GLUE conference - report from Milwaukee

southsidepride · PostMar 20, 2009#262009-03-20T15:13+00:00

I'm kind of intrigued by that OKC downtown canal. I've only driven through Oklahoma City, never stopped to look around. Scottsdale, AZ also has a "waterfront" which is really just an irrigation canal about the width of a two lane road with sidewalks and shops and restaurants facing it.

Old Town Scottsdale is kind of cool and pretty walkable (though a lot of the stores and restaurants are a little hoity toity) but the "waterfront" is kind of laughable. Though in Arizona I guess you gotta work with whatever H20 you can!

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 20, 2009#272009-03-20T17:01+00:00

Not to mention Providence, RI. Now seriously, if Providence can do this why can't we?

resurrectus · PostMar 20, 2009#282009-03-20T18:50+00:00

Grover wrote:Not to mention Providence, RI. Now seriously, if Providence can do this why can't we?

The Mississippi River waters are nowhere near as calm as the waters in the pictures that you posted.

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 20, 2009#292009-03-20T18:54+00:00

^ Well, I'm really thinking about a downtown canal or Chouteau Pond/Lake/Greenway. The reason we can't do it is that we're not the state capital (always helps to galvanize political/public support) and our canal would have to be newly constructed (not an adaptation).

debaliviere · PostMar 20, 2009#302009-03-20T19:12+00:00

I was last in Providence in 2003 - that riverwalk is beautiful, and it seemed like it was the centerpiece of the city. I did not realize that it was a newer development.

http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/ ... lace_id=86

southcitygent · PostMar 20, 2009#312009-03-20T20:22+00:00

Wasn't the Providence project spearheaded by a corrupt mayor that’s now in jail? Perhaps the real problem is that our civic leaders are not on the take like the ones in Chicago and Providence.

gone corporate · PostMar 20, 2009#322009-03-20T20:30+00:00

Development in Providence is said to be the impetus of laundering mafia money.

Caveat emptor.

Focus: Combining the points on the Queen City and Milwaukee, I belive a very good analogy to the River's potentials for development is Cincinnati, specifically Newport, Kentucky. Until a few decades ago, the KY side of the river, across from downtown, was in disrepair and known for crime & violence. Today, with the help of the State of Kentucky, it is now a very nice neighborhood, comparable in many parts to Soulard & Lafayette Square.

The difference is that Kentucky's government will help Newport, and that Springfield, IL will not help East StL / "not Chicago".

wabash · PostMar 21, 2009#332009-03-21T02:15+00:00

You don't think Illinois helps the east side?

The money they have put behind metrolink puts Missouri to shame. There are as many metro stations in Illinois as there are in the city of St. Louis! If you're blaming Springfield for a lack of river-oriented development, you've got the wrong guy.

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 21, 2009#342009-03-21T03:32+00:00

^^ Newport and Covington were never as far gone as East St. Louis. The real problem is that the east waterfront here is not attractive. In Cincinnati one can see the towns across the river from many places - you can build right up to the river on both sides on that stretch of the Ohio - we can build right up to neither side. For East St. Louis it's out-of-sight out-of-mind. If you had to look at East St. Louis from a number of spots downtown and from other neighborhoods there might be some push for change. In short - not going to happen here.

cincinnatus · PostApr 20, 2009#352009-04-20T02:48+00:00

Grover wrote:^ But the "new" tower in Cincinnati was first planned in the 1980's.

They brought up the idea in the 80's ... scraped it and in 2002 decided to go back to this plan.

GLUE conference - report from Milwaukee

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