St. Louis MO: "If tax subsidies are so necessary to spur development in the Central Corridor, then why did growth happen anyway in the Cherokee Corridor?"

A succinct overview of neighborhood success without subsidies, with three factors cited, including my favorite: Individual initiative, without help or even in defiance of the political leadership in the neighborhood.

The story is very similar in downtown New Albany. Indie operators succeed in spite of City Hall, not because of it -- although to be sure, a few low level subsidies are available, and lamentably, instances of "picking winners" all too often occur.

(edited -- click through for the whole essay)

Why This Street's Success Threatens the Status Quo, by Chris Naffziger (Strong Towns)

The following essay was originally published in St. Louis Magazine and is reprinted here with permission.

Cherokee Street is dangerous.

No, not in the cliché definition we see plastered all over the nightly news. It is dangerous to the status quo in St. Louis politics. Despite very little attention from City Hall, the street has rebounded from absentee landlordship to become a thriving, multicultural community. Scanning through national coverage of St. Louis, places such as the Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Art Museum, the Cardinals, and the Arch get much of the attention, and logically so, as they are large institutions with commensurate budgets. But it's Cherokee Street that should be getting into the headlines despite having a fraction of the finances of those other St. Louis icons.

In addition to being ignored by City Hall, Cherokee Street has rarely been the recipient of tax abatements of the quantity lavished on the Central Corridor. Nonetheless, the street thrives. I began to contemplate why this is; if tax subsidies are so necessary to spur development in the Central Corridor, then why did growth happen anyway in the Cherokee Corridor? Here are my observations, having watched the street mature over the past decade.

Individual initiative, without help or even in defiance of the political leadership in the neighborhood. Mexican Americans moved to Cherokee Street and began to open stores and restaurants, bringing life to a commercial corridor that was largely abandoned. Yet again, as has been shown over the past 250 years, this city has always been nourished with the blood of immigrants, and their contribution has been ignored for just about that length of time as well ...

Hard work, which tax incentives cannot replace. Look at the work required to renovate the Cherokee Brewery. Despite receiving no tax abatements, the Earthbound Beer team transformed a historic brewery building into a modern microbrewery ...

A sense of purpose beyond profit. I'm not arguing that businesses should not worry about being fiscally solvent. Far from it. But I’ve discovered over the years that most people can smell a person who’s only in business for the money ...

Your turn, buster -- or, this isn't the usual rant about potholes.

I'm eternally fascinated by the notion that potholes, as a specific minority subset of broader street and highway conditions, can be relied upon to trigger endless, intemperate diatribes and vitriolic rants of the sort that almost never greet so many structural inadequacies (water, health care, sanitation, affordable housing) that impact the living conditions of humans when they're not inside their cars.

Over the past century, our entire civilization has been radically reconfigured to meet the every need of your car, and you're generally spared paying the REAL COSTS of maintaining this lopsided value system -- and yet you're still not happy.

You won't pick up the trash or shovel snow off the sidewalk in front of your own house, but damn it, the streets must be paved with gold to get you back and forth, and the traffic lights synchronized, and any impediment to speed -- including other human beings relying on two legs rather than six cylinders -- obliged to get the hell out of your way.

Come to think of it, I don't recall participating in the election that resulted in your automotive needs being declared paramount.

I'll tell you about potholes: If you didn't insist on driving at interstate speeds on side streets, and if you paid attention to what you're doing behind the wheel instead of trolling co-workers on Facebook, maybe potholes wouldn't bend your rims and ruin your climate-controlled mobile sofa.

When are THEY going to fix the potholes?

Howzabout YOU get out there and do it, huh?

Two guys tired of waiting for the city to fill potholes, so they're doing it themselves, by Domenica Bongiovanni (Indy Star)

You could argue that citizens filling potholes is a popular storyline in Indiana. "Parks and Recreation's" Ron Swanson met his third wife after she complained to the fictional city of Pawnee about gaping craters on her street.

The famously libertarian Swanson, played by actor Nick Offerman, cut through the bureaucratic red tape and shoveled asphalt into the chuckholes himself.

After filling a pothole near 52nd Street and College Avenue on Saturday, IUPUI student Chris Lang laughed about the episode, which aired on NBC in October of 2012.

"I even have a Ron Swanson poster up," Lang said of his apartment decor. "I like him a lot."

In fact, some of Swanson's libertarian beliefs overlap with those of Lang, 22, and Mike Warren, 28. The duo created Open Source Roads, a grassroots organization comprising volunteers who fix Indianapolis' pothole-riddled streets. Open Source is a call to action that's built upon action itself. Warren and Lang — and sometimes up to five of their friends — spend their spare time fixing some of the worst chuckholes on side streets.

"We want to fill a lot of potholes, and we want people to help out and see that we don't need to rely on this monopoly for it, and I want that to be what starts the people in charge talking about change," Lang said.

"If the city is going to fail at their own monopoly, why should they have that monopoly?" he said.

Grid Control, Vol. 14: Yes, you can still park on the south side of Spring Street during the stalled two-way grid project.

An informative public service message originally posted to the New Albany Indiana group page at Fb by Randy Smith, followed by background from previous blog posts.

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First, a deep breath. The parking spaces shown in front of Destinations Booksellers and Taco Steve are fully available for your use when visiting. This was confirmed to me by the city's parking enforcement officer, though we've had no problems.

We also have parking at the rear of our building as all businesses in this zoning are required to do.

Our neighbor across the street is feeling a pinch and some of his customers say they can't do business with him because of limited parking. I won't get into a debate on the validity of that.

In the interest of being a good neighbor and keeping this temporary situation at the lowest heat, let me say this

All of the marked parking spaces on Spring are public spaces available to the first who need them. But, if you are visiting us, don't be deterred by the orange cones. Even if the cones seem to say "don't," neither we nor the city enforcement officers consider those parking spaces off limits. Parking on the south side will alleviate a temporary crunch perceived by some on the north side. Thanks. 

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As for the background, we've often remarked in this space that while the city of New Albany consciously refrains from enforcing its own parking ordinances "downtown," it refuses to define "downtown" or the geographical parameters of its non-enforcement, as with the idiocy of street sweeping blockage citations.

Here's what I did to beat the "blocking street sweeper" citation scam. Why should anyone pay?

When enforcement of ordinances is purposefully random, how can there be penalties against those cited randomly?

Somewhat along these lines, on October 25, 2016 we considered the implications of self-striping on the northeast corner of Spring & 6th.

ASK THE BORED: With this amazing new invention, you can stripe your own parking spaces!

Last week, it was revealed that if the city has put as much thought into Breakwater parking as it did the water park, we're in for yet another purely dysfunctional treat.

In short, the dental office owner at this corner decided to paint his own parking spaces on public property, leading us to surmise that if he might do so without penalty, we also were free to begin painting crosswalks wherever we wished -- on public property.

What happened next between the city and the doctor is unclear, although there seems to have been a resolution of sorts. The most recent public record can be found in Board of Public Works and Safety minutes from May 30, 2017. Note that in this context, "business parking" refers specifically to the north (westbound) side of the block in question (see wheels, squeaky).

5. Shane Gibson re: Business parking in the 600 block of E. Spring Street

Mr. Gibson stated that he has gone out there several times because of concerns of some local businesses with regards to the new apartment complex. He explained that he met with them a few times and came to a consensus to replace the “two hour parking” signs with three “business parking only from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.” on the westbound side of E. Spring Street for one year just to see how that works since we are doing the grid modernization and the two-way. He told them it would just be on a trial basis to see if we are facing any potential issues or problems. He added that he would like to do it for one year to see how it goes.

Mr. Nash asked how many spaces it would be.

Mr. Gibson replied that it would be from the alley to 6th Street.

Mrs. Cotner-Bailey moved to approve replacing the “two hour parking” signs with three “business parking only from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.” on the westbound side in the 600 block of E. Spring Street for a one year trial period, Mr. Thompson second, motion carries.

Apparently there never was a penalty for the brick-painting, and we can surmise that the signage referencing "business parking" (is this a precedent, Shane?) awaits the completion of two-way grid modernization.

We return to Randy's public service announcement. Customers of businesses on the south side of Spring should not hesitate to cross through the demarcation line of orange traffic pylons in order to park and transact business there. 

Thanks to Randy for trying to communicate with the public amid City Hall's perpetual failure to even pretend to try.

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Previously:

Grid Control, Vol. 13: "Dear Deaf Gahan and minions: FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, STOP TRYING TO BE COOL AND DESIGNER-ISH. YOU'RE NOT, AND IT'S EMBARRASSING ALL OF US."

Grid Control, Vol. 12: Meet the artistic crosswalk design equivalent of dogs playing poker.

Grid Control, Vol. 11: HWC Engineering meets with St. Marks, city officials nowhere to be found.

Grid Control, Vol. 10: City officials predictably AWOL as HWC Engineering falls on its sword over striping errors.

Grid Control, Vol. 9: "This was supposed to be discussed with us," but Dear Leader doesn't ever discuss, does he?

Grid Control, Vol. 8: City Hall characteristically mum as HWC Engineering at least tries to answer the cross-hatching question.

Grid Control, Vol. 7: What will the Board of Works do to rectify HWC's striping errors on the north side of Spring Street, apart from microwaving another round of sausage biscuits?

Grid Control, Vol. 6: Jeff Speck tweets about NA's grid changes, and those missed bicycling opportunities.

Grid Control, Vol. 5: Egg on HWC Engineering's well-compensated face as it botches Spring Street's westbound bike buffer cross hatching.

Grid Control, Vol. 4: But this actually isn't a bus lane, is it?

Grid Control, Vol. 3: TARC's taking your curbside church parking, says City Hall.

Grid Control, Vol. 2: Southsiders get six more parking inches, but you gotta love those 10-foot traffic lanes on Spring.

Grid Control, Vol. 1: You people drive so freaking horribly that someone's going to die at Spring and 10th.

ASK THE BORED: With this amazing new invention, you can stripe your own parking spaces!

This week we'll learn how one of these can help when it comes to DYI projects. First, a refresher course.

New Albany's Board of Public Works and Safety exists because the State of Indiana says so.

IC 36-4-9-5

Board of public works and safety; establishment

Sec. 5. (a) A board of public works and safety is established in

each city.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the legislative body of a

second class city may by ordinance establish as separate boards:

(1) a board of public works; and

(2) a board of public safety;

to perform the functions of the board of public works and safety.

As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.3.

As for what the board is supposed to do, you can visit the American Legal Publishing site, search "Board of Public Works and Safety," and sift through various powers accorded the board over the decades by dint of ordinance.

Exactly how much power does our Board of Public Works and Safety possess?

If Jeff Gahan were to stray from the protection of his Down Low Bunker and comment, no doubt he would assert that the board has just the power it needs. He handpicked it, and he's perfectly content to see his program implemented by non-elected boards, as opposed to elected officials.

According to Dan Coffey, the answer is "too much." At the city council meeting back on June 6, Coffey proposed that our council, as a body made up of elected members, should take back authority ceded to non-elected boards. The Board of Public Works and Safety may be established by state, not city, and it may be appointed by mayor, not council, but the board's powers appear to derive from the legislative body.

I mention all this as prelude to this week's installment of ASK THE BORED, wherein we analyze BOW's accumulated record as arbiter of myriad conditions that impact the lives of citizens, as recorded at 10:00 a.m. meetings each Tuesday morning, when John Q. Public is at work.

Last week, it was revealed that if the city has put as much thought into Breakwater parking as it did the water park, we're in for yet another purely dysfunctional treat.

It would appear that Dr. Sisk decided not to "wait and see."

By the way, are those one-way bricks, or two-way bricks?

Now is the time for tactical urbanism in New Albany.

Fighting Padgett with paint (brushes).

We've talked about it, and now that Greg Phipps' new best incumbent friend intends to delay street grid reform for up to 18 months out of naked political terror, it's time for tactical urbanism to begin.

Let's roll.

If you're interested, let me know. I'm not speaking here of my campaign. Rather, it's about what we can do to jump-start initiative, and to dispense with the perennial top-down thinking of the usual suspects, who cannot undertake any worthwhile reform without first tying the largesse to campaign finance.

Tactical Urbanists Are Improving Cities, One Rogue Fix at a Time, by Emily Matchar (Smithsonian)

And city governments are paying attention, turning homemade infrastructure changes into permanent solutions

One rainy January night in Raleigh, North Carolina, Matt Tomasulo went out to commit what some would call vandalism. Along with his girlfriend and a friend, the graduate student walked around downtown hanging homemade signs on lampposts and telephone poles. The signs featured arrows pointing the way to popular downtown destinations, along with average walking times. Tomasulo called the project “guerrilla wayfinding.” His decidedly un-criminal intent was to promote more walking among Raleigh citizens.

Frustrated by the syrup-slow pace and red tape of the traditional civic change process, citizens across the country are bypassing the bureaucratic machine entirely and undertaking quick, low-cost city improvements without government sanction. They’re creating pop-up parks in abandoned lots. They’re installing free library boxes on street corners. They’re creating homemade traffic-slowing devices using temporary obstacles like potted plants to make their streets safer.

New York-based urban planner Mike Lydon coined the term “tactical urbanism” several years ago to describe the phenomenon. Now, Lydon and fellow planner Anthony Garcia have come out with a new book, Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action for Long-term Change, offering a history of the movement and a guide for aspiring practitioners.

Rob Ford, huffing rock, and "do it yourself" urbanism.

Obviously, there is no crack cocaine scandal in New Albany, at least in political terms. But setting aside the druggie aspect of this story from Toronto, there is a major nugget of wisdom therein.

Why You May Want a Crack-Smoking Mayor, by Stephen Marche (guest post at the Esquire politics blog)

... The lesson of Rob Ford may not be one that urbanists particularly want to hear: Having an utterly paralyzed and embarrassing government may not be that bad a thing. Nobody expects City Hall to do anything: Since Ford came to power, if you wanted the little park in your neighborhood to look good, you and your friends were going to have to organize it. If you wanted more green space, you were going to have to figure out a way to make that happen. Toronto is the one city I know of where the hipster kids in the parks and the billionaires in penthouses share mostly the same values and goals, at least in regards to the city they want to live in; since Ford, both groups have had to think of themselves as city builders. And they are proceeding to build the city. They know they have to build it themselves because the mayor is, uh, otherwise engaged.

Home videos are needed for the Public Art Project outdoor video projection.

Miss Wilkins of the Carnegie Center walks you through the process. I look forward to seeing your walk on the Wick's wall.

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Help us paint a digital portrait of New Albany!

Please join local artist, Tiffany Carbonneau, in creating an outdoor video projection as part of the 2013 New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series. She is looking for digital home videos created by residents of Kentuckiana that convey the current identity and landscape of New Albany, Indiana. These videos could show parades, sports games, the River, the aftermath of weather events, news stories, etc. Please note that the final video projection will not include sound so your video should share your story through visuals. If your video is selected, it will be a part of a collage of videos that will be projected on the side of Wick’s Pizza for two years! To upload your video, go to: goo.gl/JOS0H, login: newalbanynowpublicart@gmail.com, password: newalbany. Video submissions must be uploaded to the above website; DVDs and videotapes cannot be accepted. If you have any questions please contact artist Tiffany Carbonneau at newalbanynowpublicart@gmail.com.

Tiffany Carbonneau's rendering of an outdoor video projection on the theme of Museums & History

About her interpretation of the theme Museums & History for the 2013 Public Art Project, Carbonneau writes, “YouTube has become a cultural phenomenon and an online museum of human culture, from personal to local and global contexts. Rather than the viewer acting as a passive audience… they have now become active participants in not only the creation of history, but also the documentation and cataloguing of that history.” In order to highlight our history as told through this new form of storytelling, she will take a sampling of videos from New Albany to create a video collage of the contemporary history of New Albany, as created by its residents. The video will be projected onto the south-facing wall of Wick’s Pizza, located on State Street near its intersection with Main Street, in the shape of the building that once stood next door.

The New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series (www.napublicart.org and www.facebook.com/napublicart) is a 4-year program featuring a rotating schedule of outdoor artworks that will be installed each year in the downtown area, beginning in 2010 and leading up to this year’s commemoration of New Albany's bicentennial. The 2013 art installations will be installed in April and May. The community is invited to explore the artworks and talk with the artists during the New Albany Public Art Walk on June 22, 6-9 pm (rain date June 29). The New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series originated from a partnership between the Carnegie Center for Art and History and the New Albany Urban Enterprise Association.

Thank you for your help, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Laura Wilkins, Director of Marketing & Outreach