Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Short Summary : Hilliard = Unwalkable, Short North = Impressive, Area between South Campus & Short North = Deadzone, COTA = Intimidating, and High Street needs a Streetcar.
More here: http://blog.robpitingolo.org/2010/06/center-of-ohio.html
Thoughts?
groundrules
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jimbach
Short North (WP division)
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Here it is:
The Center of Ohio
June 6, 2010Last weekend I visited Columbus. Much like my experience with Pittsburgh, I'd never visited before, despite living relatively nearby. This trip was a little different than most of my city-tour trips. Since I was staying with a friend of the blog, I was out in the suburbs, rather than downtown, where I typically prefer to set-up base. Some of my comments on Columbus may reflect that reality.
Don't Walk
Columbus is special in the sense that many of the neighborhoods in the city-limits would be suburban municipalities in other metropolitan areas. I stayed in Hilliard, which is technically in the city of Columbus, but certainly not an urban area. There are serious walkability problems. While the subdivisions do have sidewalks, many of the arterial roads that connect them to commercial activity do not. So while you can walk around the residential subdivision, you can forget about walking to anywhere you need to go. To rub salt on the wound, the subdivision where I stayed didn't even have street lights, so you could also forget about walking anywhere after dark.
Maybe this is the norm in suburbia and I'm just not used to it. It also reminded me of a fundamental flaw with tools like Walkscore, which calculates the distance between an address and amenities. Even though this particular subdivision gets a "car-dependent" label based on its score, that score is still inflated due to the fact that Walkscore doesn't know about the sidewalk and street light problem.
Feed the Meter
Because of where I was staying, driving was pretty much the only option to get down to Columbus's central city neighborhoods. We parked at a meter in the Short North neighborhood, and frankly, I was impressed. Most of the meters had cars parked at them, but there were a few open spaces when we arrived. Would that have been true if street parking were "free"? Probably not. The meters seemed fairly priced and had a 6-hour limit. The best part was that they accepted quarters, dimes and nickels, so if you have a pocket full of change but no quarters, you'd still be OK.
I can't stop thinking about technology when it comes to parking meters. Will there be a day when we can put our phone number into the meter and get a call or a text 15 minutes before it's about to expire? Will there be a day when we can feed meters over the internet? I hope so.
Dead Zones
One problem I've experienced in a number of Midwestern cities, including Cleveland and Pittsburgh and now Columbus, is that there are walkable neighborhoods, but there are dead zones in-between them that make it awkward and uncomfortable to transition between them on foot. The dead zones aren't necessarily dangerous or unsafe, but they're dodgy. They have blank walls, closed business, and empty sidewalks.
In Columbus, I experienced this while walking between the Short North and University district. There is a stretch of N. High Street that simply isn't pleasant to walk. At least it's unpleasant enough to make us opt for taking the bus back to the Short North.
Walkable but disconnected neighborhoods present a dilemma for urbanisits. Yes, it's great to have walkable neighborhoods, but if there are dead zones between them, good transit needs to fill in the gap. Otherwise you wind up with a disproportionate number of people driving into the neighborhood, and then driving back out and on to the next neighborhood. This leads to a disproportionately high demand for parking spaces which in the worst cases destroys the very vibrancy that makes the neighborhood great.
I don't entirely blame people who drive everywhere in Columbus. The COTA bus system isn't very user friendly. I used Google Maps on my phone to determine which bus I needed to take to get back to Short North. It said to get on the #2. When the bus pulled up it said "2D High and Mound". For someone with no idea where High intersects with Mound, this information is essentially useless and not very confidence inspiring. I got on the bus and got to where I wanted to go, but I understand why people would feel iffy doing what I did.
Opportunities on High
Before I visited Columbus, someone told me that it's a very easy city to navigate because "everything is on High Street". While obviously not meant to be taken literally, there is some truth to the point. While there are buses and some "share the road" signs thrown up along High Street, the reality is that it's a corridor still basically owned by the cars.
Columbus is a city with a bus-exclusive transit system, but when it comes to thinking about light rail or BRT, the opportunities along the High Street corridor are enough to make most urbanists visiting for the first time drool.
In my mind, I imagine a streetcar running up and down the length of high street, from North to South Columbus, at least, connecting OSU with the Short North and Downtown and German Village and everything else in between. I imagine bike lanes along the side of the road. Columbus is a great city for biking because the terrain is so flat. It's a shame to let that asset go to waste. Maybe my thinking is too idealist, but a well-designed project could easily transform Columbus is a greater city, in my mind.
Sister Cities
Ohio is rare in that it has three major cities and at least four other well-known secondary cities. Perhaps the best way I've heard the cities describes is as follows...
Cleveland has an east-coast feel. Similar to some of the gritty industrial cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore. Columbus is the quintessential Midwestern city, with ties to Chicago. And Cincinnati is certainly the most "southern" of Ohio's cities, with cultural similarities to some of the other cities in the south. Now that I've been to all of Ohio's cities, I've got to admit that there is some truth to this claim.
rus
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osulew wrote >>
That blog is blocked by our web filter...can you cut and paste the text, purty pweeze?
The Center of OhioJune 6, 2010
Last weekend I visited Columbus. Much like my experience with Pittsburgh, I'd never visited before, despite living relatively nearby. This trip was a little different than most of my city-tour trips. Since I was staying with a friend of the blog, I was out in the suburbs, rather than downtown, where I typically prefer to set-up base. Some of my comments on Columbus may reflect that reality.Don't Walk
Columbus is special in the sense that many of the neighborhoods in the city-limits would be suburban municipalities in other metropolitan areas. I stayed in Hilliard, which is technically in the city of Columbus, but certainly not an urban area. There are serious walkability problems. While the subdivisions do have sidewalks, many of the arterial roads that connect them to commercial activity do not. So while you can walk around the residential subdivision, you can forget about walking to anywhere you need to go. To rub salt on the wound, the subdivision where I stayed didn't even have street lights, so you could also forget about walking anywhere after dark.Maybe this is the norm in suburbia and I'm just not used to it. It also reminded me of a fundamental flaw with tools like Walkscore, which calculates the distance between an address and amenities. Even though this particular subdivision gets a "car-dependent" label based on its score, that score is still inflated due to the fact that Walkscore doesn't know about the sidewalk and street light problem.
Feed the Meter
Because of where I was staying, driving was pretty much the only option to get down to Columbus's central city neighborhoods. We parked at a meter in the Short North neighborhood, and frankly, I was impressed. Most of the meters had cars parked at them, but there were a few open spaces when we arrived. Would that have been true if street parking were "free"? Probably not. The meters seemed fairly priced and had a 6-hour limit. The best part was that they accepted quarters, dimes and nickels, so if you have a pocket full of change but no quarters, you'd still be OK.I can't stop thinking about technology when it comes to parking meters. Will there be a day when we can put our phone number into the meter and get a call or a text 15 minutes before it's about to expire? Will there be a day when we can feed meters over the internet? I hope so.
Dead Zones
One problem I've experienced in a number of Midwestern cities, including Cleveland and Pittsburgh and now Columbus, is that there are walkable neighborhoods, but there are dead zones in-between them that make it awkward and uncomfortable to transition between them on foot. The dead zones aren't necessarily dangerous or unsafe, but they're dodgy. They have blank walls, closed business, and empty sidewalks.In Columbus, I experienced this while walking between the Short North and University district. There is a stretch of N. High Street that simply isn't pleasant to walk. At least it's unpleasant enough to make us opt for taking the bus back to the Short North.
Walkable but disconnected neighborhoods present a dilemma for urbanisits. Yes, it's great to have walkable neighborhoods, but if there are dead zones between them, good transit needs to fill in the gap. Otherwise you wind up with a disproportionate number of people driving into the neighborhood, and then driving back out and on to the next neighborhood. This leads to a disproportionately high demand for parking spaces which in the worst cases destroys the very vibrancy that makes the neighborhood great.
I don't entirely blame people who drive everywhere in Columbus. The COTA bus system isn't very user friendly. I used Google Maps on my phone to determine which bus I needed to take to get back to Short North. It said to get on the #2. When the bus pulled up it said "2D High and Mound". For someone with no idea where High intersects with Mound, this information is essentially useless and not very confidence inspiring. I got on the bus and got to where I wanted to go, but I understand why people would feel iffy doing what I did.
Opportunities on High
Before I visited Columbus, someone told me that it's a very easy city to navigate because "everything is on High Street". While obviously not meant to be taken literally, there is some truth to the point. While there are buses and some "share the road" signs thrown up along High Street, the reality is that it's a corridor still basically owned by the cars.Columbus is a city with a bus-exclusive transit system, but when it comes to thinking about light rail or BRT, the opportunities along the High Street corridor are enough to make most urbanists visiting for the first time drool.
In my mind, I imagine a streetcar running up and down the length of high street, from North to South Columbus, at least, connecting OSU with the Short North and Downtown and German Village and everything else in between. I imagine bike lanes along the side of the road. Columbus is a great city for biking because the terrain is so flat. It's a shame to let that asset go to waste. Maybe my thinking is too idealist, but a well-designed project could easily transform Columbus is a greater city, in my mind.
Sister Cities
Ohio is rare in that it has three major cities and at least four other well-known secondary cities. Perhaps the best way I've heard the cities describes is as follows...Cleveland has an east-coast feel. Similar to some of the gritty industrial cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore. Columbus is the quintessential Midwestern city, with ties to Chicago. And Cincinnati is certainly the most "southern" of Ohio's cities, with cultural similarities to some of the other cities in the south. Now that I've been to all of Ohio's cities, I've got to admit that there is some truth to this claim.
LoudPrincess
Hilltop
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I think it's a fair review. In the midst of all the hubbub about bike lanes and making Columbus a more bike-friendly city, I was glad to see someone pipe up about walkability. The blog writer clearly experienced only a small portion of the city, but the awkward and unfriendly streets described are pretty common around here.
Because I don't drive at all, I'm really familiar with areas that I hate walking through. The area between the ShoNo and Campus is one of them, but there are a lot of places along Broad St. that could use improving.
A lot of the crosswalk lights aren't long enough in this city. Sometimes, I think they set the timer for a marathon sprinter, which leaves a pretty dangerous journey for older folks, people walking with children or pets, and folks with physical limitations.
For intersections that maybe shouldn't require a light, drivers are not strongly encouraged to yield to pedestrian traffic. Zebra crossing stripes, yield signs, etc. would be help.
Plus, I don't know about you, but I am noticing a big uptick in jaywalking, and not just sprinting across High St. just after the light changes, but people casually strolling across the street, chatting on their cell phones, as if they haven't a care in the world. I think if pedestrian and bicycle laws were better enforced, at least Downtown, motorists would be more considerate towards cyclists and pedestrians.
Or not. Just a thought.
Rastapasta
Olde North
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I have been here for a few years and I am not even sure how to get to Hilliard..
The COTA complaint makes me think he doesn't ride public transit in other big cities.
LoudPrincess
Hilltop
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Columbusite
Minneapolis
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Pretty much spot on including our need for better, higher-tech meters (see Lowell, MA), more infill between SCG and the Short North (better than it used to be with the Smith & High apartments on the south, the other new mixed-use building with a Hungry Howie's in the north and a new bar across the street), and better walkability. When you make a street better for pedestrians that also has the side effect of making it better for cyclists and since many more are the former than the latter that should be the #1 priority. LoudPrincess brings up a good point that while there are crossings without a signal where pedestrians have right of way motorists just don't know that. Techinically, any crossing where you see curb ramps is a pedestrian right of way, but good luck trying that out in real life.
I disagree with the COTA complaint about the #2 (and of course the bike lane comment). Now if he had to wait 20 or so minutes for the bus to come (and it happens) that would be a valid one. I'm also not so big on the High St streetcar, since it would just make the entire street unsafe for bikes and the city most certainly is not going to invest in rubber infill tracks that stay at the street level except for the weight of streetcar wheels. High is a great place for non-automobile traffic.
ColDayMan
Cincinnati-Dayton
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Since when is Hilliard "technically in the city of Columbus?" And every city has "deadzones" between neighborhoods, including New York and San Francisco. Columbus just isn't on the "trendy" radar so it gets lambasted for the same bullshit every other city has. A shame, really.
jimbach
Short North (WP division)
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LoudPrincess wrote >>
Rastapasta wrote >>
I have been here for a few years and I am not even sure how to get to Hilliard..Hilarious. Well, IMHO, you're not missing much in Hilliard. ;-)
The Indian restaurant at Mill Run (Taj Palace, I think) is fantastic. Well worth the drive, at least a couple of times a year.
LoudPrincess
Hilltop
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Columbusite wrote >>
Pretty much spot on including our need for better, higher-tech meters (see Lowell, MA), more infill between SCG and the Short North (better than it used to be with the Smith & High apartments on the south, the other new mixed-use building with a Hungry Howie's in the north and a new bar across the street), and better walkability. When you make a street better for pedestrians that also has the side effect of making it better for cyclists and since many more are the former than the latter that should be the #1 priority. LoudPrincess brings up a good point that while there are crossings without a signal where pedestrians have right of way motorists just don't know that. Techinically, any crossing where you see curb ramps is a pedestrian right of way, but good luck trying that out in real life.
I disagree with the COTA complaint about the #2 (and of course the bike lane comment). Now if he had to wait 20 or so minutes for the bus to come (and it happens) that would be a valid one. I'm also not so big on the High St streetcar, since it would just make the entire street unsafe for bikes and the city most certainly is not going to invest in rubber infill tracks that stay at the street level except for the weight of streetcar wheels. High is a great place for non-automobile traffic.
Well, I have to kind of agree with the COTA complaint, to be honest. I've been on the Tube in London, the Metro in NYC, and the EL in Chicago. COTA is not as user-friendly for out-of-towners as one might think. (And yes, I do realize that a train is a lot different from a bus.) COTA, as much as I'm grateful for their service, has schedules and maps that even confuse me, and I've been riding it for 21 years. The automated system asks for stop IDs, when those ID numbers aren't posted anywhere at most stops. The Google Maps function is awesome, provided that the stop hasn't moved, temporarily or permanently. Most stops don't have any schedule posted, so you have to either plan in advance, or not be in any hurry to get anywhere.
It's just little things that would really make the journey a lot simpler, especially since they make a lot of service changes on a regular basis.
NotaryOne
Columbus
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A few other things he might have mentioned:
15th largest city in the U.S., but without the urban grit of a Chicago, Philly, Detroit Boston. On most days you can get from one end of the freeways to the other in 30 minutes. Major distribution center, within 500 miles of half the U.S. population.
Nice arts scene - music, opera, dance, film, and lots of little eclectic things. Decent sports, concerts and festivals. Clean and midwestern friendly.
Service-driven economy, not a lot of smokestacks around.
Nice place to live and/or raise a family.
lilbit
GV
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Well, I have to kind of agree with the COTA complaint, to be honest. I've been on the Tube in London, the Metro in NYC, and the EL in Chicago. COTA is not as user-friendly for out-of-towners as one might think. (And yes, I do realize that a train is a lot different from a bus.) COTA, as much as I'm grateful for their service, has schedules and maps that even confuse me, and I've been riding it for 21 years. The automated system asks for stop IDs, when those ID numbers aren't posted anywhere at most stops. The Google Maps function is awesome, provided that the stop hasn't moved, temporarily or permanently. Most stops don't have any schedule posted, so you have to either plan in advance, or not be in any hurry to get anywhere.
It's just little things that would really make the journey a lot simpler, especially since they make a lot of service changes on a regular basis.
COTA does a sub-par job in communicating route information. Their website is nowhere near as user friendly as it could/SHOULD be.
Rastapasta
Olde North
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LoudPrincess wrote >>
Columbusite wrote >>
Pretty much spot on including our need for better, higher-tech meters (see Lowell, MA), more infill between SCG and the Short North (better than it used to be with the Smith & High apartments on the south, the other new mixed-use building with a Hungry Howie's in the north and a new bar across the street), and better walkability. When you make a street better for pedestrians that also has the side effect of making it better for cyclists and since many more are the former than the latter that should be the #1 priority. LoudPrincess brings up a good point that while there are crossings without a signal where pedestrians have right of way motorists just don't know that. Techinically, any crossing where you see curb ramps is a pedestrian right of way, but good luck trying that out in real life.
I disagree with the COTA complaint about the #2 (and of course the bike lane comment). Now if he had to wait 20 or so minutes for the bus to come (and it happens) that would be a valid one. I'm also not so big on the High St streetcar, since it would just make the entire street unsafe for bikes and the city most certainly is not going to invest in rubber infill tracks that stay at the street level except for the weight of streetcar wheels. High is a great place for non-automobile traffic.Well, I have to kind of agree with the COTA complaint, to be honest. I've been on the Tube in London, the Metro in NYC, and the EL in Chicago. COTA is not as user-friendly for out-of-towners as one might think. (And yes, I do realize that a train is a lot different from a bus.) COTA, as much as I'm grateful for their service, has schedules and maps that even confuse me, and I've been riding it for 21 years. The automated system asks for stop IDs, when those ID numbers aren't posted anywhere at most stops. The Google Maps function is awesome, provided that the stop hasn't moved, temporarily or permanently. Most stops don't have any schedule posted, so you have to either plan in advance, or not be in any hurry to get anywhere.
It's just little things that would really make the journey a lot simpler, especially since they make a lot of service changes on a regular basis.
Apples to oranges comparing our bus service to the EL or MTA. Chicago buses are just as tricky.
LoudPrincess
Hilltop
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Rastapasta wrote
Apples to oranges comparing our bus service to the EL or MTA. Chicago buses are just as tricky.
Sort of. MTA is pretty easy to comprehend, even for those of us who are "directionally challenged." I managed to catch a bus there with no trouble, and on time.
Regardless, though, I would LOVE to see COTA expand their BusTracker program to serve, not only the campus area, but the rest of the COTA system. And, it would be nice to be able to use it on the weekends without the hour-long waits for some lines, or the early cut-off times on Sundays.
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