back-in angled parking

Recently, the subject of back-in angled parking came up on a traffic engineering discussion board that I follow. 200 South has a great example of a successful application of this type of on-street parking.

I had a discussion with one of Salt Lake's traffic engineers about why they do this, and where it makes the most sense. He said it has everything to do with the location of bike lanes.

Notice that the cars have to cross over the bike lane to get to their parking spots. By having drivers back into their stall, it makes it easier to see bicycles when exiting the stall, making this situation safer for the bicyclists. Drivers still have to reverse over the bike lane when entering the stall, but the drivers have a better view of the oncoming bicyclists at this time.

In some cities, people have revolted and adjacent businesses demanded that reverse angle parking be removed. However, in this location, is seems to be working just fine.

Caputo's

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People wonder what it is that creates a sense of place. This place has "it".  With fresh, gourmet sandwiches, salads and pasta, I always walk away full and smiling after lunch. They also have a wide variety of imported and local specialty foods, and even have their own cheese cave so they control the temperature and humidity of their cheeses as they age. 

However, Caputo's is so much more than a restaurant or specialty foods store. It is the anchor to a perfect example of what an urban, mixed-use development should be. There are three smaller restaurants in the same plaza, office space upstairs, and condos next door with a bike shop underneath. This area feels old and fresh at the same time. Perhaps the freshness comes from the flowers, the fun music in the background, or seeing Tony Caputo himself out busing tables and chatting with customers. 

Check out the yellow sign in this picture. It says, "Caution: Large trucks might block parking lot at any time. Park at your own risk." 

This setup flies in the face of typical site plans, where the trucks pull in from behind, and are out of site, out of mind. I love this set up of having the trucks pull in the front. I love that you get to see workers unloading pallets of food off of their trucks in the morning. It makes this place seem genuine. Good urban development is about compromise. It's about setting things up to create a great experience for people, and working to make the truck and auto traffic work around that premise- not the other way around. Caputo's is proof that it works

Gilgal Garden

I'm surprised at how many people that have lived in the Salt Lake area their entire lives have never heard of or been to the Gilgal Garden. I had heard rumors of it as a kid, and finally went there about 10 years ago. Created in the mid 1900s by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr, it's one of the most unique yet quintessential Utah places you'll visit. Where else will you find a rock sculpture of a sphinx with the face of Joseph Smith?   

When I first heard of this, I figured that this must have been meant as a mockery of the LDS Church. However, upon closer inspection, one will find that Child used this garden as an expression of his deep faith in the Church and what it stands for. 

 

Well worth a visit. It's open daily, and has free admission. It;s located at 749 East 500 South. Learn more at the following website: http://www.gilgalgarden.org/

Homes of Harvard-Yale

These are the type of homes that the New Urbanists are trying to replicate in places like Celebration, the Kentlands, and Daybreak. 

Quite a variety: new, old, big, not as big, Colonial, Cape Cod, a touch of Victorian. These homes all share common characteristics of being made in classic styles of timeless materials. You'll find bigger homes elsewhere in the valley in Draper, South Jordan and Holladay, but bigger (homes or lots) doesn't necessarily mean better. 

The Harvard-Yale area shows that you don't need 1/2 acre lots and snobbish  minimum-square-footage requirements to create a prestigious, upscale neighborhood. Good location and design is much more important and lasting.

Pocket Park

It has been said that the Harvard-Yale area is a walkable neighborhood with nowhere to walk to. This is because of the lack of retail or other businesses mixed in. Unlike the southern portion of Sugarhouse, or the Avenues, this is almost exclusively a residential neighborhood.

That said, there is one spot that folks regularly walk to: Laird Park.

 

This could be referred to as a pocket park. It fits in nicely into the neighborhood, with a playground, mature shade trees, and just enough room to play a pick-up game of football. The nice thing about pocket parks is that it is easier to intersperse them throughout a neighborhood, which encourages people to walk there.

Harvard-Yale Neighborhood

The Harvard-Yale area is one of the more prestigious neighborhoods in Salt Lake City. Most of the streets have Ivy League names, hence the Harvard-Yale title. You can walk to the U of U from here, and you're a 5 minute drive from downtown or Sugarhouse. What really sets this neighborhood apart are the gorgeous historic homes. They're not all mansions; this neighborhood has it's share of smaller, single-story homes. However, even the smaller homes are well-built and well-maintained. 

This Old (Sugar) House

Sugarhouse was recently listed by This Old House as one of the best old neighborhoods. While home values have plummeted elsewhere, homes in this area are still selling for top dollar. Why? I'll tell you:

There's a grid of narrow, well connected, tree-lined streets that disperse traffic, and improve walkablity compared to the now typical pattern of cul-de-sacs that dump all of their traffic onto a handful of wide streets, and make it a nightmare to walk anywhere.

It's 10 minutes from downtown, 15 minutes from Park City and the mountains, within walking or biking distance of its own commercial center, across the street from one of the largest parks in the City (more on that later), and lastly, it's full of a variety of sizes and styles of beautiful homes and cottages:

People move here because of the fabulous location, and then invest in their homes and yards. It's hard to believe that 20-30 years ago, this neighborhood was looked down on as run down and full of homes that are too small. The only downside to the increasing desirability of the area is that what once were starter homes are now out of the price range for many younger couples who are just starting out.

9th & 9th in the spring

I stopped by 9th and 9th today, and took some more pictures. Previous pictures were on a cold morning in late March before people out and before trees were green. These pictures show the amenities and design features that make this an attractive pedestrian area: wide sidewalks, interesting shops and restaurants pulled right up to those sidewalks, shade trees, benches, tables. The close proximity of the buildings is critical in creating a little bit of enclosure, and a feeling of security and place for the pedestrians.

Neighborhood Surrounding 9th and 9th

I took a stroll down a couple of the streets to the south of the 9th and 9th shopping district. Check out some of the nearby homes:

Not as big and glamourous as the Harvard/Yale area, or even quite as well kept up as the Sugarhouse area. However, these are beautifully designed homes, with the type of character and architectural elements that you don't find in newer subdivisions. It will be enjoyable to watch as this neighborhood continues to improve as more and more homeowners, (not just businesses) move in and invest in the area.

Shops of 9th and 9th

As you walk around 9th and 9th, it's amazing the variety of shops that are packed into this little area. The following is a sampling: Great Harvest Bread, a veterinary hospital, boutiques, and a barber shop.

 

  

                                                                                

There's also a dry cleaners, a bike shop, a children's clothing store, several restaurants, an accountant, a plumbing supply store, a palm reader, and more. 

9th and 9th actually extends almost to 11th East. I dropped in and chatted with the owner of an antique shop a couple blocks up the street. She said that the investments made down at the 9th and 9th intersection have definitely increased the amount of foot traffic that she gets. Across the street from the antique shop is Hip and Humble, a popular clothing, home, and accessories boutique owned by two sisters.

 

Walkability

The following pictures show why 9th and 9th is walkable:

Notice the street furniture, the shade trees, the continuous wall of shops, providing a feeling of enclosure and security, with plenty of windows displaying interesting things to look at. What I didn't show in my pictures is that there's only one lane of traffic each way, with diagonal parking and a landscaped median. All of these design elements tell drivers that they are in a location that is meant for walking, and that they must proceed slowly. On a summer evening, the area is full of people walking from one shop to the next, socializing, eating, relaxing.

The only problem with this area is that we need more of it.

The Tower

This place is an icon in Salt Lake City, and has been an anchor to the 9th and 9th neighborhood. The Tower Theater is the oldest Salt Lake area theater still in operation. It is run by the Salt Lake Film society, who promotes and supports independent films. Not surprisingly, The Tower is one of the venues of the Sundance film festival. 

9th & 9th

OK, so this is an intersection, not a neighborhood, but the 9th & 9th area has been expanding out, so it's becoming a neighborhood. In fact, some neighbors are so proud of where they live, they've painted their house in commemoration:

Located about a mile southwest of downtown, this spot has a bunch of fun, interesting shops, an independent movie theater, and a few restaurants and professional services mixed in, including a pet hospital. 

Urbana

Urbana on Eleventh is a 29-unit condo complex in the heart of Sugarhouse that is almost complete. It is built on what used to be a parking lot.

This project is a perfect example of what can happen when a developer "gets it". They have covered parking on the first floor but it is completely hidden from the street. What you see from the street is the office space of the live/work units that they built into the project.

They have a great website that is as much a marketing piece for Sugarhouse as it is for their development:
www.urbanaoneleventh.com

Sprague Library

It's fitting that the Sugarhouse library in a beautiful old building, located in the heart of the community. The front of the building faces west onto 1100 East, right across from the "Sugarhole". The backdoor of the library leads into a newish shopping area with various clothing, food, and other establishments. 

The thing sticking out of the lawn is a giant sugar beet. The picture below shows the inside:

The door on the left of this picture leads into a comfy reading room where they keep all of the magazines and newspapers. There's a well-used meeting room downstairs, used for community gatherings. I have to say that this is my favorite library in the City.