How much support is the complete streets initiative gaining? How do we define success? Are planners and officials considering these goals in the design and planning stages or is this still an afterthought for them? Just curious on where this really stands.
When the city announced the removal of these meters i heard a great deal from public works officials stating that the removal would greatly benefit snow removal and cut down on the cost of repairing equipment and meters that had come into contact with one another. Has there been any talk as to whether or not these racks made of the post of the old meters will have the same negative side effects as the meters themselves?
This is great! I talked to a friend who works with the Buff State sculpture department about a similar idea and spoke to one of the employees at Campus just this weekend about improving the rings used in Toronto by making the actual ring the shape of a Buffalo. But, this is as good or better. I think the area should be able to paint them if they want - all different colors on Elmwood, striped or with polka dots on Allen, etc. Any way to turn them into an attractive art piece from an ugly parking pole would be a nice touch.
TBone...of course there would be the same negative side effect...take the posts down, they are ugly...or, leave one or two up per block (how many bike "racks" do we need per block?), but PLEASE do not leave them all up!
Is the city going to or have they already installed the "Pay and Display" robots on this block?
great ideal. Less waste is good for the city and environment. Why put in bike racks when we already have poles. Maybe businesses can get variances from bike rack codes if they sponsor the conversion and maintenance of the new bike rack poles.
"public works officials" are some of the whiniest people in city hall. If it was up to them the city would be nothing but a giant paved rectangle because it would be easy to plow. Stupid parks, curbs, buildings all are in their way. I have had to deal with some of these people over the years and they are about the least creative or caring people as they come from city hall workers. they don't understand that in order to keep their jobs paid for they need a thriving happy population and business base.. In order to do that people deserve more than efficient methods of snow removal..
Also if plows are hitting parking meters aren't there larger issues. If they are hitting the curbs and continuing to hit the parking meters they probably shouldn't have their license to begin with. I don't see how these are a maintenance issue. Garbage trucks, street sweeps, Sewer connects are not close to these poles either. Excuses excuses.. thats all you get from public works.
Hell yeah!!! I think a plain old ring would be classier and better stand the test of time.
Though I appreciate the effort, the Buffalo sculpture already has a "talkin' proud"" kinda feel to it. In 6 years it will look as progressive as the current downtown bus station.
I'm really glad someone is taking initiative with this. It's time our local transportation planners stop viewing this city as strictly car-centric. Have them head up to Toronto for a day, and see the old meter posts/bike racks there.
Yeah, Allentown already had their big "A"s in a metal circle that is much better. Also, these (albeit thick) sheetmetal cutouts will not last very long in the condition displayed. The bid Allentown "A"s are REALLY REALLY thick and I think tubular. Sheet metal is going to get bent and look like crap in 1 or 2 years. They also better be a VERY GOOD grade of stainless steel otherwise 1 winter of having salt laden snow covering then for days at a time and we are going to be adding tons of rust to this rust belt city. I'm all for it, but god I hope someone knows what the hell they are doing!
Sorry Ed , but the first think that came to mind was the image of a dog pissing on the Buffalo. Imagine the scene with each new dog trying to lift their leg higher up. Eventually you'd have dogs all over pissing on buffalo, just like real life. Adding to the general confused state, would be dogs trying to determine if the Buffalo's were ready to get screwed and contemplating how to accomplish the act. Practically speaking this is a great idea, mental-physically it's interesting also.
Gee, can't wait to see all the stripped bikes left to rust chained to those old parking poles...
I do like the Allentown "A"...but the Buffalo thing looks cool too. Regardless, it will be one of those little nuances that make Allentown and Elmwood unique.
With the cost of gas going over $4 a gallon this summer, I am sure fewer and fewer people will look at alternative transportation like a bike. I already notice more people commuting to work on bikes and to ignore the trend and the market forces behind it seems shortsighted. Certainly Buffalo is not conducive to biking in the winter (although in my last job 3 people biked to work 12 months a year) but these will be utilized. Whether it is a ring, a Buffalo, or something else, let's not eliminate them.
As long as they think of the user. I have a couple items from Steel Crazy and sometimes they can be 'pointy.' No one wants poked fingers and hands using a bike lock. Just think about the user and durability of the items. As someone said it wouldn't be nice if in two years they were all staining the sidewalks orange from rust.
I have confidence that Ed knows what he is doing and will take our concerns to heart.
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