The First Proposed Attempt to Tame Lafayette Square’s Sprawl
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian on Jul 25th, 2017 | 11 comments
Lafayette Square has long piqued my interest for its variety of international restaurants. However, it is not the most visually attractive of landscapes, and is dominated by single-use commercial buildings and parking lots. There is an interesting rezoning request that aims to alter the dynamic, a few parcels at a time. The case starts on page 12 of the linked document.
First, a look at the property as it currently exists. A typical old suburban land use pattern. But, it has one interesting feature: Little Eagle Creek along the eastern portion of it:
The land use plan in the document is obviously a...
King Park’s Cool Idea: Using The Monon Trail as a Public Street
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian on Jul 17th, 2017 | 26 comments
In the latest release of the DMD’s Hearing Examiner’s report, an interesting rezoning case was listed on page 76. King Park Development wants this strip of land between 21st and 20th Street on the Monon Trail to be rezoned from I-3 (Industrial) to D-8 (traditional urban single family housing):
Given that this strip is actually not fronted by a public street, but is instead placed between an alley an the Monon Trail, any housing development here would have to be a little creative. The rezoning case provides such an option, where 16 houses would use the Monon Trail as the public street, and...
Delaware and Fall Creek Redesign Project Opens Public Space
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian on Jul 6th, 2017 | 13 comments
Seven years ago, I posted a short article on an opportunity for a better intersection at Delaware and Fall Creek. A few years later, plans were released for a redesign, which basically brought back the original street grid of the neighborhood. Thankfully this project is now completed, and the 2 swooping curved drives have been eliminated. Here’s how the streets looked in 2010. Note the lack of sidewalks and crosswalks across Fall Creek Boulevard:
And here’s how it looked earlier this year, while it was still under construction:
Basically the intersection is now simplified. Instead of 3-4...
