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The Greening of Columbia


digital_sandlapper

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Besides trees, major streets should also have a "tree lawn" between the curb and the sidewalk. Between the planted shade trees placed at regular intervals would be smaller flowering trees, shrubs, flower beds, grass, and/or planters.

The "tree lawn" is what's seen here along Washington near Park (I think it's Park):

alongWashington.jpg

Also, what you're describing is pretty much how the streetscaped portion of Main looks in a few places:

MainandWashington.jpg

Mainstreetscape2.jpg

Lookingtowardscapitol-1.jpg

You can also see this concept in use on Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte (taken back in March):

sidewalkscene_ruthschris.jpg

sidewalkscene.jpg

sidewalkscene2.jpg

I hope it means a comprehensive land-scaping is coming to all of downtown (in phases, of course). Just look at what this has done to contribute to the renaissance in the Vista, Five Points, and Lady Street!

You probably won't see that without it involving full-scale streetcapings, as most of the streets that could use more landscaping could also use general overhauls period. I know it keeps coming up, but a thorough streetscaping/landscaping of Assembly, at least from Elmwood to Blossom, would do absolutely wonders for downtown.

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The "tree lawn" is what's seen here along Washington near Park (I think it's Park):

Also, what you're describing is pretty much how the streetscaped portion of Main looks in a few places:

You probably won't see that without it involving full-scale streetcapings, as most of the streets that could use more landscaping could also use general overhauls period. I know it keeps coming up, but a thorough streetscaping/landscaping of Assembly, at least from Elmwood to Blossom, would do absolutely wonders for downtown.

Yes, you and I are definitely going to be on THAT committee, right, Krazee? :shades: Thanks for posting those photos--all those examples in Columbia represent good plantings/tree lawns. Now, if the rest of our streets could get likewise.

We have been keeping our fingers crossed that Assembly will get the "boulevard treatment". I ask: why stop there . . why not do the same to Taylor and Hampton? Those two are ridiculously wide in places, serving as speedways for traffic, and a no man's land for pedestrians because of the freeway feel and their lack of shade or other ammenities that encourage walking. IMO, these streets should be made into TWO-WAY streets just like all the others in downtown. Heck, they are wide enough to accommodate a central median as well. Even with all that beautification, they would still serve as major arteries. Just not solely for people in vehicles. Canalside and other disconnected residential projects will demand it. Imagine the beautiful results! :wub:

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We have been keeping our fingers crossed that Assembly will get the "boulevard treatment". I ask: why stop there . . why not do the same to Taylor and Hampton? Those two are ridiculously wide in places, serving as speedways for traffic, and a no man's land for pedestrians because of the freeway feel and their lack of shade or other ammenities that encourage walking. IMO, these streets should be made into TWO-WAY streets just like all the others in downtown. Heck, they are wide enough to accommodate a central median as well.

Hey, get out of my head! :D

I was just thinking the other day how Hampton should definitely be a two-way street for its entire length. Giving it a good ol' Columbia streetscaping, complete with planted medians and bike lanes, would definitely help to tie Finlay Park in with the Vista south of Hampton. As a matter of fact, having Gervais streetscaped all the way to Harden would be neat too. Imagine Five Points and the CBD connecting one day with Gervais as the spine.

Streetscapings were mentioned were mentioned in connection with the garden district project in the Hampton neighborhood downtown. Hope it comes about.

City council needs to get with this organization pronto.

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Hey, get out of my head! :D

I was just thinking the other day how Hampton should definitely be a two-way street for its entire length. Giving it a good ol' Columbia streetscaping, complete with planted medians and bike lanes, would definitely help to tie Finlay Park in with the Vista south of Hampton. As a matter of fact, having Gervais streetscaped all the way to Harden would be neat too. Imagine Five Points and the CBD connecting one day with Gervais as the spine.

Streetscapings were mentioned were mentioned in connection with the garden district project in the Hampton neighborhood downtown. Hope it comes about.

City council needs to get with this organization pronto.

Yes, Krazee, that would be brilliant to have Gervais as connector! The Project for Public Spaces is an excellent resource--I hope city council knows about them as well. Two of their website's quotes are particularly appropriate for us: "Build communities around cars: get more cars" and "What attracts people the most it seems . . is other people." (Paraphrased from memory, but go to the link Krazee provides above for the correct quotes!)

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  • 3 years later...

The City of Columbia’s Forestry & Beautification Division has partnered with Columbia Green in a mass citywide tree planting initiative called the 10,000 Trees Program. Over the next 10 years, the City will plant five thousand trees with the hope of reaching a goal of ten thousand through participation and assistance from the private and nonprofit sectors. The purpose of this environmental program is to educate citizens on the benefits of having trees, and to create awareness of community beautification.

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  • 3 years later...

It has been a long time since anyone posted to this topic (2006 was the last post!) - but maybe we need to think about it again. In terms of the physical beauty of the city, here are a few things which could really change the landscape here:

 

1)   move forward with the idea of a park along the riverfront in the Innovista area

2)   close off South Main street from the Capitol to Blossom and make a pedestrian zone with nice plantings and outdoor restaurants – a gateway ot the university and to the capitol.

3)   complete the riverfront walkway to the Zoo from downtown

4)   get rid of the train tracks that criss-cross Assembly near the university-and turn that area into something exciting

5)   bury powerlines and create medians like the new ones on Assembly

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It's so funny that you suggested shutting off South Main Street because I just recommended the same for North Main in your other post. I agree on all of these. The challenge is money. The Innovista park and the path to the zoo are things that could be covered by the penny sales tax, but I don't think they are earmarked for funding. In my opinion this would be a much better investment than whatever improvements they recommend for North Main. A riverfront park would be transformative as it would lead to a spur of development, if only because so few people have river views at the moment. Burying the powerlines would be big, but that seems to be more of a business decision by SCANA. Unfortunately, the train tracks will stay for at least a few more years (this was mentioned in another post somewhere).

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I proposed closing South Main because that is not a high traffic street, and it could be a beautiful pedestrian mall for university students,  as well as an attractive place to sit and see the Capitol building, surrounded by fountains and green-space. UNC-Greensboro did something like that with a road that ran through the middle of the campus, and it looks really nice. It doesn't have the retail that South Main has, with the restaurants - but that would make this even more attractive. Like many European cities that have pedestrian malls - or like Burlington, Vermont's downtown mall. It would also make a wonderful front porch for both USC and the Statehouse.

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That's an interesting idea. South Main, north of Greene Street, is a much shorter distance that might not be as difficult to shut down. I really wish it would develop more, but there are a few impediments:

 

- The parking lots on either side of Which Wich and next to the old Nick

- The back of the College of Education building

- The nature of the businesses (almost all fast food or casual dining)

- The distance between buildings

 

South Main not a natural stroll street like North Main is. It could be one day, but it will take a lot of work to get to that point. The parcels are heavily fractured, making it more challenging for USC or a developer to aggregate property for a larger project.

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  • 3 weeks later...

One problem with shutting down South Main is the parking for State Government around the area, especially in the garage under the State House. I guess leaving Pendleton open might assist with this, but I don't see the City shutting down this (or any other streets), especially with all of the essential State Government buildings (Budget and Control Board maintenance, etc.) currently located in this area. 

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South Main will probably never be completely shut down to vehicles unless it's done with pop-up/down barricades that could disappear when emergency vehicles need to get through.  There are a lot of USC buildings down through there that can't be shut off from firetrucks, etc.

 

And there's also a need to get commercial vehicles to those businesses that are in the middle of the block between Devine and Blossom... restaurants, etc.

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Other cities with pedestrian zones deal with this easily by having delivery trucks come early in the morning, and using the pop-up/down barricades that you mention. Pendleton could be kept partly open for access to the State House. 

 

I know that I am "dreaming" here - but wouldn't it be nice to think that the "powers that be" are thinking creatively for the future. Wouldn't it be nice to have a pedestrian green zone from the Capitol building through what will be the middle of the USC campus in a few years (as the university moves more and more down towards the river). As a model - look what UNCG did with their College Avenue: http://www.uncg.edu/iss/construction.html  

 

Or Burlington, VT's Church Street.

 

 

375px-Church_Street_Marketplace_Burlingt

 

375px-Church_Street_Marketplace_Burlingt

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Knoxville is actually a great model for Columbia, even though it's a lot smaller. The Strip resembles 5 Points, Market Square is similar to the Vista, Gay Street feels like Main Street, the city sits on a hill, there's a great river, the college is in the middle of the city, etc. Columbia was smart to preserve the facades of its most beautiful buildings. In time, they should all be refurbished to give the area a lot of character. I think shutting down South Main may be too difficult politically at the moment, however with added density (i.e. new retail in the surface lots with apartments above), it may be an easier sell. I have not seen any USC plans to lead a redevelopment effort for South Main, but I imagine they have something in mind.

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  • 5 months later...

The City has introduced some initial ideas about how to redevelop Finlay Park. 

 

 

Among the proposals in the first draft design concept for the park are these:

•  Installing the “Busted Plug” sculpture and water feature near the Taylor Street park entrance, across the street from the Lincoln Street tunnel.

•  Constructing a three-story building that could be used as a restaurant, community center, restrooms and storage.

•  Constructing a bridge across the pond to improve connectivity of the park.

•  Rebuilding the fountain and waterfall cascades. 

 

I still think the Post Office is the biggest impediment to making the park more accessible. Assembly is the main thoroughfare in Columbia and it's hard to even see the park beyond the hulking building. SC-12 is also too big to make the land across the street very attractive for development. 

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The City has introduced some initial ideas about how to redevelop Finlay Park. 

 

 

I still think the Post Office is the biggest impediment to making the park more accessible. Assembly is the main thoroughfare in Columbia and it's hard to even see the park beyond the hulking building. SC-12 is also too big to make the land across the street very attractive for development. 

 

Completely agree. It's a shame that the city's signature urban park doesn't have much visibility along its busiest corridor.

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