Here’s an idea fresh off the Streetsblog network from Vancouver, a place that I suppose gets more rain than snow, but still must have to deal with such weather occasionally. It goes back to the idea of pocket parks, or creating what you can in the small spaces that get overlooked and trashed.
“Vancouver’s “country lanes” replace asphalt alleys with honeycomb cells filled with grass and two concrete strips, plus cobblestone drives, to reduce permeable pavement and create a pleasing aesthetic in its alleyways. Image: Spacing.ca” – Text and image pulled straight from Streetsblog.
Better alleys are just what Henry C1 is looking for in this Engage the Forks recommendation:
The alley is always in bad condition with bad pot holes because of such high use. Please close it off permanently before someone gets hurt by a driver or at least pave it due to high traffic.
In other news, had a brief chat with Jason Schaefer the other day about improving the downtown and near-downtown area by planning for more efficient land use where it counts: parking lots. More on this later.