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Great idea! Thanks for sharing this. I had not heard of NYC’s high line, or Elgin’s low line. Very cool.
(I must say I do not agree with the angled parking idea, however! That’s what the gigantic parking structures are for. Also, narrowing the sidewalks does not help encourage walking and might actually be illegal due to ADA regulations.)
Posted May 8th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Marc says:
I agree with Jessica about the sidewalk narrowing. If anything, sidewalks in Elgin should be widened, the curb eliminated, etc. especially if traffic calming is the goal.
speaking of traffic calming, this is a bit older, but I think it is an interesting look at ways to reduce accidents and promote a more shared space on the road http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html
Posted May 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
RS says:
Thanks for the comments, guys. Yeah, I guess I’m in the minority as a supporter of angled parking. I’ve never really gotten any enthusiastic responses to the idea in Elgin, but I’m not yet convinced that it’s a bad idea. I still think that even with the significant amount of parking decks, people still want to be able to park in front of their destination, and angled parking creates more parking spaces.
I don’t think it would make the sidewalks less walkable because the parked cars (or the space for them) creates a larger buffer between the sidewalk and moving cars.
I don’t think there’s any way to widen sidewalks without eliminating on-street parking.
Thanks for the link to the Wired article, Marc. It’s interesting.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing this. I had not heard of NYC’s high line, or Elgin’s low line. Very cool.
(I must say I do not agree with the angled parking idea, however! That’s what the gigantic parking structures are for. Also, narrowing the sidewalks does not help encourage walking and might actually be illegal due to ADA regulations.)
Posted May 8th, 2008 at 3:40 pmI agree with Jessica about the sidewalk narrowing. If anything, sidewalks in Elgin should be widened, the curb eliminated, etc. especially if traffic calming is the goal.
speaking of traffic calming, this is a bit older, but I think it is an interesting look at ways to reduce accidents and promote a more shared space on the road
Posted May 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pmhttp://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html
Thanks for the comments, guys. Yeah, I guess I’m in the minority as a supporter of angled parking. I’ve never really gotten any enthusiastic responses to the idea in Elgin, but I’m not yet convinced that it’s a bad idea. I still think that even with the significant amount of parking decks, people still want to be able to park in front of their destination, and angled parking creates more parking spaces.
I don’t think it would make the sidewalks less walkable because the parked cars (or the space for them) creates a larger buffer between the sidewalk and moving cars.
I don’t think there’s any way to widen sidewalks without eliminating on-street parking.
Thanks for the link to the Wired article, Marc. It’s interesting.
Posted May 12th, 2008 at 1:02 am