Downtown San Jose builds new parklets in the Central Business District

Work has begun on a new
downtown parket.

This morning I had a chance to witness a new parklet being constructed on San Fernando St. in downtown San Jose in front of Azucar restaurant.  The expanded sidewalk will allow for outdoor dining just in time for Spring.

What's nice is that dinners will not be subject to car fumes and noise due to the planed bike corridor on San Fernando from Diridon Station to city hall.

Show some thanks to your elected city officials and the Department of Transportation for the improvements being made downtown, by stopping to dine downtown. Council member Sam Liccardo's district includes the downtown area.


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Video: Michael Freedman speaks on revitalizing strip commerical districts

Willow Glen Town Square, an
FTS project completed 2012

Michael Freedman’s of Freedman, Tung, and Sasaki (FTS) gave a great presentation on June 20, 2009 focused on what makes a “Grand Boulevard” and how each jurisdiction in the region (San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in the San Francisco Bay Area) can interpret the concept to fit their unique community. 

Gregory Tung spoke to the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) last year and was also involved in the Willow Glen Town Square project that has added so much to the Willow Glen community.

To download Michael Freedman's report on corridor revitalization, click: "Restructuring the Commercial Strip" (PDF, 16.3MB).

Thanks to the Grand Boulevard Initiative, SamTrans, and PenTV

Downtown San Jose becoming friendlier for cyclists

Downtown Liveable Streets Projects.

At a recent meeting in the inner lobbies of the San Jose Department of Transportation I spotted this map (photo on right) on the wall. The title of the map was "Downtown Liveable Streets Project".

At that moment it occurred to me that many times we (cycling advocates) get news piecemealed regarding individual projects that we forget to see the overall trends focusing instead on what one piece of the pie means to us. At that moment I realized just how the downtown area has changed and been made better for all of us with these improvements.

I rendered the projects on a Google Map below including the recently approved Hedding Street Project seen at the north end of the map. If you include the current paving project of the Guadalupe River Trail to Alviso along with the coming Bikeshare and Bike corrals, we are really starting to see all our hard work pay off resulting in a true change for the better.

They've Designed it, Approved it, Built it now its our turn to Use it!

Show your support to the City of San Jose for all of the wonderful improvements to the downtown area by getting out and using them.There is nothing worse to an elected official than supporting bike infrastructure from a noisy constituency; and then not seeing it used as promised.

So, if you can, write or call your elected official (see district map), and be sure to thank them. Even more dramatic, hand make (and hand-write) a thank you note and deliver it by bike. I have but together a list of the current city council with links to more pages for each district/councilmember.

Personalize your thank you by picking one of the projects you use the most and tell your elected officials how it makes your ride easier, safer, or faster. Stay positive, stay focused on the issue at hand, and end with a thank you to the elected official and their staff.

Once the see how many cyclists there are, how pleasant we are, and how appreciative we can be, they'll definitely want to work with us in the future.

Contact information for Council Offices.

Map of the Downtown Liveable Streets Project

View Downtown Liveable Streets Project in a larger map

April Economides returns to the Silicon Valley to talk about Bike Friendly Business Districts

April Economides of
Green Octopus Consulting
photo:womenonbikessocal.org

Last week Thursday, April Economides of Green Octopus Consulting returned to the Silicon Valley to speak to a packed house (the house being the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce) of about 50 attendees. I last saw April at the Grand Opening of 359 State Street, a new cycling lifestyle shop in Los Altos.

For the last two years April has been bringing the concept of bike friendly business districts to the four districts of Long Beach California. Working with Bike Long Beach, the districts draw cyclists to the area with events, promotions, ample bike parking, along with valet bike parking for some events.

BikeLongBeach.org
Twitter

Since cyclists who are either car-free or car-lite tend to have more disposable income $6,000 to $9,000 per car depending on the car, the districts have been focusing on attracting those customers locally. Attracting those customers would bring an intensity and vitality that is lacking from many cities traditional business districts.

What's amazing about the City of Long Beach however isn't just the Bicycle Friendly Business District promotion but the way the city not only has embraced cycling as a practical, alternative form of transportation but the way in which it promotes and delivers information related to cycling in the city.

To a cyclist (or transit user, or pedestrian) new to a city it is difficult to find information on cycling in one place, delivered in a straight forwards style. Try this: type in _________ Department of Transportation filling in the blank with you city name. Go to their "Transportation" page, usually a public works or traffic page. Look carefully and see how prominently a cycling subheading is displayed if, at all. Here are some examples

San Jose
Long Beach
New York
Portland
Santa Barbara
Denver

As you can see most city webpages contain little if any information. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advocacy groups are of little help as well, and really are not set up to provide a quality user experience while in the city. Tourism agencies or councils are geared towards traditional sightseeing as well. In the case of San Jose, there is no tourism organization, the bicycle coalition focuses mainly on advocacy, and the city transportation page focuses mainly on their wonderful safety program for school age children.

One city does stand out (and I'll write about this later) and that is Santa Barbara, with their Car-Free Santa Barbara program, one of the only programs that I am aware of.

BikeLongBeach.org

Although there is a very vague connection between the city of Long Beach's official web page and BikeLongBeach.org, the city has done an amazing job of making cycling information accessible to tourists and residents alike, as well as to experienced cyclists and novice cyclists. If anyone knows of any other webpage as in-depth as this one please contact me.

The website is broken down into basic bicycling categories such as Biking 101 which includes topics such as bike laws, bike security and safety, commuting, riding at night, and many other topics but also as an area devoted to bicycle planning which covers the more wonky, policy related topics. There is also a blog to keep readers up to date on rides, tours, and events. The get involved section has topics on bicycling community, volunteer opportunities, and bicycle friendly workplaces.

Many cities could benefit from a close collaboration with the city transportation staff, the city's economic development departments, business and business districts, transit and train lines, cycling and other alternative transportation groups to provide information on cycling in the city to help answer questions on bicycle parking, bike routes, bicycle promotions, as well as travel packages.

I'm sure cyclists would be excited to have special deals at hotels if they arrived by bike or if events will have valet parking, or if their favorite restaurant is offering a cyclists special. Long Beach has been at the forefront on promoting local business to cyclists. Let's just hope this is the start to many more city initiatives.

Thanks again for stopping by April.

Conversation with an engineer, a road engineer.

This video is from my good friends over at Strong Towns who we might be seeing this fall in the San Jose area. If you ever wondered how suburbs have evolved and how streets have turn into arterial conjestion pits, this funny little animation says it all.

The story background is that it is a conversation between a city's DOT (Department of Transporation) and a local resident, a mother who's children are accustomed to playing in the street with very low traffic. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.

Roy's Station, a cornerstone in Japantown

Frank Rast and his family host the
community to Roy's Station,
a well-loved neighborhood coffee shop.

Just about every morning Frank Rast can be seen sweeping up the sidewalks and gutters around Roy's Station, a pre-World War II area gas station converted into a neighborhood coffee shop. "Around Roy's" is somewhat of an understatement. On many mornings Frank can be see a block away making sure the sidewalks are clean, the gutters clear, and the street side flower pots watered and trimmed.

Most mornings Frank puts in about four, yes four hours, cleaning up the area around his shop and around the neighborhood. While the Willow Glen Business Improvement District has its hired street crew, some merchants will sweep just outside their doorway, but nowhere in San Jose have I seen the commitment that Frank puts into his business and the surrounding area. And it shows.

If there was a prize for the cleanest,
most walkable streets in the city,
this block would be your winner.

Just about everyone I've talked to (and I talk to a lot of people on a daily basis), love, absolutely love Roy's. They all tell me that they do notice the little things that make it a pleasure to walk, yes I said walk in San Jose's Japantown.

That and the wonderful art inspired by Issei (first generation) and nissei (second generation) experiences in the Valley concerning agriculture, wartime internment, and post war re-settlement. The art and special care that Frank brings to the neighborhood makes Japantown stand out among other local business districts.

So make a special effort to stop by and say hi and thank you to Frank any morning. Let him know what an impact he has on Japantown. But don't linger too long, he's got a lot of work to do.

Obon Festival

So stop by this weekend, July 14 and 15, for Japantown's annual Obon festival (hosted by San Jose Betsuin). Also, the dedication of the Japantown Mural Project will be held in conjunction with the 2012 Obon festival on July 14.

The Mural Dedication is at 3:45 pm at the corner of Jackson St. and N. 7th St. There will be a short program, followed by a walking tour (yeah!, San Jose has a walking tour) of the entire mural project with lead artist/designer Tamiko Rast and some of the project artists. The event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

From Blight to Bright - A Cycle Centered Community Cleanup morning in Willow Glen

Willow Glen Neighborhood Association to launch “from Blight to Bright”; a series of community led beautification projects

Community Cleanup to encourage local residents to walk to “The Avenue”

Photo:BikePortland.org

The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association is hosting the first in a series of community cleanup days this summer on June 9, at 9:30 am until 12:30 pm. This event seeks to highlight the importance of the growing residential communities to the north, along with the increased need for safe and clean areas to walk and bike. From Blight to Bright will include residents from the Elements Apartment Community along with participants in San Jose’s monthly Bike Party rides; helping to move tools and debris by bike.

“With budget cuts severely limiting city services, we felt the Willow Glen community should help out” said Richard Zappelli, Vice President of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association and tireless community advocate. “We have received tremendous support from our members, the Elements Apartment Community, and our District 6 City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio.

The bicycling community has also responded by offering some of their ‘work” bikes to help move food, tools, and debris. As many residents and visitors of Willow Glen are aware, “The Avenue” is clean and well landscaped due to the efforts of the Willow Glen Business Association and financial support from the Willow Glen Community Benefit Improvement District.

---

When: Saturday, June 9th, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Where: A 1,900 foot section of Lincoln Ave. from Coe Ave. north to Parkmoor Ave. (see map)
Meet at: The Elements, 1201 Parkmoor Avenue, San Jose, CA, for breakfast, tools and assignments. (see map)
Transit available: Light Rail line 902 at Race Street Station, VTA Bus 65 on Parkmoor. With a 12 minute walk from Stevens Creek Blvd. to the north, routes 81 and 23, and with a 24 minute
walk from Coe Ave. to the south via VTA route 64 (see map)
Tools: We will have some tools but feel free to bring your own brooms, hoes, and gloves. See registration via link below. Also if you have a bike trailer that would be great.
To register (to get a count for food and tools): Click here

Bikes Belong announces six focus cities for their Green Lane Project

Bikes Belong announced the selection of six focus cities to participate in their Green Lane Project. These six cities were choosen out of a pool of 42 applicants. The cities are:

• Austin, Texas
• Chicago, Illinois
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco, California
• Washington, D.C.

Bikes Belong a nationwide organization based in Boulder, Colorado that has the goal of putting more people on bicycles. The organization is sponsored by the U.S. bicycle industry. Their members total nearly 400 and include bicycle suppliers and retailers whose goal is to combine their resources to improve bicycling in America.

In a statement released yesterday, Martha Roskowski, Green Lane Project Director stated  “We are delighted to be working with these forward-thinking cities. They are a range of sizes, spread across the country, and at various stages in terms of developing networks for bicycles. What they share is a strong commitment to rethinking how city streets are used and making room for bicycles.”

During the next two months, the Green Lane Project will work with elected officials, staff, and community groups in each city to finalize details, solidify the vision, and identify the unique story each city can tell. Details will be released at a national kickoff in late May in Chicago. The Green Lane website, greenlaneproject.org, will act as a hub where all U.S. cities working to install these types of facilities can share and learn from each other.

The Green Lane Project campaign incorporates the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, models from European cities, and the growing body of U.S. experience in applying innovative approaches.

The campaign will set clear and achievable goals which include the following:

• Track and publicize the installation of new facilities
• Understand their impact
• Identify and address obstacles to implementation 
• Expand the knowledge base through research and best practices

For more information see the video below or go to the Green Lane Project site.

VTA to hold a bicycle guidelines workshop

The Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority is hosting a workshop covering updating Bicycle Technical Guidelines (BTG) with newer infrastructure topics. The Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, April, 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The workshop will be located in the Auditorium at VTA offices; 3331 North First St., San Jose. See Map Below.

The VTA's BTG is well known in the area as being an excellent resource on bike infrastructure that many cities outside of the area refer to this excellent resource.

The (BTG) was first adopted by VTA in 1999.  In December 2007, VTA re-adopted the revised and updated version of the BTG.  The BTG manual is a set of optimum standards and best practices for roadway and bikeway design.  Typical issues covered are topics such as Sharrows, Traffic Signal Detection, and Bike Boulevards.

Topics currently under consideration are:

• Roundabouts and bike lanes
• Bollards or rather alternatives to bollards
• Woonerfs (shared bike/ped spaces), both residential and commercial and parklets
• Bike corrals
• Rural options for bike paths and shoulders
• Bulb-outs and bikes
• BRT and bike Lanes
• Contraflow bike lanes
• Cycle tracks
• Green bike lanes
• Freeway four-leaf clover interchanges

Sorry for the close up shot but the VTA auditorium is located in the middle of this embedded photo.

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Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to host its second annual Bike Summit

All right all you up and coming bike advocates. Or even you veterans out there. Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is holding its second annual Bike Summit in Palo Alto next month. It's definitely worth it just to hear from Aaron Naparstek, founding editor and creator of the hugely successful Streetsblog.

The second annual Silicon Valley Bike Advocacy Summit will be held on April 17, from 2:00 to 8:00 pm, at the Koresh Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto. Stanford Hospital and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition will co-host this event. Professionals, advocates, politicians, public agency employees, industry representatives, public health officials, and interested community members are invited and will come together to participate in a community event focused on promoting the bicycle and smart planning for health, environmental security, and enhanced communities.

The Summit will serve as a catalyst to improving relations between advocates and government, increase the involvement of business in the advocacy world, and inspire attendees to become even more involved in fostering healthy communities.

Registration is $20 at http://svbikesummit2012.eventbrite.com/. Those for whom the cost of admission is prohibitive may apply for a scholarship by emailing colin@bikesiliconvalley.org.

Aaron Naparstek, founder
Streetsblog.org
photo: Streetsblog.org

Besides Aaron, there will be some other well known local, regional and national names on the agenda (ok, known to at least us wonky types), such as Dave Synder, Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coaliton, Jeffrey Miller, Executive Director, Alliance for Biking and Walking, Randy Neufeld, Director, SRAM Cycling Fund, Graham Brownstein, State Policy Director, TransForm, and Robert Ping, Technical Assistance Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

So click on the link above and register today. Your inner advocate will thank you.

For more information.

Is There any There There?

Grand Central Terminal
New York City

Play this game for me. Ask your friend to name a city and then say what first pops into your mind visually. If the city is Seattle; is it the Space Needle, evergreen trees or Pikes Place Market? If its New York is it one of the many place icons within the five boroughs ; the Statue of Liberty, the Chysler Building, or Grand Central Terminal?
One of the easiest and most lasting ways we remember cities is their iconic buildings, structures, artwork, topography, or natural features. Name a city and we instantly recall these images. When we talk about placemaking today, these images play a huge role in a city's identity. City's work hard to keep those images in your mind to get you to keep coming back, to locate a business, or to buy a home.

Featauared in Women's Health
In a recent issue of Women's Health (January/February 2012), the magazine featured an article "The Healthiest Cities for Women", highlighting the top ten as well as the bottom ten of their list of the 100 largest cities in America. The article also described just what makes them the healthiest.

Women's Health Magazine
January / February 2012
from my iPhone

The first page is a stunning visual of 3 of the top cities; Austin, Texas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and my current city, San Jose, California. The photo of Minneapolis soon caught my eye. I had seen pictures of this Midwestern skyline, and the iconic Stone Arch Bridge built over 100 years ago in 1883. The bottom picture shows part of the beautiful Lady Bird Lake Trail in Austin, Texas.

However, as I glanced at the top photo, showing two young women taken at close range, I hesitated. This photo looked different. The visual of the two runners with big smiles on their faces almost seemed posed. The background was blurred and referenced no visual clues. It almost; shall I say look staged.

But then I got to thinking. What would the photo show anyway? Do we have a vista point in the city to show off a skyline. Do we have a trail system that rivals Austin's Lady Bird Lake Trail, or New York's High Line. Well we don't, and that's a sad thing.

When a national magazine can insert some generic photograph using staged models to represent your city, that's the collective collective American databank telling you that there may be nothing memorable about your city. That it falls into the many generic backdrops of similar post-World War Two "drive-bys" such as Phoenix, Dallas, Anaheim, and sadly in many cases San Jose.

Cities are defined by their ability to evoke a sense of place. No generic photo would ever take the place of a Manhattan skyline, a Diamond Head, or the US Capitol. The miles upon miles of beautiful orchards which used to evoke the phrase "The Valley of Hearts Delight" are gone. What image will now take their place.

City of San Jose to host public meetings on bikeway improvements

Photo: StreetsblogSF

The City of San Jose's Department of Transportation will be holding two neighborhood meetings highlighting exciting changes to downtown streets. Come get the latest and most detailed information and provide input to these long awaited projects.

Please also pass this information along to your bicycling friends as well. (Check map links for detail room locations at City Hall)

10th &11th Street Bike Lane Improvement Project
Neighborhood Meeting

Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM
Location:  City Hall Wing, Room W-119 & 120, 200 E. Santa Clara Street
Description: Class II Bike Lanes on 10th & 11th Streets (between Hedding and Keyes Streets)

Agenda:
  1. Sign In
  2. Project Overview Review 
  3. Project Update and Schedule                    
  4. Question and Answer Portion                        
  5. Adjournment


3rd  Street, 4th Street & Almaden Blvd Bike Lane Improvement Project
Neighborhood Meeting

Date: Monday, February 27, 2012
Time: 6.30 PM
Location: City Hall Wing, Room W-119 & 120, 200 E. Santa Clara Street
Description:  Class II Bike Lanes on 3rd & 4th Streets (between Julian/St. James and Reed Street)
                    Class II Bike Lanes on Almaden Boulevard (between St. John and Grant Street)

Agenda:                
  1. Sign In            
  2. Project Overview Review
  3. Project Update and Schedule 
  4. Question and Answer Portion   
  5. Adjournment

Happy New Year

High Line Park
Photo: High Line Park

Happy New Year

I hope everyone was able to take some time off at the end of the year and reflect on the inspirations and challenges that we experienced over the last 12 months. Hopefully you were also able to sit and figure out new goals and challenges for the new year.

I've spent some time thinking about how to make this blog both interesting and relevant to those who desire to see positive changes in their communities. Living in the Silicon Valley area of the San Francisco Bay, I have come to expect dynamic changes in certain areas especially the technology sector; but in other areas, well change and innovation is a bit disappointing. In a land blessed with ideal weather, great soil and beautiful mountains and shores we still spend much of our time indoors, inactive, eating overly processed foods that are grown more than a time zone away. It's sad to see that outdoor dining is more common in Quebec, Canada (where it is 0 degrees Fahrenheit right now), or that an outdoor activity such as cycling is more popular in places like Copenhagen and Portland than in the Santa Clara Valley.

Outdoor dinning in Montreal

I plan to continue to discuss and write about key transportation, land use, and urban and livability issues. The need for effective and dynamic leadership in this area is crucial if we expect to continue to attract talented and creative workers to the area. In 2011, I was amazed at the positive changes taking place in other parts of the country. In a recent "Dream City" series Salon writer Will Doig  highlighted 12 bold and imaginative projects in the works right now across the country (The Bold Urban Future Starts Now). From the Millennium Reserve Initiative in Chicago to the taking back of the Los Angles River down south the author highlights imaginative steps taken in these financially tough times.

Instead of running from our urban, transportation, energy , and livability issues, Americans are beginning to confront and embrace these issues head on. New residents are migrating to abandon inner cities which have been neglected for over 40 years and remaking them to reflect new values such as community, sustainability, local production and agriculture, and especially exercising new powers in local leadership.

Much of this is due to the localizing effects of new and mobile technology. Some of it is due to a new generation that eschews the suburbs, shuns auto ownership and seeks to connect to others not just online but in their neighborhoods as well. With ubiquitous Wi/Fi, who wants to drive one hour to work isolated and unproductive. That time could be spent with someone else doing the driving, freeing up time to catch up on reading, work, or just to talking with a fellow passenger.

Of course I plan to cover local issues as well, such as regional transportation plans, policies, and financing (Wonky), BART to San Jose, Caltrain, highway and road funding, and of course bike culture such as San Jose Bike Party. In addition I plan to cover issues of a national concern such as:

• Bike Sharing
• The drop in auto usage and ownership.
• The shift to local retail.
• The resurgence of intercity bus travel
• The New Urbanism - New ways of living, working, playing and raising families in America's new urban frontier.
• The challenge of infrastructure funding
• New ideas in livability.

So feel free to contact me to add any additional ideas. These are exciting times.

Blast from the Past - Thinking of the Current Transportation System as a Health and Safety Issue

This was originally posted on my sister blog - One Less Car in the Silcon Valley. I am reposting here due to the recent increase in pedestrian and cyclists casualties. I hope to have more updates and comments later. Notice the links to fatal Silicon Valley accidents at the bottom of the post. I used to geo-track these statistics to get a sense the most dangerous Silicon Valley roadways.

All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

You've got to say, 
"I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!" 


Three vehicular events in the Silicon Valley area this weekend highlight the fact that we are all subject to property damage, trauma, critical injury and even death from vehicles.  With this weekends death of a solo driver in Los Altos, a hit and run pedestrian accident in downtown San Jose, and a hit and run accident involving two cyclists, we need to stop and seriously consider the pain and suffering these events cause.

I am acquainted with Ashley (Ashleigh), through work and we share several mutual friends.  Ashley was riding with her boyfriend  this weekend when she was struck by a car that drove into the bike lane.  As I have written before, death and injury has visited family members, a favored author (David Hallberstam's tragic death near the Dumbarton Bridge), three high school friends, a college friend, and bike riding buddies.  Many years ago, while riding my bike, I witnessed a accident victim's final seconds as the blood from his head flowed onto the asphalt, on that early spring morning.  I was stunned and helpless.  Unable to move the truck that had just slammed his head to the ground and was now pinning his body to the roadway, all  I remember was the color of  his face, and how it seemed to change color the more his blood drained from his motionless head.

Several years after witnessing speeding and erratic behavior by a driver on a southbound San Diego Freeway, I came upon the prostrate body of the driver in the middle lane; motionless as we drove by, suddenly making the connection that the driver had met his end in his own horrific way.

With almost two years of a car free lifestyle under my belt, people often ask me; "isn't bike riding dangerous?  I'm to afraid to ride my bike.  I think I'll just go to a spin class instead."  First, bikes can be dangerous, but not many people fail to consider the large number of car accidents every year; whether classified as solo vehicular accidents, alcohol related accidents, accidents due to youth and inexperience, or just sheer and utter stupidity.  We seem to just accept, "as if that's the way it's supposed to be.   

"We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." 

Ask anyone who rides or walks and they will tell you horror stories of the streets.  Freeing yourself from the cocoon of your car you notice more.  In the two years since my own accident, I have witnessed four accidents involving a car running a red light ( myself  a victem as well).  Of those four, I was the first responder on three of them.  One involved a person trying to flee the scene.  Six victims required medical attention.

 In the two years since giving up my car in favor of a lifestyle involving cycling, walking and public transportation as a means of mobility, I have kept tract of most of the accidents involving cars, whether solo, with other cars, with bicycles, or pedestrians.  Also motorcycle accidents; which seem almost to be predictable in rider age and accident location are document.

We strikes me and also troubles me the most however is the continued increase in hit and run accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.  I have read somewhere that it may approach 50%.  That would be one out of two accidents involve a vehicle leaving the scene; an absolute disgrace on any measure of moral, ethic, or civic responsibility.

Anyway here are three Google Maps so far that I have put together.
(Blue - Vehicle, Red - Pedestrian, Yellow - Motorcycle, Green - Cyclists) Dot in the marker represents a fatality.

2007

2008

2009

Adobe Systems Towers - Are they a good fit for downtown San Jose?

Sitting along the banks of the Guadalupe River, near the confluence of the Guadalupe and Los Gatos Creek the Adobe Systems towers create a stunning backdrop to a rather innocuous downtown San Jose. Comprising nearly the whole city block (save a required park and the Pacific Gas and electric Building), the buildings add an enormous amount of office space to the downtown market. But how do these buildings (and the infrastructure that surrounds the buildings such as the park, roadway, etc) reflect well on San Jose and are they good for the city? Do they add value to the downtown community?


Although the company has done very well in establishing their bona fiddes with regards to all things green, a closer look reveals otherwise. At the main entrance (if there really is a main entrance), the company proudly displays both the Energy Star plaque as well as their "Bay Area Green Business" certification. It certainly is entertaining to watch the windmills spinning in the afternoon breeze, but does this development add value to the downtown area?

The claim is that 20% of employees use public transportation, but unless this is all Caltrain riders, the number seems suspect. Not only is there not a bus stop located in the front of the building on Park Ave., but it is highly doubtfull that Adobe employees "ride the bus". See some simple calculations to figure out parking and employee mode share.



First of all in evaluating the surrounding area, the intersection of Almaden Blvd. and Park Ave. what one notices right away is the suburban office park feel to the site; a wide boulevard, high speed corners, vacant buildings and civic and park structures that draw minimal use to the area. Almaden Boulevard and Park Avenue are both 105 feet wide on the building's south and east sides slightly less than some city blocks in New York, San Diego, or Portland. High speed corners on with radii of 80 feet are seen more in suburban office parks than on downtown streets. This creates a need to put pedestrians on islands where they must push a button to signal their intent to cross. The crosswalk at the northern part of the intersection is 165 feet long making a commitment to cross the street almost as procedural as the filing of a flight plan.


The city didn't require
street level retail,
so Adobe didn't
provide for it.


The building reflects the cities goal of requiring parking but making no provisions for on street retail giving the building a dead look at street level even during the work week. (New York City requires street level retail.) To enliven the street side look the company, similar to computer screen wallpaper, has but up geometrically inspired graphics on the windows but it only cheapens the look even more. What the city does require is substantial parking within the building, making the wide subterranean parking entrance the most notable aspect of the "front" side of the building. All in all the look is one of a modern fortress housing the colonial inhabitants to the downtown area. The only time employees seem to leave the comfortable confines is to go outside for a smoke break or within the safe encapsulation of their Volvo's, Audis, and Escalades.

Employees leave the
security of the fortress in
packs of 10.

But why would you even need to leave the fortress except to get in your car and go home. The company provides a well stocked restaurant open most hours of the day with views of the Guadalupe. With the company paying the costs of employee lunches and with downtown restaurants almost a days hike away there is little incentive to leave the fortress. The closest restaurant, Peggy Sues is over 800 feet away or about 3 or 4 New York city blocks. The new development at San Pedro Square Market with its many new restaurants is almost 4,000 feet away (about 3/4 of a mile). This is why on many occasions when I have notice employees leaving the fort, the do so in packs, groups of 8-10 or more. Its as if they were leaving the safety of the fort to go hunt for food in the American wilderness.






The garage entrance;
more noticeable than
the street entrance.

 But as I have mentioned in another post on the propensity for blank walls, gates and fences in San Jose. The Adobe Towers add to the norm with its walls and covered windows. Walk the entire perimeter of the building and you will not see one person. or evidence of only two working pedestrian entrances. As mentioned by writers such as William Whyte and Jane Jacobs this leads to only the most undesirables inhabiting the space. On any given day you will never see an Adobe employee at the park located next to the building. In their place you will see the backpacks and shopping carts of the new park residents, (as Jane Jacobs calls them) the "leisured indigent". By taking all eyes of the street and off the Guadalupe at street level only the long term "parkers" will use the city maintained park.

Bioswales for Emeryville

Emeryville has made some major investments in complete streets. On the way to the Emeryville Amtrak station this morning I caught some glimpses of bioswales, bulb-outs, and redirects.



Bioswales serve two functions; to filter stormwater runoff and as a measure of traffic calming. Bulb-outs or curb extensions narrow
the gap that pedestrians are required to cross while also calming traffic.




Lastly, redirects also prevent exessive or non-local cut-through traffic from excessive use of neighborhood streets. Typically bicycles and pedestrians are allowed access as the picture shows (Salem St. at 47th).

View Larger Map


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Shellmound St,Emeryville,United States

Cafe Culture is for Canadiens not for Californians

Sad to see this morning that the table and chairs that used to welcome customers to Peet's Coffee's only downtown San Jose location are gone. When I asked the manager he said that they won't be coming back. He mentioned that the property manager requested they be removed, "because we have to share the building." Not really sure I understand the response but it sure is another step backwards in making downtown San Jose a welcoming and comfortable city.

I find it more pleasant outdoors given that the local staff have no control of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), and the temperature is kept at bone chilling levels. In most nationwide retail chains the trend is to control the thermostat and lighting centrally to control expenses. This apparent savings however comes at a big loss to the customer.

Given that the location sits on the south side of Santa Clara Street, the spot just outside the front door was comfortably protected from the sun on summer mornings and afternoons. I wonder the if the real reason was for Peet's to keep the "undesirables" away.

-••••••••••••••
p.s. All is not lost however. I spotted the following scene out in front of Philz Coffee @ Paseo de San Antonio moments later.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:N 1st St,San Jose,United States

Willow Glen gets a new hat shop

While walking along Lincoln Ave. this afternoon I spotted a new independent hat shop in town. For a city of over one million people it's about time. Now if we could get a few more chocolate shops.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Iris Ct,San Jose,United States

Imagine - This picture was in EVERY Starbucks in America

New York Times - Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Lose the Traffic. Keep That Times Square Grit.

Every Starbucks that I have been in sells the New York Times.  This picture was in just about every state, every city in America yesterday.  Maybe other towns and cities except (Chicago, San Francisco, El Paso, Cleavland, Miami and others) said;

If New York City can do this WHY CAN'T WE?

Why can't we?  San Jose

Why can't we? Los Angeles

Why can't we? Dallas

Why can't we? San Diego

Tivo this! From KQED Friday 9:00 PM "Blueprint America: Road to the Future"

Blueprint America: Road to the Future

Friday evening at 9:00 PM on KQED and tonight at 8:00 on PBS stations across the country, a new one-hour documentary film will highlight the state of affairs for Americas highway system.

Blueprint America:
"PBS reports on the infrastructure crisis"

Road to the Future:
Film Documentary

With examples drawn from Denver, New York, and Portland, veteran CNN correspondent and anchor Miles O'Brien will visit places where local officials and residents face agonizing choices between the easy status quo and the path less taken.

Good to see Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland and Janette Sadik-Khan

30 second video preview