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COSI Pedestrian Bridge & Riverfront

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Started 5 months ago by columbusmike
Latest reply from futureman

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columbusmike

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Not too long ago, Columbus unveiled strategic plans for downtown Columbus. The first of two ideas were to clear the upstream dams to create more parkland downtown. The other idea was to create a pedestrian bridge linking COSI with the downtown proper.

I strongly believe removing the dams could be a huge stimulus to downtown. However, I'm not sure all of this reclaimed land should be dedicated towards parkland. Removing the dams will shrink the river to about half it's current width. This leaves ample amount of space for a downtown boardwalk. A downtown boardwalk, in my opinion, could be a significant development opportunity for both a creative developer and for downtown Columbus. Take Disney's Boardwalk as a precedence:

Disney was able to capture the excitement of walking along a riverfront while providing endless entertainment value with the various shops, restaurants, and bars. Columbus could do the same, albeit with a slightly smaller footprint and less kitchy appearance. A boardwalk downtown would give downtown an iconic, memorable and must-see experience and could very easily enhance the already largely successful Bicentennial Park and the Scioto Mile.

Secondly, the proposed COSI pedestrian bridge affords the same opportunity. Instead of a long, pedestrian bridge which becomes an extremely chilly experience in wintertime, there is an opportunity to include retail on such a structure. Of course, the bridge in Florence, Italy and Venice come to mind when we think of a mixed-use pedestrian bridge:

We don't have to limit ourselves to historic representations in Columbus. A pedestrian bridge with structures on top can take various forms. Such as this proposed bridge in London:

A well-crafted pedestrian bridge linking to COSI and a "entertainment" boardwalk could provide the civic/cultural attraction that lures people when they visit our city and invites them to explore the rest of downtown. It can also provide much needed retail and entertainment to our downtown core while providing a economic boost to new residential and commercial projects in the heart of downtown.

Posted 5 months ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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What about segregating foot traffic from bikes or anything with wheels?

Posted 5 months ago #
columbusmike

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alexs said:
What about segregating foot traffic from bikes or anything with wheels?

I would think the hope would be that there are enough people to force bikers to demount or find a different route. I don't think you would want to discourage people from riding their bikes down the boardwalk -- the boardwalk would need to be wide...such as the Disney boardwalk shown above.

Posted 5 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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I like the boardwalk idea. The Scioto Mile is nice as it is, but it is lonely with a street on the other side and government office buildings (closed and empty on evenings & weekend). To have additional restaurants, shops and entertainment would be a huge boost to that environment.

Posted 5 months ago #
CooperGuy

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Cool ideas and thoughts. But wouldn't the potential for river flooding be a huge detriment to a boardwalk along the river? I believe the Disney Boardwalk sits along a man-made (or at least a man-manipulated) lake.

Posted 5 months ago #
howatzer

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Part of the reason for the river greenway once (and if) they pull the dams is to have a flood zone.

Posted 5 months ago #
CooperGuy

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Which would make the risk to boardwalk restaurants, shops, retail, etc extremely high, and very unlikely to be built I imagine.

Posted 5 months ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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right. anything between the flood walls (on both sides) and the river WILL end up underwater every now and then. Nothing down there should be considered permanent unless its designed to get very wet and muddy.

Posted 5 months ago #
Pickerington_Kyle

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I would like to see Columbia's Gas building garage be torn down, and have condos, with retail on the bottom. Idea: 28 stories 1-3 retail, 4-10 office, 11-25 Condos 26 Club, 27-28 Restaurant.

Posted 5 months ago #
Glaze

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Why do we need more potential shopping centers to sit empty and blockade a nice big open space? There are still a bunch of empty buildings for lease downtown, even though housing developments crop up at every turn.

The river is already full of pesticides, fertilizers, and sewage from upstream http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/outreach/point1.cfm . A good amount of parkland in the floodplain may be just the thing to clean out some of the gunk http://www.rougeriver.com/pdfs/wetlands/wefspec98-04.pdf. It would also be neat to add some artificial wetlands to filter out runoff from streets and storm drains.

The Audubon's park is a beautiful addition to the Brewery District. We need more incentives to clean up rivers or else you're going to see fewer and fewer wild caught fish in at the grocery (or migrating fish in general).

Posted 5 months ago #
upstairs
Old Town East
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Fits nicely with the idea of creating more project vs demand.

Posted 5 months ago #
upstairs
Old Town East
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upstairs said:
Fits nicely with the idea of creating more project vs demand.

I refer to the initial poster, not the sound guidance of the individual aboe.

Posted 5 months ago #
columbusmike

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CooperGuy said:
Which would make the risk to boardwalk restaurants, shops, retail, etc extremely high, and very unlikely to be built I imagine.

It's done all the time with pier footing structures. Plus, I'm not suggesting the buildings be built down at river level...the buildings could be at Civic Center drive and step down a story or two to the elevated boardwalk. A grand staircase/fountain could be located directly across from COSI leading to the boardwalk.

Posted 5 months ago #
columbusmike

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Glaze said:
Why do we need more potential shopping centers to sit empty and blockade a nice big open space? There are still a bunch of empty buildings for lease downtown, even though housing developments crop up at every turn.

The river is already full of pesticides, fertilizers, and sewage from upstream http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/outreach/point1.cfm . A good amount of parkland in the floodplain may be just the thing to clean out some of the gunk http://www.rougeriver.com/pdfs/wetlands/wefspec98-04.pdf. It would also be neat to add some artificial wetlands to filter out runoff from streets and storm drains.

The Audubon's park is a beautiful addition to the Brewery District. We need more incentives to clean up rivers or else you're going to see fewer and fewer wild caught fish in at the grocery (or migrating fish in general).

I'm not suggesting the whole river be converted to development. In fact, I'd like the rest of the reclaimed river up and downstream of downtown to remain very natural. I'm suggesting that we take advantage of an asset such as the river downtown to create a memorable and iconic place that will help drive further demand in the core.

Posted 5 months ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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Glaze said:

The river is already full of pesticides, fertilizers, and sewage from upstream http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/outreach/point1.cfm .

The level of pollution in the Scioto is greatly overstated. It's an item of folklore, like the Cuyahoga will always be the river that burns. People will continue to convince themselves that Dublin's turds are still bobbing along the river. You're contributing to it yourself by making a blanket statement and then backing it up with a general-information fact sheet that isn't specific to the Scioto.

If you want to study issues specific to the Scioto, try this:

http://sciotoriverfriends.org/educational/pollution_examples.pps

Posted 5 months ago #
jbcmh81

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I remember reading not too long ago in a Dispatch article about the removal of the low-head dams that water quality is already improving in the Scioto, partly due to the sewage overflow controls being built.

Posted 5 months ago #
columbusmike

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Walker said:
I like the boardwalk idea. The Scioto Mile is nice as it is, but it is lonely with a street on the other side and government office buildings (closed and empty on evenings & weekend). To have additional restaurants, shops and entertainment would be a huge boost to that environment.

That's probably the worst part of the Scioto Mile. I've taken many out-of-town friends along the river and they are shocked at how nice Columbus is. But at the same time, there isn't much that draws them to discover what downtown Columbus has to offer on their own. A boardwalk would provide such an anchor, especially if the uses were appropriate (fish markets, ferris wheel, public art, light shows, bars, restaurants, boat & bike rentals, shops, etc etc).

Posted 5 months ago #
columbusmike

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jbcmh81 said:
I remember reading not too long ago in a Dispatch article about the removal of the low-head dams that water quality is already improving in the Scioto, partly due to the sewage overflow controls being built.

I've noticed it already seems better than just a few years ago, although the stench is still there and if you walk the Scioto Mile, you'll notice it.

Posted 5 months ago #
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
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I want more development along the Scioto as much as the next guy, but try convincing voters that we should spend millions more along a downtown riverfront that just finished a complete make over. Unless the city can find private donors to pay for it all, then good luck.

Posted 5 months ago #
columbusmike

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jpizzow said:
I want more development along the Scioto as much as the next guy, but try convincing voters that we should spend millions more along a downtown riverfront that just finished a complete make over. Unless the city can find private donors to pay for it all, then good luck.

I'm suggesting this would all be private investment, minus demolishing the dams. It's prime (in my opinion) real estate for this type of development. I think the city would do a very poor job designing/programming the space anyways compared to a private developer(s).

Posted 5 months ago #