Buffalo, NY Sidewalk

 

The way the grass and plantings overhang the sidewalk. Trees for shade. Everything is green, but nothing is perfect. Trash cans are out. Trash day today? Maybe tomorrow? Homes with porches built close to the sidewalk. Single family? Maybe Buffalo Doubles? Definitely carriage houses behind. 

You can learn a lot from a shopping center.

These are a few shots from Riverside Plaza in Riverside, CA. This small stretch of the Plaza is an example of how cities should build neighborhoods.  (The street could be narrower though.) Plenty of public space for people to sit and eat or just linger. The single ownership makes it easier to maintain and police these quasi public spaces than an public sidewalk, but the same sort of amenities could easily be provided on city sidewalks and paid for and maintain by a business improvement district.

 

 

 

It's unfortunate they didn't go all the way and better connect this shopping center to the streets around it. There's a mid century shopping district right across the street that could benefit from the connection. Oddly, they placed the traffic signal north of the street that could have easily connected with Riverside Plaza and made it easy for pedestrian to cross directly into that shopping center.

 

The intersection of Sunnyside Drive and Riverside Plaza is shown below. 

Good Main Street Urban Design in Downtown Burbank

There are many great urban design elements in just this one little section of downtown Burbank.

 

 

Nice wide sidewalk, street trees, benches for sitting, narrowed street at a mid block crossing, pergola that calls out the paseo to the parking in the rear. (See the picture below.) The location of the office building on this frontage is unfortunate. Offices are no longer permitted on the ground floor along San Fernando Boulevard in downtown. The other corner of this building at the end of the block has a good restaurant with lots of patio dining so it's not a complete disaster. (Notice the ribbon of bricks. Typical of downtown redevelopment in the past, but Nate Hood of Strong Towns will be happy to know that I have observed workers systematically filling in grout and maintaining the investment rather than letting it decay.)

This paseo is one of a half dozen in downtown Burbank. It makes San Fernando easily accessible from the parking in the rear and it is also a perfect place for a mid block crossing. This paseo is also a great opportunity to inject some excitement and visual interest into downtown. 

 

 

Mid block crossing that narrows the street which slows vehicles and makes the crossing shorter and safer for pedestrians. The street trees are a simple row with a large canopy that makes this the favorite downtown block for many people.

 

The design elements in these photos are repeated throughout downtown Burbank and make it a highly trafficked shopping and entertainment destination in the eastern San Fernando Valley. Some cities have successful spaces like this, but they refuse to implement similar improvements in other parts of their cities. They seem to think it's just fine for the charming little downtown district, but the real money is made elsewhere. The reality is that shopping districts like this generally are more profitable per square foot than the larger big box properties many cities pursue. I'm not sure why more cities don't aggressively encourage the growth of their traditional downtowns.

Simple Urbanism

The building is simple and plain, but it's placed right at the sidewalk and integrates well into the public realm. Four floors of residential above. Simple urbanism. Nothing fancy. Just put the mixed-use building in the right place on the property.  The queen palms are nice accent trees that help define the outdoor room, but they don't provide shade which is important on the north side of the street.  The shade in the colonnade depends on the time of day. (These pictures were taken around 9 AM.) It would make a great place for some outdoor dining without intruding on the sidewalk.