After a 2 week hiatus to heal from wounds sustained in 2 crashes on black ice, I was back at it on Monday. It was cold, but dry, and the ride in was invigorating. It was still daylight when I left for home at the end of the workday, so I decided to take the Olentangy bikepath instead of my normal winter route up High Street. As I crossed Long Street, a jogger coming in the opposite direction yelled, "They've got the path blocked up ahead and you may not get through." A TV news van parked on the bike path further piqued my interest so I decided to check it out. 

200 yards down the path a Grandview police cruiser was blocking the path and the officer told me I'd have to turn around. "What's up?" I asked. "Crime scene," was his curt reply. I turned around and headed back to HIgh Street. As I passed the TV crew I asked them if they knew what was going on. "They found a body near the bikepath." "Not a bicyclist?"I gasped. "No, the body's been there awhile, but they think it might have been a homeless person."

As I rode on, I recalled the 1000's of times I have scanned the river on my way to and from work. I'm usually looking for wildlife, migratory birds and such.......but occasionally the thought has crossed my mind that someday I might see a body. Apparently a jogger discovered the body this week, but it just as easily could have been me. I imagine a gruesome discovery like this could haunt you for some time.

In my mind's eye, I replayed memories of all the homeless people that I've seen living along the Olentangy.  One man, in particular, came to mind. He lived under the Third Street Bridge for several years. He slept in a cardboard box on a narrow, 4 foot slice of ground between the fence bordering the bikepath and the river. With all the spots to select from, I always wondered why he chose this precarious one. I recall thinking, "Hell, he could roll over in his sleep and be right in the river."

Sometime in October I noticed that the man and his box were gone. I remember thinking,"That's good, he finally decided to move to a safer site." I pray that he did.

It’s always nice to hear the same old things that I preach to Sellers from a 3rd party with no interest in the sale. Not the National Association of Realtors, your Mother or my Home Stager, but someone else all together.

This video says it all - what must be done prior to putting your Columbus home on the market - and it’s much better produced than anything I could have made. Enjoy

The Kingsdale Shopping Center is under new ownership and they have submitted their plan for the redevelopment of the space. This is a draft and not a final version of the plans; but I’d guess this is pretty much what we’ll get. If you’d like to see the architectural blueprint of the space you can find it here in .pdf format.

Concerns

Looking at these two renderings (there’s more if you click through) I notice a few things. Let me start by saying, while I can imagine a much nicer redevelopment (just look at the master plan rendering) I don’t totally hate this current plan.

• The concern for pedestrian use is minimal at best which I think is a terrible approach to redeveloping the space responsibly.
• The surface lot has expanded.
• The opportunity for expanded green space and walkability has been missed.
• The opportunity for a better COTA terminal has been missed.

This plan is sadly similar to what Regency last proposed. The gains on this plan are the multi-story office buildings and the reduction to a single large scale retailer (Giant Eagle) instead of two (Target + Giant Eagle). However, by placing the Giant Eagle exactly where the Target had been planned we end up with the same problem of a big unsightly building facing NW Blvd.

Solutions

Why not shift some of the Giant Eagle space west and create a row of NW Blvd fronted retail? This would make the shopping center more ped friendly from the NW Blvd side and would set a precident for future redevelopment where a parking garage may someday be built and lot space on the east side of the space could also become NW Blvd fronted buildings. I would like to see a plan that has foresight such as this; draw up some possible upgrades in the future.

In regards to upgrading the current plan’s ped-friendliness I would suggest a larger strip of green space buffering the center from the street with a wider sidewalk/MUP running through it. The plan should include a couple of green ways that cross the space east to west and a couple that cross the space north to south; both intersecting the buildings directly so that it is inviting to walk/bicycle in, around and through the space. The benefit of this would be less asphalt and thus fewer runoff issues.

I look forward to this redevelopment taking place but I hope that these minor changes are seriously considered as I believe they will make a substantial difference to how the space gets used, or doesn’t.

Can Be Found Here

By month’s end, I plan to do a year end wrap-up for most areas in and around Columbus that I most often write about. It’s funny how carried away one can get with numbers and statistics whose meanings are up for grabs and easy to manipulate.

When it comes down to it, market statistics are helpful but quite often not applicable to your particular real estate transaction. And I’m talking about Columbus Neighborhoods here.  Just think how irrelevant those thousands of real estate stories you heard/read/noticed last year are to your home search here in Central Ohio.

Anyone who followed the Great Columbus Streetcar Debate of 2008 knows what a divisive topic large capital investments into public transit can be, especially in cities that don’t already have fixed guideway transit.  I ran across this article from the Detroit Free Press and was struck by the similarity to the Columbus streetcar proposal.

Detroit light rail link may be only the beginning for mass transit

The Regional Area Initial Link (TRAIL) in Detroit

BY CECIL ANGEL • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • January 4, 2009

Despite the state’s economic woes, mass transit advocates saw significant progress in late 2008 toward proposed light rail and mass transit projects in southeast Michigan.

In early December, in a rare show of unity, government leaders in Detroit, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties agreed on a resolution for a mass transit plan for the tri-county area.

The Michigan Legislature passed a bill on Dec. 19 giving the Detroit Regional Mass Transit Authority the go-ahead to establish a governing body that will oversee a planned $10.5-billion tri-county mass transit system consisting of buses and light rail.

The bill also gave the green light for the Detroit Regional Mass Transit Authority to create a tax increment finance authority to privately fund The Regional Area Initial Link (TRAIL), a 3.4-mile-long light rail line that will extend from Hart Plaza to New Center in Detroit. The line also will be supported with fares, but if there is an operating shortfall, the state will cover it, said John Hertel, chief executive officer for the Detroit Regional Mass Transit Authority.

“This line just got a big boost,” he said of the lawmakers’ action on TRAIL. “This can be built in a matter of two years. No federal dollars.”

READ MORE

Detroit is calling it light rail - and perhaps it will be - but with 12 stops on a 3.4 mile long starter line it sounds a lot like Columbus’ 2.8 mile streetcar to me.  The difference is that Detroit has funding and is moving forward with it.

I found the comments at the end of the article somewhat interesting.  As could be expected in the center of the US automobile industry, there is no shortage of rail critics.  Here are some quote:

It doesn’t make any sense to me to TRAIL-blaze rapid transit in Detroit with a useless “Hart Plaza-New Center” beginning. Just exactly WHO is going to use this? Rapid transit should provide a cheap and quick alternative to automobile transit. It needs to bring the commuters from the suburbs to downtown, where they can work, attend sports games, theater, concerts, and restaurants/bars. It needs to provide a way to get to the airport without having to park in one of the exhorbitant lots. It needs to reduce traffic congestion on area freeways.

First, it is always easier to criticize from the back of the room and not offer any reasonable solutions otherwise. The reason why you start in the city center is to create a starting point for transit to branch out from. While I agree Detroit’s downtown is still far from perfect, ANY successful metro area needs a strong, diverse city core.

But the real question is: Why would rail be expected to significantly increase ridership when, except for connecting Wayne with Ypsilanti, the rail system would simply duplicate or replace existing bus routes already in place??? And buses would be necessary to get to the rail system in the first place.

Sound familiar?

• Spaceport America The FAA has given approval for the world's first spaceport here in the US. Pretty sweet looking design and, well, growing up on shows like Lost in Space and The Jetsons makes this that much more exciting to me. Check it out! (tags: space travel spaceport design)
• Internet Transit Map I found this internet transit map by Information Architects of Japan and thought it was way cool. Originally posted by me to the CSMC site. (tags: internet map transit)

Go Bucks - Beat Texas

Once again, the Ohio State University Football Buckeyes are playing in a big BCS Bowl Game. The Fiesta Bowl in Arizona has always treated them well. They have their work cut out for them tonight though, against the #3 Texas Longhorns.  The hype is a little quieter around Columbus this year and the expectations, I believe, are a little lower. Go Bucks.

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The Arena District sits where the Ohio penitentiary once stood and is an example of building an urban neighborhood and entertainment venue from scratch. There are numerous restaurants, bars, a hockey arena, and movie theater. The dining and nightlife options are largely chains, but there tends to be quite a few people here on weekends.

If you are in Columbus and somehow unaware of Skreened then I feel bad for you. Even if you aren’t local you should check out Columbus based Skreened: Ethical Custom Apparel [here] and consider making a purchase. Might I suggest a stylish Elephants On Bicycles.com shirt?

Check out my Skreened Shop at http://skreened.com/eob for sizes and styles!

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Just east of Bexley, Eastmoor is a newer neighborhood built for those of more modest means annexed by Columbus in 1937. The neighborhood has an interesting quirk in its layout since the roads were laid out in a mostly typical urban grid format, but most homes here were constructed post WWII, i.e., the suburban era. Therefore several aren’t much to look at, although they are located on navigable tree lined streets. As for the commercial corridors, particularly Main St., let’s just say that this strip may very well contain the highest concentration of architectural abominations in the entire city. The Polynesian-style Kahiki restaurant was an exception, but was torn down for a Walgreens. It is a striking contrast to Bexley’s main Street, which makes Eastmoor it’s bizarro twin in this regard and worth a look.

As of late yesterday afternoon, 11,127 real estate transactions were pending a sale or closed in 2008 involving homes more or less inside the I-270 outer-belt. (That was 1,821 or 14% less than 2007).

Of those that closed this year, 166 or 1.5% were homes that sold above $500,000. The number, not the percentage, is oddly close to the numbers over the last five years or so when more, sometimes thousands more, homes sold.

As we ring in 2009, here are the top 52 homes sales in and around Columbus proper this year. These homes averaged $218/sf and were on the market (surprisingly swift for this high end market, in these times) an average of 128 days:

Please click here to see the top 50 most expensive homes of Columbus in 2008

Note that communities like Dublin, Delaware, Gahanna, Westerville and New Albany are not wholly represented here, just a circle from downtown Columbus that pretty much follows I-270.

I believe that of these 52 homes, I have looked at 16 of them either for or with clients or with other Realtors.

Great artifact of life that I discovered today on NYTimes.com which asks the simple question of “What do you wish would happen by the end of the day?” This was recorded earlier this year but seems exceptionally relevant now as we head into a new year with many changes coming.

By the end of today I wish for my families health and peace, what about you?

Fifty People, One Question: New York from Crush & Lovely on Vimeo.

Just got this email in my inbox:

Greetings!

Saying bye is never easy, but sometimes it has to be done just the same.

Unfortunately, Ohio State University has decided to end its partnership with Zipcar, so we will be removing our cars from campus as of January 5, 2009. Please note, however, that your membership is still good in all cities where Zipcar provides service if you are 21+ (see zipcar.com for a full list of cities).

All reservations made for dates after 1/4/2009 have been canceled and fully credited. Further, we have decided to refund any and all annual membership fees, net of any free driving credit used, for members who have paid an annual fee since September 1, 2008.

If you signed up after September 1, 2008, your refund will appear in your account automatically (if you would like to cancel, you will still need to follow the instructions below). If you have questions about your refund, please contact us at info@zipcar.com.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. To cancel your membership, you MUST login to your account, go to My Stuff and select “Close Account”.
2. If you want to hold on to your membership, no action is required and we’re happy to keep you in the family.

If you have further questions, or are having problems canceling your account, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@zipcar.com.

Warm regards,

The team at Zipcar

zipcar | wheels when you want them (TM)

Bummer.

Hiawatha Line

I visited Minneapolis-St. Paul for the first time a few years ago. In some ways it reminded me of a bigger version of Columbus. The major employers are largely white-collar, which has helped the region avoid economic decline like some other Midwestern cities. It’s a state capital. There’s a major university. And driving around on the numerous freeways was relatively headache-free.

Minneapolis has done some more innovative things than most cities though.  They share tax revenue throughout the region.  This reduces competition between suburbs and cities for limited corporate and industrial land uses, disparities between rich and poor communities, and allows for smarter development planning.  They have implemented congestion pricing with high occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes on I-394.  The region’s Hiawatha light rail line opened in 2004, connecting downtown Minneapolis to the Airport and the Mall of America.  At least two additional light rails are being planned; the “Central Corridor” line connecting downtown Minneapolis to the University of Minnesota and downtown St. Paul , and the Southwest Transitway to suburban Eden Prairie.  The Northstar commuter rail line is also set to open in 2009.

The article below explains how Minneapolis is working to reduce automobile parking requirements while still bringing people into downtown by other means.  Ultimately this will lead to more land downtown devoted to people and economic activity instead of storing cars.  This stands in contrast to Columbus’ policy of public funding for new parking garages, which in my opinion will ultimately lead to more congestion on the freeways and less land downtown being used to its full potential.

Minneapolis may reduce off-street parking
BY Briana Bierschbach
PUBLISHED: 12/02/2008

Parking in the City of Minneapolis may soon get more difficult for motorists, but easier for bicyclists.

A proposed amendment to parking regulations, proposed to the City Council this month, will allow future developments to provide fewer off-street parking spaces than they currently do. The amendment also seeks to increase bicycle parking in the city.

Most businesses currently have an off-street parking requirement of one space per 300 square feet. The amendment would reduce this requirement for most uses, to one space per 500 square feet.

Bicycle parking requirements could also change. The City currently doesn’t require bicycle parking citywide, but changes would require almost all newly established businesses to accommodate at least three bicycles.

…Weinberger said Minneapolis needs to be strategic about where it reduces the requirements for off-street parking. Focusing on areas near a light rail or around the University, where public transit is readily available, is a good idea, she said.

“You want to make it easier for people to come, but harder for them to come by car,” she said.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Even though the bikeways plan has been finalized, it hasn’t been implemented and was not written in stone. Here is the current plan for Downtown.

Notice that there is not even a handful of bike-boulevards (Town or Oak will be converted, so there would only be two including Washington Ave.  in all of Downtown). Bike lanes come with a whole host of problems with a major one being that even a road with these lanes still puts a driver’s ability to drive fast over a cyclist’s right to live. You have a great disparity in the difference of speed between cars and bikes, great difficulty in changing lanes to take a left hand turn, getting hit by right-turning vehicles, etc. And signed shared roadways shouldn’t even be included, since they’re a joke. Here’s the one I use for commuting back from work.

So what is the answer without drawing ire from the motoring public? A basic bike boulevard system that gives cyclists a safe, comfortable route into Downtown from all directions along with an interconnected system for traveling within Downtown. All this without converting all streets into bike-friendly places (which would be ideal). And here is an interactive map detailing all hypothetical routes that would be much better for cyclists such as myself than the current plan.

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A well-to-do streetcar suburb with an active Main St (aptly located on Main St). Bexley is filled with grand homes and home to Capital University as well as a sizable Jewish population. There are some quality dining options and among other shops lining their downtown is the independent Drexel Theatre. It’s an attractive neighborhood and a short distance from Downtown.

I think this deserves a “Thank You” to the state highway patrol, traffic engineers, oil traders, and mostly all of you who are driving less.

Traffic deaths dropping to record low in Ohio
State patrol credits enforcement, fewer miles driven in summer
Published on Thursday, Dec 25, 2008
Associated Press

CLEVELAND: Ohio has seen a sharp drop in traffic accident deaths this year, in part because of stepped-up highway enforcement in big cities and a drop in summer driving because of high gas prices, the State Highway Patrol said.

Car crashes killed 1,080 motorists in Ohio through Wednesday, and the state is on track for a record yearly low in 2008, said patrol spokesman Sgt. Darren Blosser. The previous low mark was 1,239 deaths in 2006.

”Motorists can breathe a little easier,” said AAA spokesman Brian Newbacher.

Ohio’s reduction of about 13 percent exceeded the national average of about 9 percent, said Col. Richard Collins, the patrol superintendent.

Other factors included air bags, driver education programs and advances in trauma care, such as medical helicopters quickly reaching crash scenes, Collins said.

Alcohol-related traffic deaths also fell — down 10 percent in 2008 from 280 fatalities last year. Troopers arrested more than 24,000 drivers who had been drinking this year, Collins said.

”Alcohol continues to be a problem,” Collins said. ”It will still be a big focus.”

Seat-belt campaigns also helped in Ohio in 2008, and a state law set to take effect in March requiring that children younger than 8 ride inside booster seats will reduce deaths even further, Newbacher said.

Ohio had been one of only seven states that didn’t require booster seats for children older than 3. Seat belts that don’t fit young children properly can do extensive damage in accidents, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The patrol’s fatal crash figures in Ohio date back to 1933. The worst year for traffic deaths was 1969, when 2,778 motorists died.

The patrol’s partnership with police in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo in accident-prone areas had a huge effect, Collins said.

For example, troopers on special details on interstate highways in Northeast Ohio issued more than 6,000 tickets for speeding and arrested 525 people for drugs in 2007 and 2008. The sweeps likely had the residual effect of causing drivers to regularly reduce their speeds in those areas, Collins said.