A Grand Boulevard for Columbia: Assembly Street Improvements

[BrasilnSC]

I say make it exactly like Gervais St. 6 lanes wide during rush hours, and 4 lanes with curbside parallel parking and right turning lanes otherwise. Of course the median on Assembly would be much wider, so some benches and a walking path down it would be cool. Angled parking seems like a good idea, but it is extremely dangerous, especially on a road like Assembly. People backing out of an angled space have no vision of incoming traffic, they back out in hopes that someone will see them and slow down.

Whatever is done, when it's done, I think that the metered spaces in the median should be the first to go. I would also like to see the light cycles shortened so pedestrians don't have to wait so long to cross.

[TheCarolinaKing]

That is a great idea, well kinda. i think parking on the sides only after 6pm would be good, and make it parallel parking, like that on gervais... and definately a lavishly scaped median

[mr. chips]

According to an article Friday's State newspaper, the State House grounds are running out of room for monuments and statues. Why not turn Assembly Street into a boulevard with statues of famous South Carolinians in the median? That would seem to be a logical thing to do, since Assembly Street runs right by the State House. Even if there is still a bit of room on the grounds of the capitol, it will eventually run out of space. So plan now! If the legislature would be willing to fund this, it would be a major improvement to a street which is essentially the Front Yard of Columbia and South Carolina. I remember that when Pope John Paul II visited Columbia in 1987, his entourage made a procession down Assembly Street, and there was some very negative comments in the national press about this "small Southern capital city". We can change that!

[krazeeboi]

Hey, that's not a bad idea. I saw that article, but didn't have a chance to read it? Are there any other South Carolinians in line to be memorialized?

[mr. chips]

Why not turn Assembly Street into a boulevard with statues of famous South Carolinians in the median?

Hey, that's not a bad idea. I saw that article, but didn't have a chance to read it? Are there any other South Carolinians in line to be memorialized?

Here are a few:

James Godfather Brown singer, Barnwell

Joe Frazier prize fighter, Beaufort

Dizzy Gillespie jazz trumpeter, Cheraw

DuBose Heyward poet, playwright, author, Charleston

Andrew Jackson U.S. president, Waxhaw

Francis Swamp Fox Marion general, Berkeley County

Ronald McNair astronaut, Lake City

Charles Hard Townes physicist, inventor of the Laser, Greenville

not to mention, Vanna White TV personality, North Myrtle Beach

Any others?

[Spartan]

I agree with that. Assembly could easily be the Pennsylvania Ave of SC. Its certainly wide enough.

The problem is that while we may think of statues on pedestals and such, the monuments these days tend to be low, flat, and large... the African-American Monument on the eastside of the capitol, for example.

Also, Stephen Colbert needs a statue. Or we could get his portrait from that guy in Charleston and put it in the state house....

[mr. chips]

I agree with that. Assembly could easily be the Pennsylvania Ave of SC. Its certainly wide enough.

Or like Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA. Who are some other famous South Carolinians that could be honored?

[GvilleSC]

Or like Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA. Who are some other famous South Carolinians that could be honored?

Jesse Jackson

Chubby Checkers (that's his name isn't it?)

Peg Leg Bates

[Spartan]

I think Strom Thurmond should be honored in some way.

[waccamatt]

I think Strom Thurmond should be honored in some way.

I hope you were kidding, Spartan. Isn't enough stuff named for him already? He also has a statue on the State House grounds.

[Spartan]

I hope you were kidding, Spartan. Isn't enough stuff named for him already? He also has a statue on the State House grounds.

Haha, of course He is probably the MOST honored person in SC except maybe John C Calhoun.

[waccamatt]

Haha, of course He is probably the MOST honored person in SC except maybe John C Calhoun.

I think if you look up the term "pork barrel" in the dictionary, it will have ol' Strom's picture next to it.

[Spartan]

^ I think you mean Jim Clyburn or Glen McConnell

[waccamatt]

^ I think you mean Jim Clyburn or Glen McConnell

D) All of the above

[Captain Worley]

Maybe they'll divert the money from Clyburn's bridge to Columbia improvements!

I can always dream...

[digital_sandlapper]

This thread already had some great ideas for making Assembly a grand boulevard, and this suggestion of putting monuments within the median is a brilliant addition!

They should be privately funded, and only after some authority grants approval for appropriateness, size, etc., don

[Spartan]

Yeah I was. People should be honored if they deserve it, but not just for being famous. That's what Hollywood, CA is for.

[mr. chips]

This thread already had some great ideas for making Assembly a grand boulevard, and this suggestion of putting monuments within the median is a brilliant addition!... Determining who should be immortalized would be difficult... Vanna White honored with a monument along Assembly? Please tell me you were joking!

Yes, of course I was joking. But I do think that this would be an appropriate way to honor SC scientists, writers, musicians, etc in South Carolina's "front entry hall" along Assembly Street in the capital city. Then, next time a Pope or a President comes to visit and his motorcade drives down Assembly Street, the media will focus on the things SC can be proud of.

[krazeeboi]

I was thinking about this recently. It seems most of the east side of Assembly from Elmwood to Gervais simply serves as the "backside" of Main, mostly being fronted with parking; I think the Carolina First building in particular is a big disappointment here, as it could have been built right up to the street. Any plans for Assembly should also seek to rectify this. It's too major a street to have half of it serve a backside function.

[digital_sandlapper]

I was thinking about this recently. It seems most of the east side of Assembly from Elmwood to Gervais simply serves as the "backside" of Main, most being fronted with parking; I think the Carolina First building in particular is a big disappointment here, as it could have been built right up to the street. Any plans for Assembly should also seek to rectify this. It's too major a street to have half of it serve a backside function.

Hmm, I've never thought about that, but you're right. I agree that it needs to be "fixed" somehow, or at least not happen any more.

[Spartan]

Good point. There are some stores, but the length of the whole road could be better, and I'd think that places would do well there, given the volume of traffic that passes by there eachday.

[krazeeboi]

Some of those spots have enough space for a tower, like the 1400 block. Depending on how tall one might be, it could "disturb" the layering west-to-east effect of the skyline. I think some mid-rises could work well along Assembly in certain spots.

[krazeeboi]

I was looking at the following pictures and thought about this thread. These shots are from Chicago (the first) and NYC (the rest), and while Columbia is certainly nothing close to either one of those cities, streets are streets, right?

Imagine if just Elmwood and Assembly looked like that for the entire stretch downtown!

Also, some of the sidewalk scenes from those cities cause me to think if Columbia should put a greater emphasis on flowers on the newly streetscaped sidewalks, particularly along Main. I do like how Lincoln has incorporated flowers into the streetscape, and Main should adopt the same general concept to a greater degree.

[Spartan]

The first and the third look like they could be Columbia.. sort of. Columbia has streets that coudl easily handle wide planted medians (eg: Senate).

[krazeeboi]

Here are a few others I found from Chicago:

I believe all of this came about because Mayor Daley put a priority on it sometime earlier in his term.