From the New York Times:
A Glorified Sidewalk, and the Path to Transform Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Could this traffic-clogged Southern city, long derided as the epitome of suburban sprawl, really be discovering its walkable, bike-friendly, density-embracing, streetcar-riding, human-scale soul?
The answer is evident in the outpouring of affection that residents here have showered on the Atlanta BeltLine, which aims to convert 22 miles of mostly disused railway beds circling the city’s urban core into a biking and pedestrian loop, a new streetcar line, and a staggeringly ambitious engine of urban revitalization.
A man crossed an overpass above the undeveloped south side of Atlanta’s BeltLine. Only a fraction of the project has been completed so far.
I see concrete. Clearly someone has not gotten the memo.
A paved concrete path through a wooded trail can’t be a Greenway? Oh, brother. No wonder there’s so much dismissal in this endless circular “debate”. Pedantry.
Perhaps the most radical approach to this is to look again at these corridors and ask some questions beyond “How can we make this go away?”
Many of these rail corridors served a viable purpose in the past, and could do so again. They were “killed” because the public became convinced that they would rather have cars. However, the sprawl caused by the loss of such transit services actually makes some of these corridors more viable now than when they were functioning rail lines.
Looking again at the potential of these corridors to provide service, not only for passengers but also for freight, could help many cities create more sustainable urban environments.
The efficient redesign of disused rail corridors offers the opportunity to re-visit some poor decisions of the past.
Freight service at night could reduce the number of large trucks in the city during the day. Passenger service could greatly reduce the number of single-occupant motor vehicles that would otherwise be the only option for many. Using clean, quiet, efficient electric power would make both of these functions less intrusive than heavy rail services and large trucks on our streets.
Such a concept would mean some reconsideration of zoning in a city. Light warehousing is perfectly compatible with housing, but we don’t do that in North America. Strangely, we design all kinds of podium-based high rises, but never combining uses that so directly supports greater density over all.
Most important, reviewing the potential uses of disused rail corridors allows for redesign of these spaces as multi-purpose amenities. Public spaces that are well-designed will be well populated. Comfortable, well-loved spaces need very much less enforcement.
Introducing (or re-introducing) naturalized areas, creating pollinator corridors and unpaved areas which can employ the powers of natural drainage (as opposed to piping all rainwater underground) can reduce strain on sewage systems, while preventing major sinkholes, such as the one that recently “ate” an entire city street (where was that? Baltimore?)
The greatest challenge presented by urban corridors is that of thinking outside the box. We have a strong tendency to define every urban issue as if it were separate from one another, In reality, practically no urban issue stands alone.
Corridors, well-planned, can bring life to a city, both literally and figuratively, if we take the care to redesign them well.
Ottawa.