3.0
PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Big Ideas
Introduction The analysis of the community outlined in the previous section of this report gave the Planning Team a detailed understanding of the strengths of the District, the areas of concern expressed by the community, the market realities of how the private real estate market could play a role in community development, and the fabric and structure of the community-how it functions as a place to live. Based on the understanding gained during the initial phase of analysis, the Planning Team developed a set of overarching urban planning strategies for the District and community. This section of the report will explore the ideas generated by the public participants and the Planning Team for improving the District. The ideas that form the framework for improving the community became known as the “Big Ideas,” in response to the bold and broad approach supported by the community during workshops and interviews. While the list of ideas is comprehensive, the planning approach can be summarized in some key principals, including: • Safely connecting resident and students to their work, study and daily life destinations through improvements to the transit system, better bike and pedestrian facilities along the streets and major corridors, and providing multi-use trails through parks, open spaces, and campus. • Creating a stronger sense of place through better planning and design of public streets, open spaces, and private development, focusing on neighborhood-oriented development nodes on the major corridors and in the space between campus and downtown. • Encouraging new land development to meet the community needs, either by providing the type of land uses and housing not currently offered, and by scaling and placing development to suit the neighborhood it is located within. • Building on the strengths of the greater community - access to recreation and open space, a well-developed downtown, a beautiful and vibrant campus, so that future change enhances and reflects the community.
The Big Ideas The Planning Team sifted through the results of the community analysis (summarized in Section 2.0 of this report) and public input and organized a list of the Big Ideas for the study area, categorizing the ideas into four primary areas - mobility and transportation, housing and development, open space and green infrastructure, and community image, the Big Ideas include: • Mobility and Transportation: This topic includes streets, paths and walks to move people in whatever form they take, whether it be on foot, on bicycle, in a wheel chair or in a vehicle. Inherent in the discussion of mobility is the presumption that the community will consider the needs of all users, of all abilities, to insure universal access in all places possible. The Big Ideas for mobility and transportation include: • Widen and add sidewalks, particularly along the major roads • Install pedestrian amenities (e.g. street trees, lights, etc.) to make the streets safer and more attractive • Improve intersections for traffic and pedestrian use, allowing for safe pedestrian crossing without unduly limiting vehicular capacity • Create clear and safe connections through neighborhoods for pedestrians, students and long tenure residents • Develop more bike facilities where possible (e.g. off-road multi-purpose trails like the Hoodlebug Trail and on-road facilities such as bike lanes) • Manage parking lot locations and design to create more active and attractive streets • Better utilize the parking deck in downtown by improving access, wayfinding, and lighting • Coordinate near downtown parking needs with IUP, the Borough, and private development • Improve transit with a new hub in the downtown area • Housing and Development: The design of site and building developments shapes our experiences as visitors and residents to a community, contributes to the quality and sense of place, and reflects the community’s values. The Big Ideas for encouraging new and better housing and development include: • Guide new form and placement of new development to encourage place making • Improve the connection from downtown to campus with street improvements and new development, including housing
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