Fayetteville, Arkansas

[Mith242]

Here is an article that I haven't seen in a while: nwaonline article. For those who have subscribed they can read it. It basically is one of those old NIMBY articles (it is bittersweet to see one again because it means there'll be development). Oakbrooke sounds a little like Ruskin Heights with some features. I doubt college students will afford to move in to those homes. However, I guess it all depends on if the final product is as quality as they say it will be.

Yeah I think I saw a little about this in the newspaper. Is this the possible development in west Fayetteville? I still think it's very ironic how many people will say how they dislike the typical cookie cutter housing developments. Yet if anything different from that pops up near their neighborhood people always have some sort of problem with it.

[Mith242]

Looks like the Chamber of Commerce has come out with a new logo for itself. Hard to describe all the details when it was a B&W picture in the newspaper. Basically it's a lowercase 'f' with a green period after it then to the right of it Fayetteville spelled out with the words Chamber of Commerce underneath it in the color purple. I'm wondering if this general idea is going to get pushed for a logo for the city as well.

[aerotive]

This is a minor but longstanding quibble of mine so here goes. I'd like to encourage members here to contact the city and encourage them

to implement a way for residents to receive their city water/trash bills electronically. This bill, for the last decade, has been the only

regular, monthly bill that I get that's impossible to receive electronically. Every so often I inquire about the matter and am told it isn't possible,

and that was the case again when I asked a few months ago. For a city that tries to portray itself as green, progressive, technologically advanced

etc this is a rather luddite-esque policy.

Edited January 20, 2010 by aerotive

[thewizard16]

This is a minor but longstanding quibble of mine so here goes. I'd like to encourage members here to contact the city and encourage them

to implement a way for residents to receive their city water/trash bills electronically. This bill, for the last decade, has been the only

regular, monthly bill that I get that's impossible to receive electronically. Every so often I inquire about the matter and am told it isn't possible,

and that was the case again when I asked a few months ago. For a city that tries to portray itself as green, progressive, technologically advanced

etc this is a rather luddite-esque policy.

You're right, of course. All my other bills at least have an electronic option. It'd cost the city a little bit in software set up, but if they offered a promotion for signing up for the online service, it'd pay for itself in paper, postage, and printing. Plus, it would be a bit greener, as you said.

[Mith242]

Yeah I don't quite get why the city feels it can't do this.

[Mith242]

A number of things popped up in the City Council. Been sorta quiet during the holiday season, that and the economy. Oakbrooke Phase 3 was approved. Things got a bit 'heated'. Councilman Matthew Petty seemed irritated by how neighbors complaining about this project were all take and no give. Making it hard to compromise. The developers did compromise but the neighbors still seemed unhappy and wanted more.

They also passed an ordinance about parking in people's yards. Apparently there's been a lot of complaints about this. A number of people feel it's getting out of hand but at the same time don't want to make it too difficult if people are having lot's of guests over or during events like football season. From what I can see it seems reasonable. But I"m not quite sure how enforcible it will be.

Sounds like more info has come out about the renovation of Block Ave. Sounds like they are expecting 4-6 weeks per block. I haven't seen any renderings or the exact details, but if it's something along the lines of what they did on Dickson or the section of College Ave, I think it will be pretty nice. Might be hard of the businesses on Block Ave during that time period of construction though.

[zman9810]

Sounds like more info has come out about the renovation of Block Ave. Sounds like they are expecting 4-6 weeks per block. I haven't seen any renderings or the exact details, but if it's something along the lines of what they did on Dickson or the section of College Ave, I think it will be pretty nice. Might be hard of the businesses on Block Ave during that time period of construction though.

This sounds great and should look very nice when finished. It seems like these type projects always take a lot longer than is first thought though. Dickson Street took forever when they started redoing the utilities underground. It should help tie the Square in better with the entertainment district and should help businesses downtown- maybe a few more will stay there and not close up.

[Mith242]

This sounds great and should look very nice when finished. It seems like these type projects always take a lot longer than is first thought though. Dickson Street took forever when they started redoing the utilities underground. It should help tie the Square in better with the entertainment district and should help businesses downtown- maybe a few more will stay there and not close up.

Yeah I believe I heard the pipes and such underground there are WWII era. I think they learned some things after doing Dickson St. So hopefully that was taken into account. But as usual you never know what will happen. Typically some sort of delay will tend to occur with these types of projects. I certainly think it will help things in the long run. But it will hurt those businesses down there now. Especially when those businesses are strained after the current economy.

[zman9810]

I was reading about the Block Avenue improvements planned and saw an aspect that I wasn't familar with. The city plans to have back in /head out parking. After some research as to what this means I have to wonder if this is a good idea or not. It's a great idea in theory but as to how well it will work here in Fayetteville is questionable. This is for an angled parking spot like we are used to but instead of pulling into it, you back into it. Here is the basic procedure.

1. Signal a right turn

2. Pull past the parking spot and stop

3. Reverse into the parking spot

For anyone familar with defensive driving techniques this a a no-brainer for safe driving. Having to back into traffic is very dangerous and it is always better to do so when parking instead of when leaving. Regardless of the good reasons for it, it will be a major departure from what almost every driver in Fayetteville is used to. Hopefully the driver behind you isn't following so close that you don't have room to back up as is common along Dickson Street with it's parallel parking.

It would be a good idea to change all angled parking in the city to this method if this section of one street is going to have it. Having one method of angled parking on one section of a street and another on other sections of the same street isn't a good idea. A thorough education campaign is needed to familarize drivers with the idea and if the back in/ head out method is uniform throughout the city it will be more successful.

[Mith242]

I was reading about the Block Avenue improvements planned and saw an aspect that I wasn't familar with. The city plans to have back in /head out parking. After some research as to what this means I have to wonder if this is a good idea or not. It's a great idea in theory but as to how well it will work here in Fayetteville is questionable. This is for an angled parking spot like we are used to but instead of pulling into it, you back into it. Here is the basic procedure.

1. Signal a right turn

2. Pull past the parking spot and stop

3. Reverse into the parking spot

For anyone familiar with defensive driving techniques this a a no-brainer for safe driving. Having to back into traffic is very dangerous and it is always better to do so when parking instead of when leaving. Regardless of the good reasons for it, it will be a major departure from what almost every driver in Fayetteville is used to. Hopefully the driver behind you isn't following so close that you don't have room to back up as is common along Dickson Street with it's parallel parking.

It would be a good idea to change all angled parking in the city to this method if this section of one street is going to have it. Having one method of angled parking on one section of a street and another on other sections of the same street isn't a good idea. A thorough education campaign is needed to familiarize drivers with the idea and if the back in/ head out method is uniform throughout the city it will be more successful.

Yeah apparently this type of parking is catching on in a lot of other cities. At first I sorta wondered about having this type of parking in just one area as well. But maybe it's a good idea to test it in one area first and get people's reactions then if it works well implement it elsewhere in the city. It might throw people off at first but people will see the other vehicles parked that way or see the lines. If you visit other parts of the country you'll have to get used to it whether you like it or not.

[zman9810]

The city has three possible plans for Block Street and one of them has all parallel parking. It doesn't seem like any of the plans is going to please everybody. Several of the business owners along Block are concerned about the loss of parking close to their buildings even though the plans all have a net gain of parking. It will be interesting to see how this turns out- hopefully a compromise can be worked out.

[Mith242]

The city has three possible plans for Block Street and one of them has all parallel parking. It doesn't seem like any of the plans is going to please everybody. Several of the business owners along Block are concerned about the loss of parking close to their buildings even though the plans all have a net gain of parking. It will be interesting to see how this turns out- hopefully a compromise can be worked out.

With this weather I keep forgetting to mention that. Thanks for the reminder. But yes at least a few of the businesses aren't happy with any of the plans and one is saying it plans to move if the city goes forward. I believe the three plans are; making it a one lane street with the back in pull out parking, keeping it two lanes and a bit less parking, or basically the same as the second option but make Block a two way street again. Way back in the City Plan 2020 the city planners had recommended get rid of the one way streets. The city did then start opening some of the streets back up to two way but so far Block hasn't been one of them.

[Mith242]

Now there's problems with at the construction site of the new parking garage at the courthouse. The costs is expected to go up because of problems drilling for the new piers. The rock seems to be harder than anticipated making the drilling process take much more time. Also sounds like they've found some empty voids as well. Although I guess that tends to happen in our karst area. But looks like costs might shoot up another $1.5 Mil to $2.2 Mil. That's more than was allocated by the county so no things are on hold till everything is worked out. Either the they'll have to allocate more money or find a way to scale back the project.

[zman9810]

Now there's problems with at the construction site of the new parking garage at the courthouse. The costs is expected to go up because of problems drilling for the new piers. The rock seems to be harder than anticipated making the drilling process take much more time. Also sounds like they've found some empty voids as well. Although I guess that tends to happen in our karst area. But looks like costs might shoot up another $1.5 Mil to $2.2 Mil. That's more than was allocated by the county so no things are on hold till everything is worked out. Either the they'll have to allocate more money or find a way to scale back the project.

That's an interesting situation- do they pay more now or end up paying a lot more later? The long term plan calls for adding more parking and office space on top of the deck later. If they scale it back and are unable to follow that plan the county will have to buy more space or land elsewhere at what will probably be a much higher price. Seems like the best idea is to bite the bullet and pay more now to follow the long term plan.

The Fulbright Building is in financial trouble and the county could buy it at a reduced price. It would still be much more than what the county wants to pay though. It is not a part of the long range plan and after buying the Terminella building and renovating the old Courthouse doesn't fit in very well- too expensive at this time.

Edited February 5, 2010 by zman9810

[Mith242]

That's an interesting situation- do they pay more now or end up paying a lot more later? The long term plan calls for adding more parking and office space on top of the deck later. If they scale it back and are unable to follow that plan the county will have to buy more space or land elsewhere at what will probably be a much higher price. Seems like the best idea is to bite the bullet and pay more now to follow the long term plan.

The Fulbright Building is in financial trouble and the county could buy it at a reduced price. It would still be much more than what the county wants to pay though. It is not a part of the long range plan and after buying the Terminella building and renovating the old Courthouse doesn't fit in very well- too expensive at this time.

That's what I wonder as well. Seems to me that it's better to just pay more now and get it done. Rather than have to pay even more further down the road and just build a smaller parking deck. Either way though they need to make a decision soon. Granted with the way the weather has been there probably wasn't going to be a whole lot being accomplished right now on construction. But the last thing we need is this hanging around a while and nothing being done. It's pretty annoying if you have something that needs to be done at the courthouse and there's no parking there.

[zman9810]

That's what I wonder as well. Seems to me that it's better to just pay more now and get it done. Rather than have to pay even more further down the road and just build a smaller parking deck. Either way though they need to make a decision soon. Granted with the way the weather has been there probably wasn't going to be a whole lot being accomplished right now on construction. But the last thing we need is this hanging around a while and nothing being done. It's pretty annoying if you have something that needs to be done at the courthouse and there's no parking there.

The county does have a shuttle that runs from the Methodist church parking deck to the courthouse frequently. The county is paying the church for it's use and the shuttle itself but it seems that shuttle serice isn't convenient enough for most people.

It helps illustrate the need for a parking deck close to the possible Walton Arts Center expansion site - if parking isn't convenient it won't be used except as a last resort if at all.

[Mith242]

Looks like the city might look into a two level parking garage behind the EJ Ball Plaza Bldg just off the Square. Apparently a geological study was done 10 years ago.

[wmr]

Looks like the city might look into a two level parking garage behind the EJ Ball Plaza Bldg just off the Square. Apparently a geological study was done 10 years ago.

Hope they can partner with someone to develop retail on the side that fronts Church St. It would be a shame to have just parking garage there.

[Ashley Phillips]

Looks like the city might look into a two level parking garage behind the EJ Ball Plaza Bldg just off the Square. Apparently a geological study was done 10 years ago.

I hope they learn a few things from watching the parking garage debacle over at the county courthouse.

[zman9810]

Well...the type of problems the county parking deck construction project is having are common in NWA. The karst formation underground in NWA is an engineer's nightmare when planning- it is hard to test for because the rock can be extremely hard in one area and completely rotten just a few feet away. This is due to the limestone being water soluble and dissolving unevenly over the years.

The county is doing the right thing by going ahead with long term plan. It would cost almost as much to back out of the contract as it will be to go ahead. In the long term it will be a cost efficient way to deal with the county's space and parking needs.

[Ashley Phillips]

Well...the type of problems the county parking deck construction project is having are common in NWA. The karst formation underground in NWA is an engineer's nightmare when planning- it is hard to test for because the rock can be extremely hard in one area and completely rotten just a few feet away. This is due to the limestone being water soluble and dissolving unevenly over the years.

The county is doing the right thing by going ahead with long term plan. It would cost almost as much to back out of the contract as it will be to go ahead. In the long term it will be a cost efficient way to deal with the county's space and parking needs.

I shouldn't have used the word 'Debacle'.... Apologies for that. I know that the county has managed their project as well as they can, but just got a little unlucky. Hopefully the city will fare better.

[Mith242]

Sounds like work will start again on the parking deck next week. Looks like the county agreed on paying the higher costs. Maybe if the weather cooperates we can try to get back closer to schedule.

[zman9810]

The city has come up with a compromise plan for the Block Ave. improvements. It will one lane southbound from Dickson St. to Center St. The back-in parking will be in the blocks Dickson/Spring and Meadow/Center while from Spring to Meadow will be regular angled in parking. There are minor adjsutments to widths of various aspects and an overall increase of parking (always a good thing).

Block Ave.

[Mith242]

The city has come up with a compromise plan for the Block Ave. improvements. It will one lane southbound from Dickson St. to Center St. The back-in parking will be in the blocks Dickson/Spring and Meadow/Center while from Spring to Meadow will be regular angled in parking. There are minor adjustments to widths of various aspects and an overall increase of parking (always a good thing).

Block Ave.

Thanks for the link. Overall I imagine this compromise will work out. Although I admit I liked some of Councilman Petty's idea wider sidewalks to encourage more sidewalk cafes. I also think I like the idea of eventually making more of the downtown streets two way. But of course all of that would take away a lot of parking. I understand that would make a lot of the businesses and offices in that area rather unhappy and could even help drive some people away from that area. I don't think I'm crazy on the idea of just having one lane. But at least this way parking is preserved.

[aerotive]

Heard a rumor that the mall is pressuring the city to not allow Goodwill to move into the former Circuit City Building. Can anyone confirm or deny?