Mobilizing the Region » Development

Improving Public Safety in Camden, One Street at a Time

Matthew Norris — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:27:05 +0000

Like many other U.S. cities that have experienced significant industrial decline, high rates of poverty and racial and ethnic segregation, Camden is often presented as a virtual “lost cause.” Negative coverage of the city has only intensified since it was forced to lay off nearly half of its police officers and a third of its firefighters in January. It’s certainly true that crime in much of the city is high and job prospects for many residents are low. Moreover, many residents have reported a general fear for their personal safety and a lack of basic services in their neighborhoods.

But many organizations and groups of motivated local people believe in Camden, are working hard to improve it, and are succeeding. These groups are diverse in their specific missions, but what quite a few of them share is a clear understanding of the role that transportation and quality public spaces can play in producing a viable city. Area community development corporations, faith-based groups, local developers and government officials have been actively working to improve Camden’s streets, with the aim of creating safe places for residents to shop, gather, commute and open businesses.

Streetscape Projects Getting Results

The corner of North River Avenue and 25th Street in the Cramer Hill section of Camden, before and after streetscape improvements that have made the area more attractive to businesses and safer for residents.

One such group, the Cramer Hill Community Development Corporation (CHCDC), worked in conjunction with Cooper’s Ferry Development Corporation to implement streetscape improvements on River Road, a significant commercial corridor in the Cramer Hill section of Camden. These improvements were focused on making River Road accessible for disabled residents, decreasing truck traffic and attracting additional commercial investment. The larger project is ongoing, but much of the work has already been completed, including significant widening of the sidewalks, narrowing of the road to discourage truck traffic and the installation of ramps that can accommodate wheelchairs.

The streetscape improvements almost instantly had a positive effect upon the neighborhood by affording residents a vastly improved shopping and walking experience. Manny Delgado, Executive Director of CHCDC, told MTR that “within weeks of these improvements, three new tenants moved into formerly vacant commercial spaces, including a pharmacy, which area residents had been asking for.”

A number of other projects currently being undertaken could produce similar results, including a $5.8 million federally funded plan to improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians between the Ben Franklin Bridge and Cooper River Park. This project will employ “complete streets” design elements on a number of local roads, with the aim of making thoroughfares more attractive while accommodating all road users. Additionally, a generous grant from the William Penn Foundation to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) will promote active transportation throughout Camden and the Delaware Valley, by aiming to “fill-in” many of the remaining gaps in the regional trail network. These improvements, in combination with other projects, such as the existing Wiggins Park waterfront promenade, the re-construction of Boyd and Morse Streets in East Camden and the planned Haddon Avenue Transit Village, provide great potential for revitalization in neighborhoods throughout the city, benefiting current and future residents alike.

Eyes on the Street

Roads and neighborhoods that are designed for people of all ages and physical abilities and which allow residents to travel, shop and interact with one another are extremely effective at fostering public safety. As planners have known since the days of Jane Jacobs, and many residents know intuitively, would-be thieves and burglars have fewer opportunities to commit crimes when streets are active and host a wide range of activities. It also follows that violent crimes are less likely to occur in this type of environment. In a number of documented cases, formerly auto-centric thoroughfares saw dramatic decreases in crime after being redesigned for a wider array of road users. Oftentimes, re-designed streets come to serve as public spaces as residents start to see them as places to relax and interact, rather than places to avoid.

It must be clearly stated that slowing vehicle traffic, planting trees and adding bike lanes will not end crime in the city of Camden. There are many wider social and economic issues which simply cannot be addressed through physical roadway design. That said, these types of investments clearly improve residents’ health, safety, and quality of life.

Recently, Camden was able to rehire 86 of the public safety workers laid off in January—surely positive news for residents and visitors alike. These women and men are essential in the effort to make Camden a safer place. But, just as important are the countless local groups that have a vision of a better Camden and are working everyday to see their plans implemented. Better roads and access to transportation will surely aid in almost all of their efforts.

Photos: Before – Delaware Valley Rhythm & Blues Society; After – Matthew Norris/TSTC.

TIGER II Grants Given to Highway Removal Projects

Kyle Wiswall — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:48:39 +0000

The area targeted for development in New Haven.

Two highway removal projects in the region got a boost of federal funds today. USDOT announced that New Haven’s Route 34 and the South Bronx’s Sheridan Expressway will receive $16 million and $1.5 million respectively to advance plans to convert these underutilized highway corridors into more walkable, vibrant, and viable communities.

The New Haven Register reports that New Haven’s award allows Phase 1 development along Route 34 to begin. The transformation of Route 34 into an urban boulevard is expected to generate 2,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs with hundreds of millions of dollars in future private development.

A press release from South Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano confirms that the award will fund a study for a vision plan of the Sheridan Expressway and Hunts Point area. The study aims to fill a gap in the NY State DOT’s review of the project alternatives, which currently avoid any discussion of land use or economic development that could occur with a removal of the expressway.

The Congressman is quoted in the release:

Meanwhile, the creation of a vision plan that addresses the current and future needs of our community in the Hunts Point area and the Sheridan Expressway is of vital importance. We are eager to remake this area into a livable, walkable and green section of our community, and this is the first step towards achieving that goal. I am encouraged that this grant specifically states that this ‘City-led, multi-agency, holistic planning process will be designed to respond to the needs and goals of the business and residential communities in the area.’ This is precisely the process that all planning in our borough must undergo as we work to right the development and planning wrongs of many decades.

The official announcement from Secretary LaHood will come next week.

Serrano’s release is available here.

Image: Via City of New Haven.

Reworking Newark

Zoe Baldwin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:56:02 +0000

Reworked Newark plans

Taking to the streets with cameras and imagination, 45 Newark high school interns participated in a two-day exercise with TSTC to re-envision downtown Newark as a “great place” for residents and visitors. The exercise is a result of an on-going partnership with the Greater Newark Conservancy’s Newark Youth Leadership Project. Previous exercises have focused on traffic calming along the Newark section of the East Coast Greenway and around Broad Street Station, and have led to tangible improvements such as better pedestrian signage and more visible crosswalks.

This year’s program was called “Reworking Newark” to encourage students to take a fresh look at their city and develop a new vision of downtown life. After a two-day session including classroom discussions, a walking tour and role playing exercise, the interns suggested more murals and public art, doubling the number of streetlights, expanded express bus service similar to GoBus, a nightclub for teens and more diverse retail and dining options. This would help make Newark a “great place” to spend time.

Unsightly alley

Students noted that their favorite places -such as Montclair, Hoboken and Teaneck – were all clean, safe places with trees and grass, “happy” people and plenty of things to do. Places they identified as “lousy” were dirty, dangerous and loud with abandoned buildings, vacant lots, anti-social people and a lack of attractions. Many students felt Newark was in this category.

For a walking tour exercise, students were broken into groups – transportation, retail, human services, housing and parking, parks, culture and art, and streetscape – and tasked to look at Newark’s University Heights neighborhood through that lens. When they rejoined, the students participated in a role-playing exercise as stakeholders and decision makers involved in the redevelopment process: the “mayor’s office” ran the charette, “city council” focused on the economic development components, “city planners” made sure that the land uses fit together, “transportation engineers” ensured it was easy to get to and around the neighborhoods, “parks department” made new parks and improved existing greenspace, and “neighbors” represented the interests of the residents living in the community.

The value of this partnership is that it reminds Newark’s youth that they are catalysts for positive change and that the prosperity of Newark rests in their hands. The student’s ideas will be sent to Newark’s Mayor Booker and the city council.

Walking All the Way to the Bank

Steven Higashide — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:19:24 +0000

Property values are higher in areas where it's easy to walk to shops and schools.

Walkable neighborhoods translate directly into higher home prices, according to a new report from the business group CEOs for Cities.

The researchers studied real estate listings in 15 metropolitan areas and found a positive relationship between a home’s value and its Walk Score, a representation of its walkability on a 100-point scale based on how close it is to amenities like grocery stores, schools, and parks. On average, relocating a house from a neighborhood with average walkability to one with above-average walkability would increase the home’s value by anywhere from $4,000 to $34,000. (This correlation did not exist in two areas, Las Vegas and Bakersfield, Calif.)

The study controlled for neighborhood characteristics including distance from the city center, proximity to jobs, and neighborhood income. It also controlled for house and lot characteristics like size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and whether the house is single-family or condominium.

Researchers were unable to control for access to transit, which is usually better in walkable neighborhoods and might account for some of the price premium. And as the report points out, Walk Score is not a perfect representation of how walkable an area is. But the study makes a convincing case that mixed-use neighborhoods where residents can run errands and recreate on foot (or bike) are a boon to property values. As CEOs for Cities president Carol Coletta says, “If urban leaders are intentional about developing and redeveloping their cities to make them more walkable, it will not only enhance the local tax base but will also contribute to individual wealth by increasing the value of what is, for most people, their biggest asset.”

If planners need more evidence, they can look at previous research from the group, which suggests that sprawl was a key factor in the housing bubble crash, and that home prices have been more stable closer to city centers.

Image: Ballston, Va. via Yglesias.

FedEx to Bring Trucks to Astoria's "Asthma Alley"?

Kyle Wiswall — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:03:20 +0000

Last Thursday, The Unified Community Civic Association hosted a public information session on a proposed FedEx distribution center in Astoria, Queens. The 255,000 square foot project is the source of serious consternation in the neighborhood, where residents fear hundreds of new trucks will flood the streets.

The lot in question is part of the large Con Ed property and sits along Luyster Creek above 21st St in Astoria. Con Ed, responding to orders from the Public Services Commission (PSC) to sell off unused property, is looking to sell the site to Steel Equities, a developer that will build the facility and lease it to FedEx.

The area adjacent to the FedEx site is locally known as “asthma alley” for a high rate of respiratory illness and is close to local manufacturing, the BQE, LaGuardia Airport, and multiple Con Ed power plants. Trucks represent a major source of dangerous pollutants, and could put Queens further out of compliance with federal air quality standards. The borough currently does not meet EPA standards for levels of carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxides.

According to FedEx, however, the project will not have a deleterious effect on local traffic or air quality. An Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared by a consultant found that the project would have no significant environmental impact. The finding was based on FedEx’s promise to spread arriving tractor-trailers from Newark Liberty Airport over 24-hour periods. FedEx claims the project will add only 22 trucks (or 44 trips) a day to local streets during the first 3 years of the distribution center’s operation, when the center will be building out to full capacity. Afterwards, traffic will increase to 55 trucks a day (110 trips). These numbers are in addition to the much more numerous delivery trucks that will fan out from the site – vehicles which FedEx again promises to send out in a staggered fashion to avoid bursts of traffic. No copies of the EA were made available at the meeting and it remains a sight unseen. Tri-State has requested a copy of the EA under the state freedom of information law.

While the project remains a heated and controversial subject in the community, there appeared to be wide consensus at the meeting against the sale to FedEx. In response to the proposal, a number of local organizations and residents have formed the Coalition for a Better Astoria, which is calling for Con Ed to cede or sell the land to the city for development as a waterfront park. State Senator George Ororato attended the meeting and voiced his strong opposition to the project, saying, “We will do all we can legislatively” to kill the sale. Letters of opposition were also distributed on behalf of U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney and New York City Councilman Peter Vallone.

Image: FedEx distribution center in Edison, NJ. (Via logfac.com.)

Routine NYC Approval of Parking Garages Is Symptom of Larger Blind Spot

Kyle Wiswall — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:07:11 +0000

In the last couple of years, New York City Mayor Bloomberg has done an impressive job in creating a vision of New York as a model of a sustainable city, even as it develops. And yet, even as the Bloomberg administration rolls out new pedestrian, bicycle, and transit projects seemingly every week, it has harbored a counterproductive blind spot: parking construction.

One symptom of this blind spot has been routine City Planning Commission approval of parking garages requiring permit requests. Last week the Commission favorably reviewed a 400-space public and accessory parking garage in traffic-choked Hell’s Kitchen, a move which makes approval likely. CHEKPEDS and Manhattan Community Board 4 oppose the garage due to the extra traffic it will induce. (See also Streetsblog, “Hell’s Parking Lot.”)

A quick review of Commission reports dating from June 2006 shows that the Commission has reviewed eight other permit requests for parking garages (totaling 1,299 parking spaces) and approved every one of them. Of the eight, six are south of 60th Street in Manhattan, a zone that is subject to federal Clean Air Act limits on the amount of off-street parking allowed per building (see MTR # 565). In this area, special permits are required for all new public parking garages and any accessory garage that provides spaces for more than 20% of building occupants.

These permits comprise only a portion of the total parking being built in NYC, a quantity which is very difficult to track. (Similarly, no one knows how many parking spaces exist in NYC or even in Manhattan alone.) It’s clear that NYC’s development boom is causing a parking boom, however; in most neighborhoods outside of the Manhattan CBD, developers are required to provide parking in new residential and commercial developments. This extra capacity amounts to an incentive for people to choose to drive in the city, a phenomenon acknowledged in many of the Planning Commission reports.

While the Hell’s Kitchen lot was vigorously contested, other garage hearings have been marked by a dearth of opposing voices. At hearings for the eight permits TSTC reviewed, those speaking in favor of the garages outnumbered those opposed by 23 to 0. What does this mean? It means opponents of increased parking supply should get out to individual hearings and fight the parking glut at the root. The Planning Commission’s calendar of public meetings is online.

TSTC Calls on LI Lighthouse Study to Address Traffic, Transit

Ryan Lynch — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:45:26 +0000

The Lighthouse offers a compelling vision for Long Island, but it’s the details — like its transit plan and traffic impacts — that will determine whether it succeeds. (Image: Lighthouse Development Group)

The second of two scoping hearings concerning the “Lighthouse of Long Island” development, a 150-acre mixed-use project that will include retail, housing and a new arena for the New York Islanders hockey team, brought a packed crowd to Hempstead Town Hall last week. Discussion was dominated by many of the same issues brought up during the first scoping hearing: affordable housing, the environmental impacts of the project, and transportation.

In testimony, the Tri-State Campaign emphasized the need for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to review the project’s impacts on nearby transportation systems, analyze on-street shared parking, and study the benefits of “complete streets” that accommodate transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists as well as drivers. At this early stage, the Lighthouse Development Group has proposed a trolley system that would stop both inside and outside the project site, but has not divulged such vital details as the number of parking spaces or the location of transit stations within the site.

Rather than build a new transit system, it might make more sense for the developer to work with Nassau County’s existing transit agencies, like Long Island Bus, to integrate transit into the development design. For example, the developer could build state-of-the-art transit centers for LI Bus within the project site. It would also be in the developer’s interest to promote a sustainable funding agreement for LI Bus, which has been historically underfunded (see, for example, MTR #s 551, 434, and 267).

Many hearing attendees, including the Long Island Progressive Coalition, raised the issue of affordable housing, prompting the Town Board to state publicly that it would be analyzed in the EIS.

Based upon the two scoping hearings, there seems to be great support for this project — even Islander legend Mike Bossy came out to testify in its favor. Tempered support is well warranted, as the Lighthouse project has an opportunity to serve as a model for smart growth development throughout Long Island. However, in order to ensure that the project truly is “smart,” the EIS must address traffic impacts and aim to reduce vehicle miles traveled.

MTA Saves Hudson Yards Deal, but Capital Shortfall Still Looms

Steven Higashide — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:24:33 +0000

Despite a new Far West Side development deal, prospects for saving the MTA’s current capital plan still seem as barren as the Hudson Yards (Image via Hudson Yards Development Corporation).

Last week, developer Tishman Speyer backed out of a deal to develop a mega-complex of offices, residential units, and park space over the MTA’s Hudson Yards, on the far West Side of Manhattan. Against expectations, the MTA quickly negotiated a new deal, tentatively agreeing to a 99-year lease of the Yards to the Related Companies. Furthermore, Related has agreed to pay the MTA as much as Tishman Speyer had — $1 billion, which will go into the agency’s capital budget.

In some ways, Related’s proposal appears to be an improvement over Tishman Speyer’s. The Related proposal adds 738 parking spaces to the area (Tishman Speyer’s would have added 1,450), and explicitly includes bicycle connections between the site and the Hudson River Greenway, as well as several bike parking facilities (see MTR‘s earlier coverage). It also includes 440 units of affordable housing, compared to 300 in Tishman Speyer’s.

By negotiating a deal financially similar to the one it had with Tishman Speyer, the MTA has saved itself from slipping further into the hole — but what a hole it faces. As reported in amNewYork, the MTA’s current 2005-09 capital plan is facing a $3 billion gap caused by escalating construction costs.

Atlantic Yards Rally Tomorrow!

Kate Slevin — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:54:26 +0000

Brooklyn Speaks, of which Tri-State is a member, is co-hosting a rally to stop the demolition of the proposed Altantic Yards project. From the brooklynspeaks.org website:

“As originally proposed, the Atlantic Yards project would overwhelm surrounding neighborhoods, further clog already overburdened streets, create outdated superblocks that deaden street life, overtax public transit, streets, water and sewer infrastructure and create eight acres of “temporary” parking lots that could blight Brooklyn for decades.

But now it’s even worse.

Recently, developer Forest City Ratner acknowledged to the New York Times that it doesn’t even have the resources to construct the signature first phase of the project that would surround the arena.

Now the arena will not be nestled in dramatically designed residential and office buildings. Instead, it will be surrounded by vacant space or more temporary parking, creating a dead zone where vitality was once promised. It’s so bad that New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff (a previous supporter of the project) called it a betrayal of the public trust and a creator of new blight. He even called upon architect Frank Gehry to walk away from Atlantic Yards entirely.

It’s time to call a time out on Atlantic Yards before more demolitions, displacements, and disruptions scar our neighborhood, and more tax dollars go into a hole that doesn’t seem to have a bottom.

Join the sponsors of BrooklynSpeaks.net, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, Assembly Members Hakeem Jeffries and Joan Millman, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, NYC Council Members Letitia James, David Yassky and Bill de Blasio and others at a rally next Saturday, May 3rd at 2 PM at on Pacific Street near Carlton Avenue to demand Governor Paterson call “Time Out” on Atlantic Yards.”

Image: Brooklyn Speaks

Tearing Down the Route 34 "Disconnector"

Ryan Lynch — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:12:21 +0000

A slide shows one City of New Haven vision for its post-Route 34 future.

On Wednesday, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the New Haven Urban Design League hosted a public event, attended by approximately 150 people, in order to raise awareness of and increase support for the “tear-down” of the Route 34 Connector in New Haven and its replacement with a boulevard. President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism John Norquist headlined the event and called for the immediate removal of what he labeled the “disconnector” and subsequently re-linking the street grid, adding on-street parking, and building mixed-use development along the corridor.

Mr. Norquist’s presentation did not go into specifics on how New Haven should accomplish this feat, a task he left up to the City of New Haven and its citizens. Rather, his presentation focused on the precedents for such a project, drawing on freeway-to-neighborhood conversions from San Francisco, Portland, Milwaukee, and as far away as Seoul, South Korea. By utilizing examples of successful projects throughout the country and abroad, he hoped to win over skeptics who might see the removal of a heavily trafficked highway as impractical.

ConnDOT Deputy Commissioner Albert Martin also spoke, providing an overview of ConnDOT’s transit-oriented development efforts (earlier covered in MTR here). He said that momentum for a teardown project would have to come from New Haven officials and community members because it was not currently on ConnDOT’s agenda, and that the agency would have to study such a proposal in detail before agreeing to support it.

Kelly Murphy, New Haven’s Economic Development Administrator, began the evening by summarizing the City’s ideas for the corridor (which can be viewed in more detail here). She made a point to say that the project was in the initial stages, calling the pink and orange boxes in her presentations “placeholders” for the final vision of the project, which will come from the community and city.

The common thread running through the three presentations was that teardown proposals need local energy to make headway. If New Haven officials are to garner grassroots support for such a project, they must integrate the community’s vision into the planning and implementation process. A community visioning process and/or “charette” planning process would be a good start.