Planning assn's Great Places

[Veloise]

Ann Arbor and Charlevoix are on the list.

http://planning.org/greatplaces/

Local nominations?

[suydam]

I saw Traverse City and Ann Arbor listed under "Great Streets", but not Charlevoix.

Was I looking at the wrong list?

[jbr12]

I think Charlevoix is under Great Public Places for East Park (Not that great of a park IMHO)

[Veloise]

Traverse City photos

Had an appointment there, so I spent some time on Front Street and nearby.

First, the wayfinding signs.

Check out the name for the bus!

This one is old. I guess they are nostalgic.

Wonder if this would work here.

And now a meander down Front Street.

Pocket park #1

Fairly nice product, out on the sidewalk to attract passers-by. (This was about 4 pm last Friday.)

DT bookstore. One of the retailers bemoaned the fact that they had no public restrooms, and sent me here.

Pocket park #2

and a lovely greenscaped wall

More to follow...

[Veloise]

More pics from my promenade along Front Street in TC.

Closer look at this hanging sign

Lots of decorative planters with exotic designs

Interesting streetlights

Dog amenities

Lower level retail on this popular street.

Seasonal decorations (shoe store)

If it weren't for the realty sign, you'd never guess that this is a vacant storefront.

More planters, and a front window decked out for Halloween. The armchair on the left looks like something Martha Stewart found in the woods.

Nifty bulb-out treatment: decorative fencing, benches, historical marker, trash and recycling bins.

A few more...breaking them up enables additional commentary.

[Veloise]

Turned the corner off Front Street; wanted to keep walking.

Even this unfriendly wall has some nice features for pedestrians.

More lovely plantings

This retailer decorated the planting strip in the alley.

Wonder what's behind this modernized facade.

And a look at some street furniture

The green bin has several slots in the top, but it is a single-stream container underneath.

~~~~~~~~~~

While exploring, I was running through some of the design elements that made this street so appealing.

--High concentration of "drop in" retail selling small consumables. TC has the highest concentration of ice cream-fudge-candy-popcorn-coffee stores I've ever seen. Several stores offered larger items with higher tickets (nice clothing, jewelry, home furnishings) and they were right next to a place rolling out fudge or caramel corn atop a marble slab in the window. Every coffee place offered outdoor seating, and most of the sweet shops had a couple of tables inside.

--A traffic lane, a bike lane, on-street parking on both sides. Multiple ped xings. It seemed that one end of a crossing led to one of the little parks. Fairly wide right-of-way and shorter (2 or 3-story) buildings. Things felt open and inviting.

--Lots of benches, city planters, street trees, bike racks, recycling bins, newspaper boxes, street lights (two styles). wayfinding signs, wayfinding maps, historical markers. Not a street to rush through; nooks and crannies to explore.

--Highly decorated store windows with lots of detail. Open-door retail with items displayed outside. More than one store had the door propped open, and various goods hanging from it.

--Parking everywhere. Get out of your car and wander. Bring your dog. Bring your bike.

--The usual resort town retail with promotional shirts and local souvenirs. High concentration of cherry-themed product. Several stores with postcard racks.

--Front Street doesn't really relate to the bay and the nearby water, but it's easy enough to get there. When you're all bay-gazed out, come get a coffee and some popcorn, and a dog biscuit.

[fotoman311]

Turned the corner off Front Street; wanted to keep walking.

Even this unfriendly wall has some nice features for pedestrians.

More lovely plantings

This retailer decorated the planting strip in the alley.

Wonder what's behind this modernized facade.

And a look at some street furniture

The green bin has several slots in the top, but it is a single-stream container underneath.

~~~~~~~~~~

While exploring, I was running through some of the design elements that made this street so appealing.

--High concentration of "drop in" retail selling small consumables. TC has the highest concentration of ice cream-fudge-candy-popcorn-coffee stores I've ever seen. Several stores offered larger items with higher tickets (nice clothing, jewelry, home furnishings) and they were right next to a place rolling out fudge or caramel corn atop a marble slab in the window. Every coffee place offered outdoor seating, and most of the sweet shops had a couple of tables inside.

--A traffic lane, a bike lane, on-street parking on both sides. Multiple ped xings. It seemed that one end of a crossing led to one of the little parks. Fairly wide right-of-way and shorter (2 or 3-story) buildings. Things felt open and inviting.

--Lots of benches, city planters, street trees, bike racks, recycling bins, newspaper boxes, street lights (two styles). wayfinding signs, wayfinding maps, historical markers. Not a street to rush through; nooks and crannies to explore.

--Highly decorated store windows with lots of detail. Open-door retail with items displayed outside. More than one store had the door propped open, and various goods hanging from it.

--Parking everywhere. Get out of your car and wander. Bring your dog. Bring your bike.

--The usual resort town retail with promotional shirts and local souvenirs. High concentration of cherry-themed product. Several stores with postcard racks.

--Front Street doesn't really relate to the bay and the nearby water, but it's easy enough to get there. When you're all bay-gazed out, come get a coffee and some popcorn, and a dog biscuit.

[Veloise]

Most of my commentary was from the "why did the APA select this street for an award" point of view. I put it here first, then added a link on Cyburbia...then their net-mama asked for a copy and paste.

I would think that taking the highlights of posts, like my photo tour of the non-pedestrian mall out of its context, would not make it easier to find. Maybe develop a table of contents or index.

[fotoman311]

Most of my commentary was from the "why did the APA select this street for an award" point of view. I put it here first, then added a link on Cyburbia...then their net-mama asked for a copy and paste.

I would think that taking the highlights of posts, like my photo tour of the non-pedestrian mall out of its context, would not make it easier to find. Maybe develop a table of contents or index.