An Urban Home Depot

The following post first appeared on UrbanReview | CHICAGO

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Big box retailers long had a standard formula: cheap building surrounded by acres of surface parking. More than a decade ago they began to experiment with new designs as they entered urban locations where land prices & population density meant acres of surface parking wasn’t possible. I recall seeing the Home Depot on N. Halsted under construction — I just can’t recall when. I do know it was open by March 2005:

The company has eight stores in the city, including a unique two-story, storefront-style location at 2665 N. Halsted St.

Like Target, Home Depot knows the value of a flexible footprint. That gives it more options in working its way closer to the urbanite customers it craves. The Halsted store doesn’t sell much lumber; it focuses on the tools and interior design products that North Side condo owners shop for.

A lot of city neighborhoods fit Home Depot’s demographic, which is neither wealthy nor poor. The main thing: plenty of homeowners. “Home Depot is looking for bungalow city,” says Mr. Kirsch of Baum Realty. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

Though I’d been past it numerous times since it opened, I never went inside. Last month my husband and I needed something from a hardware store. He called a couple of local places near the Streeterville condo where we stay while in Chicago but they didn’t have what we needed. Looking at transit to the various locations we decided the N. Halsted location would be the easiest.

The question is how do we get urban retail to take more urban form in areas where land isn’t so expensive? Can a city, like St. Louis, through zoning or incentives, create an atmosphere where retailers are willing to invest in more expensive buildings with structured parking?

— Steve Patterson

Streetsblog Meeting in Cincinnati

In January the Streetsblog  network expanded into new areas, including a Streetsblog St. Louis. In April many of us gathered in Dallas to discuss urban blogging, followed by the 23rd Congress for the New Urbanism conference.  Later this week we’ll meet again, this time in Cincinnati. Three weeks after taking Megabus to Cleveland via Chicago I’ll be back on Megabus to Chicago and across Indiana into Ohio.

I’ve driven past Cincinnati several times over the years, but I’ve never stopped. Like many my age, I grew up watching WKRP in Cincinnati. To this pre-teen, in Oklahoma City, Cincinnati looked more like what I thought a city should be — based solely on the show’s opening sequence.

With Thanksgiving coming up I had to include a clip from a classic episode.

I’m sure Cincinnati today is nothing like 1978 sitcom Cincinnati, I’ll have three nights to explore. I don’t know much about the city, only what I’ve read. I’ll check out Fountain Square:

Fountain Square has been the symbolic center of Cincinnati since 1871. The square, which replaced a butcher’s market, was a gift from Henry Probasco in memory of Tyler Davidson. Probasco traveled to Munich and commissioned a bronze allegorical fountain from Ferdinand von Miller named The Genius of Water. Originally, the square occupied a large island in the middle of Fifth Street with buildings to the north and south, much like nearby Piatt Park. A 1971 renovation of the square included slightly moving and re-orienting the fountain to the west, and enlarging the plaza by removing the original westbound portion of 5th Street and demolishing buildings to the north. It is used for lunch-breaks, rallies, and other gatherings. (Wikipedia)

Of course I’ll read a lot on the UrbanCincy blog, also part of the Streetblog network. I’ll check out their public transit — including the route of the modern streetcar line opening September 2016. Their never completed subway sounds fascinating. Few things I love more than seeing a new city for the first time, thank you Streetsblog!’

— Steve Patterson

From UrbanReview | CHICAGO: Abundance of MV-1 Accessible Taxicabs

Today’s post first appeared on UrbanReview | CHICAGO, my new blog started on Saturday.

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One of the things we love when we’re in Chicago is the wide variety of vehicles used for taxicab service. In St. Louis most are old Ford Crown Vics. St. Louis has three accessible vans for wheelchairs — not three types, but three total! Last year this was down to just two.

In Chicago we often see the MV-1 on the streets. This vehicle was built to be accessible:

In the past, if you needed a wheelchair-accessible vehicle you had to start with a completed minivan, cut it apart, put it back together and hope for the best.  The result was an after-market vehicle with questionable durability and passenger safety concerns. Enter the MV-1, a completely new concept that has been a long time coming: build a wheelchair accessible vehicle from the ground up that is designed for commercial fleet use. Take a tour of the Mobility Ventures MV-1 and see how we’re revolutionizing passenger safety in accessible fleet transportation.

I’ve yet to ride in one — with or without my wheelchair. We see them often, will need to hail or schedule one on a future visit.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Is Daylight Saving Time Still Necessary?

It’s November, we got an extra hour of sleep last night. Well, unless your kids were up all night high on sugar. Today’s poll is very similar to a poll from last Spring:

This poll is simpler — no qualifying statements associated with each answer. The answers are presented in random order, the poll will close at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

This Blog Goes To Eleven

Tomorrow is the eleventh anniversary of this blog, Sunday is the start of the 12th year. I can’t hear the word eleven without thinking of this clip from 1984 film This is Spinal Tap:

Hopefully my mind is sharper than Nigel’s. See you Sunday.

— Steve Patterson