It’s important to rethink what streets are for. Just for cars… or any other number of things?

 

Three intentions of streets as places include:

– Slow cars down

– Prioritize space for people

– Create “sticky” streets (encourage people to stop and hang out)

 

If there are about 10 things to do in a space, then that makes it a good place for a variety of age groups.

 

Examples from the webinar:

1. Read the paper

2. Window shop

3. Learn about upcoming events

4. Go inside

5. Walk by

6. Sit and relax

7. Read someone else’s book

8. Take a break from a bike ride

9. Pet a dog

10. Have a conversation

 

Ideas to slow down traffic that encourage people to hang out include:

– Protective bike lanes

– Protective crosswalks

– Intersection repair projects,

– Amazing piece of art

– Reducing crossing distance

– Farmer’s markets

– Community gardens

– Art/murals

– Downtown art projects

 

Creating targeted questions and finding solutions are a great way to tackle issues. For example, the webinar discusses how one of the programs wanted to get more young people to visit downtown. So, someone was paid to activated a Lure (from the PokemonGo App game on phones). This is a special timed condition that a player can send out, and it is intended to benefit anyone in the vicinity for a short period of time. As a result, approximately 25 people came pouring in within minutes, all because of a game.

Another example that works with this were the free summer concerts that were being held around lunchtime. However, barely anyone attended. To address the issue, pedestrians were surveyed as to what they wanted to see in the concert area, assuming it was an environmental issue, rather than trying to fix it themselves. Surprisingly enough, after applying the suggestions that were given, people started showing up. This helped shape the future of that environment, and gave people a new idea of, “Hey, we can walk around and enjoy ourselves.”

Overall, the main goal of these projects is to create more interesting and safe street areas. With these efforts, it is important to take into account public opinion. There’s no point in making changes for the community if no one uses them. Create places where people want to be.