85 replies to this topic

[Mith242]

masons_dad1, on Feb 2 2006, 04:47 AM, said:

Ya know, I could see the area slightly north of the mall being developed into quite a nice pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use and recreational neighborhood.

Imagine if you will the creek that flows east-west on the north end of the mall being converted to a boardwalk canal with quaint shops and restaurants lining either side. The east side of the creek over at Lokomotion Family Fun Center is already developed into a canal, complete with a foot-bridge crossing over it, and it just needs to extend under 71B west for a ways. It could be like a Venice-themed attraction complete with motorized gondolas floating along dropping people off at a coffee shop or a live music venue. Now imagine it at night, all lit up with live music resonating across the water, abuzz with people having polite conversations and drinking cocktails on a deck overlooking the canal...

If you'd like to visualize this a little better take a look at GoogleEarths shot of the creek I'm talking about. The only developments there are Lokomotion on the east side of 71B and Golden Corral on the west side. There's plenty of room along the creek for development and it would connect the Mall to Lake Fayetteville Park.

Anyway, I'd like to know what anyone thinks about this idea?

That does sound like an interesting idea.  I'm not sure how much of a quaint feel you could get with such a heavily traveled road nearby.  I also wasn't sure just how much water tends to flow along there.  Is the canal at Lokomotion very big?  Is it tied into Lake Fayetteville?  It would seem to me that the creek might dry up certain times of the year.  But I certainly wouldn't mind the city trying to do something like this.  There isn't many bodies of water that I could see the city wanting to develop around.  I'll have to take a closer look with Google Earth.

[masons_dad1]

Mith242, on Feb 2 2006, 05:27 AM, said:

That does sound like an interesting idea.  I'm not sure how much of a quaint feel you could get with such a heavily traveled road nearby.  I also wasn't sure just how much water tends to flow along there.  Is the canal at Lokomotion very big?  Is it tied into Lake Fayetteville?  It would seem to me that the creek might dry up certain times of the year.  But I certainly wouldn't mind the city trying to do something like this.  There isn't many bodies of water that I could see the city wanting to develop around.  I'll have to take a closer look with Google Earth.

The canal that runs next to Lokomotion is always full as it is fed by Lake Fayetteville. There's a floodgate at the end of the canal to act as an overflow for Lake Fayetteville. The canal is stocked with some huge fish so it never runs dry... not sure what kind they are but they look rare. The bridge has food dispensers so visitors can feed the fish. The canal could easily be extended under the 71B bridge and run along the north side of the Mall. As for traffic noise I stood near the bridge when I went to Golden Corral one day and I couldn't even hear any traffic. Besides the boardwalk would be below street level so noise wouldn't be an issue. I can't think of any other place in NWA that has more suitable resources for a canal similar to those found in Little Rock and other cities.

[Mith242]

masons_dad1, on Feb 2 2006, 07:22 AM, said:

The canal that runs next to Lokomotion is always full as it is fed by Lake Fayetteville. There's a floodgate at the end of the canal to act as an overflow for Lake Fayetteville. The canal is stocked with some huge fish so it never runs dry... not sure what kind they are but they look rare. The bridge has food dispensers so visitors can feed the fish. The canal could easily be extended under the 71B bridge and run along the north side of the Mall. As for traffic noise I stood near the bridge when I went to Golden Corral one day and I couldn't even hear any traffic. Besides the boardwalk would be below street level so noise wouldn't be an issue. I can't think of any other place in NWA that has more suitable resources for a canal similar to those found in Little Rock and other cities.

That certainly sounds like an interesting idea.  Sounds like you've put some thought into it.  Of course the biggest problem is getting someone interested in trying to do something like this.  Not sure if it would get much attention but maybe I can post the idea over on the Fayetteville 2025 forum.

[masons_dad1]

Mith242, on Feb 2 2006, 02:53 PM, said:

That certainly sounds like an interesting idea.  Sounds like you've put some thought into it.  Of course the biggest problem is getting someone interested in trying to do something like this.  Not sure if it would get much attention but maybe I can post the idea over on the Fayetteville 2025 forum.

Not a lot of thought but with all the huge developments in the area I just see this as a missed opportunity if someone doesn't at least look at it.

I took my family to Lokomotion today and although the mini-golf courses were closed for maintenance we still enjoyed the arcade and feeding the fish. BTW, their newest attraction is a full-size mechanical bull... the only one in the region as far as I know. The employee I asked said it was working too which amazed me considering half their arcade games always seem to be out of order.

[Mith242]

masons_dad1, on Feb 2 2006, 06:21 PM, said:

Not a lot of thought but with all the huge developments in the area I just see this as a missed opportunity if someone doesn't at least look at it.

I took my family to Lokomotion today and although the mini-golf courses were closed for maintenance we still enjoyed the arcade and feeding the fish. BTW, their newest attraction is a full-size mechanical bull... the only one in the region as far as I know. The employee I asked said it was working too which amazed me considering half their arcade games always seem to be out of order.

Yeah I haven't been to there in years but I seem to remember that being a perpetual problem with them.

[mcheiss]

I think I've only been there once, and the only thing I liked there was the go-karts.