council member showing up for the meeting and leaving for this highly debated issue's vote? According to reports he was right outside the chamber immediately after the vote. Is our city council turning into a Centerton or Tontitown type body? The vote couldn't have waited a few minutes more when it was so close? It certainly gave Mayor Jordan an easy out- he didn't have to take a stand either way although with his anti development bent and need to please everyone it probably isn't hard to guess how he would have voted. Between the fire department firings fiasco and this our city government is showing a lack of leadership and accountabilty.
I'm not saying that he would have voted for the issue, but how do y'all know that Jordan would have voted against it? Is there some inside info that I am missing? I really have no clue as to what Jordan's history is or what he stands for. Not trying to egg anyone on.
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I agree with Skirby--I sort of wish the La Harpe area was added to the park as well. That's prime real estate and it's a shame that the western downtown of LR is laid out so that the river is basically off limits beyond the Peabody.
I think building a world-class park would be good reason to explore alternatives to Cantrell. Just imagine that ugly concrete turned into world-class greenspace with excellent landscaping--an extension of the incredible work at the children's park they already built.
Is there an alternative to the Cantrell thoroughfare? I don't know, but it's worth exploring.
The next major road is Broadway, however, it would be really hard to connect it to cantrell because of the bridge. If there were a way to move the access there, IMO it would be the perfect location as it would be moved far enough westward. After that the only "major" intersection is chester. Thats a little bit too far.
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I was wondering about that as well. I can assure you that Central Arkansas is not getting nearly as much as they ought either. When both area pick up seats after the next census we will probably see much more of an impact. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of supporters for the defendant in the case. : (
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It's basically the section where people ask the 'Traffic Guru' about problems or info. I guess I'm still old fashioned in that I still read the newspaper most days, but I sometimes check out their online source. Here's a link to that section.
http://www.nwanews.com/gridlockguru/
But it looks like they haven't put the newer sections in online yet. Can you describe your RTL system or have a link that shows how it works?
Thanks. I prefer to read the real thing to, but I am at my parents house for the summer and no longer have access to the university's readership program.
The RTL system is much like the the CFI in that there is no need for turn lanes, thus no need to have extra light cycles. The reason that I like it more than CFI is that it requires no extra lights, only the ones that are already there. In fact, you could actually take away all the turn signals. Here is a link.
The video on the right is the normal intersection. The one on the left is the RTL. If you enlarge the video it is a little bit easier to make out. I would set the video to HD as well, makes it much clearer.
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Read a bit more about continuous flow intersections in the paper today. They had looked at 35 possible locations in the state to consider putting in something like this. It's apparently been narrowed down to 5 possible locations now. The only one in NWA is the intersection of Joyce and College in Fayetteville. Here's a link showing how it works. I believe this link was posted but that's been quite a while back.
http://www.abmb.com/cfi-testdrive.html
Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong, but overall it doesn't look like it's going to be a big help overall. I guess I'm just wondering if it will help enough to warrant the costs. Or maybe if there's another possibility. I always hear so much about how roundabouts work so well. But overall NWA seems hesitant to implement them. Now I don't know how well a roundabout would work with that heavy of a traffic load. But it seems to me it might possibly do just a well of a job if not better than the other solution. I think the biggest problems with roundabouts is getting people in the area used to them.
Frankly, I think in the case of College/Joyce, that a RTL, or Right-to-turn-Left system, would work much better. No turn signals and no extra lights. Also much easier to get used to.
In the rest of the city I think that turnabouts would be lovely. I agree with your assessment that most are not used to them though. Today I was driving through Shackleford Crossing (bleh) in LR and saw several straight cars turn left into the bloody things. Yikes! Almost caused a few accidents. I won't comment on the gender of each of these drivers.
Oh, and is there some way that we could see the article? Is it online perhaps, or do you know?
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Interesting. Don't really care about the oil side of it, but lets get as much natural gas going as possible.
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Really not sure where I'd put this so I figured I'd just put it here. Looks like Lewis and Clark will be closing their Little Rock location. Now they'll just have their locations in Springdale and Rogers. Hopefully things aren't so bad that they might have to consider closing one of those locations. Although I admit the Packrat is a lot closer to me and I tend to frequent it instead.
I don't think that this is much of an indication of Lewis and Clack in general. The LR location was poorly stocked and poorly run. The two times that I was there, I don't know that I could have found an associate to help me if I had needed it. The whole place looked like it was for "pretend" outdoorsmen who wouldn't know the difference between a Nalgene bottle and a Cammleback.
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Another example occurred when I first moved to Fayetteville. The university had hired an architectural firm from New York, I believe, to redesign and expand Razorback Stadium. The university decided against using that firm's concept because I believe they felt the design was too "exotic." I think that was another missed opportunity.
I completely disagree with you. I love the stadium, and while I wish that it were a complete bowl, I know that it can't be until there is a larger fan-base within close driving distance / consistent team results. I think that the stadium now has a very "soft" feel that is warming and welcoming, but looks modern and of good quality. In fact, there are very few stadiums that I would consider to be prettier than our own.
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http://www.accessfayetteville.org/governme...resentation.pdf
This should make the College-Joyce intersection much less congested. It always takes forever to turn left up there. Not only that, but it should make it much safer to merge onto College from Fulbright.
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One of the local TV stations reported this week that passengers are being turned away by Amtrak in LR because of not enough room.
Not sure what you mean. Is it that the station is getting a lot of travelers here going elsewhere or people are stopping off here? Or is this just people that are en route somewhere else?
I know that its not likely to ever happen, but it would be nice to see a line going to Fayetteville.
Anyway, glad to see these lofts doing well. I must admit that when I drove by about a month ago I never thought that they would get off the ground. Whats the ETA for the rest of the Phases?
Gateway Towne Center: I-30 & I-430
in Little Rock Metropolitan Area
Posted
This seems to be a problem everywhere in the state and it's one of the primary reasons that I won't be moving back anytime soon. While it might not be a priority to everyone my age, if cities want to attract young talent, they are going to need to develop these walkable areas. Until that happens, a lot of people like me are going to continue to live in larger cities where a car-free lifestyle is possible.