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A Grand Boulevard for Columbia: Assembly Street Improvements

waccamatt

By waccamatt
in Columbia

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carolinagarnet Hamlet

carolinagarnet

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Agree to disagree. At any rate, I hope the street improvement project prompts a conversation about the redevelopment of Main Street and the eastern side of Assembly Street. The number of surface lots in the area is absurd given the proximity to the State House and USC's campus. I'm not sure if the answer is consolidating plots or the city revising parking requirements, but the six block area bordered by Greene, Pendleton, Sumter, and Assembly should be a lot denser than it is.

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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The key is to narrow the road and widen the sidewalks. In order for a city to develop retail and have a more people-focused environment, you need people to feel comfortable walking... and more importantly pedestrians need to feel comfortable crossing even the widest streets. It's done in larger cities all across America, so why not here?

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waccamatt Town

waccamatt

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The key is to narrow the road and widen the sidewalks. In order for a city to develop retail and have a more people-focused environment, you need people to feel comfortable walking... and more importantly pedestrians need to feel comfortable crossing even the widest streets. It's done in larger cities all across America, so why not here?

I totally agree - my plan would be to double the width of the sidewalks to allow for al fresco dining, take out the median parking and one traffic lane. The result would still have a four land thoroughfare with a linear park in the middle that would be the width of the current median plus the parking. There could be fountains, benches and monuments all the way from Elmwood to Blossom.

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  • 3 weeks later...
krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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I like:

 

 

5b5f102a31a4d991b80c97e9268a7806_L.jpg

 

The article says the medians will be similar to those on Blossom and Sumter, with black wrought-iron fences and landscaping: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Blossom+Street,+Columbia,+SC&ll=33.994125,-81.026528&spn=0.000794,0.001206&hnear=Blossom+St,+Columbia,+South+Carolina&gl=us&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=33.994125,-81.026528&panoid=BR9pE1kKm-nYh_bMh7KFKw&cbp=12,10.68,,0,-1.1

 

They look OK, but I hope they look a little better than those. I'd rather it more resemble Marietta Street in downtown Atlanta which runs between Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center (with the planters along the sidewalk):

 

6920235304_75efa4d67c_z.jpg

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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I like:

 

 

5b5f102a31a4d991b80c97e9268a7806_L.jpg

 

The article says the medians will be similar to those on Blossom and Sumter, with black wrought-iron fences and landscaping: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Blossom+Street,+Columbia,+SC&ll=33.994125,-81.026528&spn=0.000794,0.001206&hnear=Blossom+St,+Columbia,+South+Carolina&gl=us&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=33.994125,-81.026528&panoid=BR9pE1kKm-nYh_bMh7KFKw&cbp=12,10.68,,0,-1.1

 

They look OK, but I hope they look a little better than those. I'd rather it more resemble Marietta Street in downtown Atlanta which runs between Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center (with the planters along the sidewalk):

 

6920235304_75efa4d67c_z.jpg

 

So, are they not getting rid of any travel lanes, only parking? I don't understand this.

 

I've never experienced extreme traffic on Assembly (except on a gameday, which happens 7 times per year), including rush hour. What is the purpose of the expansive grid, if they're too afraid to displace cars and allow them to use the generous connectivity? I think the leaders need to be bold in their ideas and execution and FIND A WAY to make it happen. Don't tell me there's too much red tape and regulations. If they want it bad enough, there IS a way to get it done.

 

Does anyone have a link to what they believe to be their vision statement?

 

BTW, I like the Atlanta picture.

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CorgiMatt Town

CorgiMatt

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So, are they not getting rid of any travel lanes, only parking? I don't understand this.

 

I've never experienced extreme traffic on Assembly (except on a gameday, which happens 7 times per year), including rush hour. What is the purpose of the expansive grid, if they're too afraid to displace cars and allow them to use the generous connectivity? I think the leaders need to be bold in their ideas and execution and FIND A WAY to make it happen. Don't tell me there's too much red tape and regulations. If they want it bad enough, there IS a way to get it done.

 

Does anyone have a link to what they believe to be their vision statement?

 

BTW, I like the Atlanta picture.

The medians will be wide enough and the crosswalks defined enough that they don't need to take away any traffic lanes.  An article in The State today still doesn't say the power lines will be buried.

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lucjanrc Whistle-Stop

lucjanrc

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So, are they not getting rid of any travel lanes, only parking? I don't understand this.

I've never experienced extreme traffic on Assembly (except on a gameday, which happens 7 times per year), including rush hour. What is the purpose of the expansive grid, if they're too afraid to displace cars and allow them to use the generous connectivity? I think the leaders need to be bold in their ideas and execution and FIND A WAY to make it happen. Don't tell me there's too much red tape and regulations. If they want it bad enough, there IS a way to get it done.

Does anyone have a link to what they believe to be their vision statement?

BTW, I like the Atlanta picture.

post-26964-0-51375500-1364502622_thumb.j

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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So, are they not getting rid of any travel lanes, only parking? I don't understand this.

I've never experienced extreme traffic on Assembly (except on a gameday, which happens 7 times per year), including rush hour. What is the purpose of the expansive grid, if they're too afraid to displace cars and allow them to use the generous connectivity? I think the leaders need to be bold in their ideas and execution and FIND A WAY to make it happen. Don't tell me there's too much red tape and regulations. If they want it bad enough, there IS a way to get it done.

Does anyone have a link to what they believe to be their vision statement?

BTW, I like the Atlanta picture.

 

It seems to be a great median beautification project.

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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So, are they not getting rid of any travel lanes, only parking? I don't understand this.

 

I've never experienced extreme traffic on Assembly (except on a gameday, which happens 7 times per year), including rush hour. What is the purpose of the expansive grid, if they're too afraid to displace cars and allow them to use the generous connectivity? I think the leaders need to be bold in their ideas and execution and FIND A WAY to make it happen. Don't tell me there's too much red tape and regulations. If they want it bad enough, there IS a way to get it done.

 

Does anyone have a link to what they believe to be their vision statement?

 

BTW, I like the Atlanta picture.

 

Here's a summary of improvements: http://www.columbiabusinessreport.com/news/43790-change-in-the-wind-for-assembly-street?rss=0

 

The three lanes of traffic aren't really the problem for me per se, but rather the width of the lanes. Narrowing them with widened sidewalks and a landscaped median with "pedestrian refuges" would go a long way towards making the street more pedestrian-friendly IMO.

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  • 5 weeks later...
CorgiMatt Town

CorgiMatt

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It's interesting that the Pendleton-Lady stretch will have sidewalks. I suspect this is because they assume those crossing will not be students and therefore will not jaywalk in the same numbers.

I think the idea is to have a linear park in place of the median from Pendleton to Lady.

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CorgiMatt Town

CorgiMatt

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Me too! In addition to that I've made a commitment to spend money in Richland County versus neighboring counties. For instance, I would go to VAS instead of Columbiana.

Great.  I don't shop, so I don't know how much good I can do - a little I'm sure, but I plan to leave my car in the driveway a lot and walk to the corner of my block and over a block to catch the Comet.

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waccamatt Town

waccamatt

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Great.  I don't shop, so I don't know how much good I can do - a little I'm sure, but I plan to leave my car in the driveway a lot and walk to the corner of my block and over a block to catch the Comet.

Dining out, grocery shopping, clothes, etc.

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