Sidewalk Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Well, it’s been quite a while since our last news roundup way back in May, but here we go again.  Congrats to Brandon for correctly identifying the sidewalk photo as Hycliffe Avenue in St. Matthews.  Up top, there’s a new sidewalk photo ready to be identified in the comments.

News Roundups will all now officially be Open Threads as well.  Feel free to discuss anything from the list of news items or anything else that comes to mind.  The Broken Sidewalk Forum is also now online.  You can access the reader-generated discussions by clicking on the “Forum” tab above or by going to talk.brokensidewalk.com.  Hopefully they will soon fill with lively debate and discussion.

Lastly, I’m still working through a few final details of the site redesign.  If you find anything that’s not working correctly or that is broken or if you would like to see a particular feature implemented, don’t hesitate to send in an e.mail to bs (at) brokensidewalk (dot) com.

Local News

• Try some Community Supported Agriculture this fall (Consuming Lou)
• Bellarmine University breaks ground on a new dowm (Fox 41, WFPL, C-J)
• JCTC dedicates new campus building (Wave 3, Biz First, C-J)
• Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium expansion almost done (Fox 41)
• Grants available beautify exteriors of downtown Jeff homes (C-J)
• New sprayground opens at Petersburg Park (Metro Lou)
• Louisville among the 18 most underrated cities (Huff Po)
• Support local business with the G-town / S-burg Pub Club (Consuming Lou)
• Some great photos of historic Colonial Gardens (Lou H & I)
• Civil War memorial finds new home in downtown Louisville (C-J, WFPL)
• Butchertown’s The Blind Pig got some big-city press time recently (NY Times)
• Louisville might get its own dedicated bike polo court (F Gas)

Click through for the rest of the news.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congratulations to Porter Stevens and Jeff N Clifton for correctly identifying our last sidewalk view – a special National Preservation Month edition – as West Main Street looking west from Seventh Street toward the Fort Nelson Building.  Here’s a new sidewalk view ready for guesses in the comments.

Local News

• Buy Local First Fair set for May 23 at the Water Tower (Consuming Lou)
• Free wine social for ‘up-and-coming leaders’ on May 27 (Leadership Lou)
• Master planning meeting for Petersburg Park set for May 25 (C-J)
• Top of the Hops beer festival set for June 19 at convention center (Biz First)
• 22nd St. Vehicle Emission Testing station now blooms with flowers (C-J)
• New Albany’s bicentennial art project looks really nice (37 Flood, Lou.com, NAC)
• Farming is sexy (and coming to a backyard near you) (LEO)
• And how flocks of chickens are coming to roost in backyard coops (LEO)
• Louisville home sales up 40% in April (C-J)
• Course design for the 2013 Cyclocross World Championship underway (F Gas)
• Meet David Warren, safety ambassador for the LDMD (C-J)
• Photos of Bowman Field’s 90th birthday party (Fox 41)
• Scribner Gardens in New Albany gets a face lift (N & T)

Transportation

• Indiana having trouble finding funds for Big Four Bridge ramp (C-J)
• The Urbanophile makes the case for the 8664.org proposal (Urbanophile)
• From a freeway off-ramp to a farm in San Francisco (GOOD)
• Cincy commits $64 million to build modern streetcar system (Urban Cincy)
• Will real estate developers build out mass transit? (NAC, Infra-ist, Transport Nation)
• Infographic: Our first sustained decline in driving (GOOD)
• Improv Everywhere busts ghosts and budget problems at NY Library (Boing Boing)
• Bureau of Organized Bikelane Safety keeps cycling clear in New York (NY Times)
• Particulate air pollution scientifically shown to be bad for your heart (Watchdog)
• Some rather nasty notes left on cars, mostly by other caring drivers (Grist)
• Photos of drivers with emotionless expressions in England (How We Drive)
• Modern car computers vulnerable to malicious hacking (Transportationist)
• Growth doesn’t cause congestion, over-reliance on cars does (WaPo)
• Anti-SUV guerilla campaign deploying ‘gas-hole’ magnets (Swiss Miss)

Everything Else

• Virtual street corners unite faraway places (Cool Hunting)
• An interview with Andres Duany: ‘the man who reinvented the city’ (Atlantic)
• Lightweight hybrid spans create a bridge to the future (Architect’s Newspaper)
• Rick Pitino’s Florida summer house for sale at $13.9 million (Card Game)
• Horrific photos of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf (Big Picture)
• Wendell Berry speaks out against dumping coal ash in Eastern Kentucky (C-J)
• Using branding to create ‘the authentic city’ (Urbanophile)
• Video: Richard Florida talks about cities as idea factories (Atlantic)
• Locals create song to assist with aid in Haiti (Where there’s a world)
• How much does LEED certification cost? (Infrastructurist)
• Amusing although NSFW cartoon of life in a logo-laden world (Trend Land)
• Interesting video on a college dorm window light show from Poland (Open Culture)
• Everybody is loving the art project Narrow Streets LA (Archinect)
• Various thoughts on rural livability (Blueprint America)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

(UL Photographic Archives & Diane Deaton-Street)

Congratulations to Ken Herndon and D. Jason Crowder for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as Eighth Street between Main & Market Streets.  Due to the proximity to the Slugger Museum, that block features a pentagon pattern on the edge of the sidewalk and reflected in tree planters that evokes the shape of a home plate on a baseball field.

As part of our continuing coverage of National Preservation Month, here’s a Now & Then edition of a sidewalk photo, although I doubt anyone will know where it is.  Guesses in the comments.

Local News

• An update on new restaurants opening soon in downtown New Albany (NAC 1, NAC 2)
• 610 Magnolia has the nations best Manhattan (GQ via Ville Voice)
• Giant wind turbine blade from GE to be on display this Saturday (C-J)
• Rainbow Blossom hosting Sunday farmers markets beginning May 16 (Consuming Lou)
• Indiana wildlife officials seek to create 1,300 acre preserve near New Albany (C-J)
• Free waterfront walking history tours offered beginning Saturday (C-J, Wave3)

Transportation

• Metro area gets a ‘C’ on infrastructure report card, still above national avg. (WFPL)
• TARC to sell summer youth bus passes: $30 for unlimited rides all summer (Biz First)
• Harrods Creek Bridge on River Road could open soon (Fox 41)

Everything Else

• Architects imagine the future of New York & the American city (Newsweek)
• Flip the parking lot and the building to promote walkability (Switchboard)
• What if the next round of ‘recalls’ targeted defective urban planning? (citiwire)
• Considering the real meaning of ‘mixed-use’ (GGWash)
• Is there such a thing as good federal urban policy? (NAC)
• Thoughts on place and placelessness (Via Architecture)
• Can you zone for a successful neighborhood? (TNR)
• The Urbanophile reconsiders density (Shareable)
• How zoning still encourages sprawl (Planetizen)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here.

Sidewalk photo

Congratulations to Joe Tilton, Jeff H., and Jason Schaefer for correctly identifying our last sidewalk view as Jaeger Avenue looking west toward Newburg Road.  For the next sidewalk photo, we’re going to take a slightly different vantage point.  Guesses in the comments.

Local News

• Germantown is going green with new trees on Goss Avenue (G-town S-burg)
• More troubles for the abandoned Star of Jeffersonville barge (C-J, Fox 41)
• Louisville looks to capitalize on Nashville’s flooding with new conventions (The Edit)
• Kentucky Kingdom could reopen in 2011 (Fox 41)
• New Albanians understood the meaning of ‘local’ in 1945 (NA Confidential)
• Sounds like Detroit is a little jealous of the Kentucky Derby (Free Press)
• 21c among Conde Nast’s top 5 hotels for design in 2010 (Apt. Therapy)

Events

• Consuming Louisville now has an event calendar (C-L)
• Ride of Silence to honor killed and injured cyclists on May 19 (Facebook)
• Norton Commons to host home tour on May 16 (C-J)
• Louisville Forum on May 12 will tackle Downtown development (Biz First)

Transportation

• Lord Jesus Christ run over in a Massachusetts crosswalk (Hard Drive)
• Which would you choose? Run on money or run on fat? (Bike Friendly)
• Gallery of 18 strange bridges from around the world (Pop Mechanics)
• Interesting video featuring transit, etc. in Melbourne, Australia (Digital Urban)
• Trucker in 11-death I-65 accident reported speeding, talking on cell phone (C-J)
• Should motorists be required to wear helmets? (Copenhagenize)
• In the age of electric cars, who pays for highways? (Grist)
• How should we prioritize highway spending? (National Journal)
• Tafel Mini Cooper dealership opens in St. Matthews (Biz First, C-J, Fox 41)
• Coal barge runs into Clark Memorial / Second Street Bridge (C-J)
• This is how you put a bike lane on a cobblestone street (Bike Portland)
• Or keep the cobbles and just make them smooth (Bike Portland)
• Reflections on sidewalk justice and the notion of the Just metropolis (Polis)
• LA considering ending publicly funded sidewalk repair (LA Times)
• Root barriers can help protect sidewalks from buckling (EV Studio via P-zen)

Everything Else

• Ed Glaeser takes issue with Jane Jacobs’ notion of density (NY Times)
• Thoughts on the Great Reset by Richard Florida (Urbanophile)
• Planes with lasers will help determine solar viability in New York (NY Times)
• Easy steps to create a better neighborhood (Sharable)
• Another cool tilt-shift video from Switzerland (Swiss Miss)
• An inspiring architectural renaissance in Colombia (LA Times)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congratulations to Jeff Noble and Jeff Nolin for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as Oak Street looking west from 12th Street.  Here’s a new sidewalk photo ready to be identified in the comments.

Also, beware some of the local sites below are running ads for the Louisville Science Center’s Dinosaur exhibit that play a very loud and annoying noise when the page loads.  Such advertisements are, in my opinion, rude and the pages should reconsider showing such invasive advertisements.

Local News

• What kind of fancy technology is going to fill the new arena? (Card Game)
• Falls City Beer is back & could eventually be brewed in Louisville (LEO)
• Eva Mae’s restaurant to take River Road site vacated by Chick Inn (C-J)
• Abbey Road on the River coming back to Louisville May 27 (Mojo)
• Nice graph of Louisville homes sold by year (Lou Homes)
• Owner of Wick’s Pizza has good things to say about New Albany (NA Confidential)
• There’s nothing like a top ten list and Louisville is on several (C-J)
• Toyota donates $25,000 to 21st Century Parks (Biz First, Fox 41)
• Farmers markets in Phoenix Hill, St. Matthews, and on Gray Street opening.

Transportation

• NPR compiles a sound track for urban cyclists (Hard Drive)
• Lexus and Volkswagen release designer bicycles.
• Washington looks to see if gas taxes can build light rail on interstates (TNR)

Everything Else

• New report finds carbon capture & sequestration ‘profoundly non-feasible’ (TreeHugger)
• Very interesting sidewalk street art created by tracing shadows (E Minor)
• How urban planning can improve your health (Miller McCune)
• Cities do it better: benefits of density and more (NY Times)
• How much time do you spend in an elevator? (Infrastructurist)
• VP Breckinridge of KY makes list of worst vice presidents (Time via Twitter)
• This vending machine pays you to recycle (Inhabitat)
• Japanese researchers invent elastic water (Inhabitat)
• Is the profession of architecture corrupt? (Design Intelligence)
• What are employees saying about the efficacy of building energy efficiency? (GOOD)
• Video: This 344 sq. ft. Hong Kong apt. can be configured 24 different ways (Daily Score)
• The Kentucky Derby as it was 136 years ago (Filson Club)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congrats to Trent Burdick for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as South Third Street from Hill Street in Old Louisville.  The vintage view is from around the turn of the century and as luck would have it, the view is quite similar today (except for the oak trees that now tower over the street).  Here’s a new sidewalk view ready for identification in the comments.

Local News

• Mellwood Arts Center cited for illegal dumping by MSD (Wave 3)
• Another new restaurant is opening up in downtown New Albany (NAC)
• Outsiders pleasantly surprised Louisville food isn’t what they thought (Boston.com)
• Housing project in New Albany to get $1 million in funding (C-J)
• Homeless shelter task force rules could allow Wayside to stay put (WFPL)
• Local activist setting up makeshift recycling stations throughout city (The Edit, flickr)
• The Church aka 801 East Main in the blogosphere again (Historic B-town)
• A look at the neighborhoods surrounding Churchill Downs (C-J)
• Look at all that trash left over from the KY Derby marathon (flickr via twitter)
• An update on the art project installation at the Bank St. Brewhouse (NAC)
• A roundup of WFPL’s series of what different parts of town want (The Edit)
• Report suggests tourism-expansion ideas for Louisville (C-J)

Transportation

• Student art-bikes unveiled Downtown (C-J, Pedalaround)
• Take the TARC to the Oaks and Derby (KIPDA)
• Can bus stop consolidation speed up service in Louisville? (StreetFilms)
• People want bike infrastructure (Fast Lane)
• Louisville makes it into a list of 50 car-free cities (CART)
• How bike lanes in New York affect the local economy (CEOs 4 Cities)
• 22 U.S. cities looking to build streetcar lines (Inhabitat)
• Kentucky consumes a lot of gasoline per capita (Infrastructurist, NRDC)
• Be sure to check out the new PBS documentary: Beyond the Motor City (CART)
• Livability to be a requirement in Fed transportation policy (PPS)
• Why you can’t park at a broken parking meter (Consuming Lou)
• Ratings system targets environmental impact of roads (Enviro Leader)

Everything Else

• In praise of staying put: giving up the nomadic life (GOOD)
• Thoughts on a federal policy for American cities (Urbanophile)
• Why smart growth is good growth: learning from past mistakes (WaPo)
• Suburban housing market declines a result of demographic shifts (Ground Floor)
• Mayors talk about abolishing states over funding battles (Naked City via P-zen)
• Cities as ‘dense meshes of active communicating public objects’ (Boing Boing)
• What an interesting street light (Dezeen)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Historic Sidewalk View (BS File Postcard)

Congratulations to Trent Burdick and Jeff n Clifton for correctly identifying the last sidewalk photo as East Burnett Street looking toward Shelby Street.  Here’s a new sidewalk view – vintage style – ready for identification in the comments.

Local News

• New sushi restaurant on Baxter Ave. called Wasabiya opens (Louey, Consuming)
• Roxbury nightclub to open in Theater Square on Fourth Street (C-J)
• Candy Jacks antique shop moves to Frankfort Avenue (9th District)
• Swan Dive celebrating 1-year anniversary with a bike ride Friday (F Gas)
• Schnitzelburg Walk rescheduled due to weather (G-town S-burg)
• Plan to make cement by burning tires upsets SW community (Fox 41, Valley Report)
• And Jeffersonville is upset with an asphalt plant (Fox 41)
• Intl. Downtown Assoc. lists Louisville as Downtown of the Month (Biz First, The Edit)
• Jeffersonville chooses finalists for Canal District logo competition (C-J)
• Louisville part of national foreclosure upswing (WFPL)
• The Blind Pig opens to rave reviews (Lou HotBytes)
• Derby Museum reopens after flooding (Fox 41, C-J)
• Belle of Louisville gets another historic designation (Fox 41)
• Clarksville planning a history museum (C-J)
• Ear X-tacy ranked as 6th best indie store in America (C-J)
• Art project being installed at NA’s Bank Street Brewhouse (NAC 1, NAC 2)
• Manufacturing slowly moving back to United States, Louisville (C-J)
• Seating unveiled at Papa John’s Stadium expansion (Fox 41, C-J)

Transportation

• Changes to how kids get to school in the last 40 years (StreetsBlog)
• Awesome photo of valet bike parking at Thunder (CART)
• 32 ‘art-bikes’ made by high schoolers on display in Louisville (C-J)
• Two new wardrobe options for cyclists (Daily Score, Swiss Miss)
• People for Bikes hopes for one million people to sign petition (GOOD)
• Trolley cars no longer require overhead wires (GG Wash)
• The gas tax: A trip back in legislative time (StreetsBlog)
• Shoppers walk farther than workers when it comes to parking (How We Drive)
• Dan Burden talks about creating walkable neighborhoods (StreetsBlog)
• Helsinki looks to make bus stops fun with ‘Urban Play’ campaign (Core77)
• See.Click.Fix allows citizens to respond to misguided complaints (CART)
• Can ferries play a useful role in the broader transportation system? (Transport Politic)

Everything Else

• Nine great streets from around the world (Shareable)
• Back when Kentucky might have been called Transylvania (The Edit)
• Using less paper: White Pages directory won’t be blanket distributed (WFPL, Biz First, C-J)
• Green Lex Video: UK building to save 42% in Energy Use (Enviro Leader)
• Not green: Get your $1000, glacier-ice mint julep before they’re all gone (Biz First)
• Satellite images show scars of mountaintop removal in Appalachia (Tree Hugger)
• Polystyrene insulation in SIPs and ICFs not really that green (TreeHugger)
• Wash. DC’s 5 cent plastic bag tax generates $150,000 in a month (GOOD, WaPo)
• New ideas for revitalizing rural areas (Daily Yonder via P-zen)
• Ten weirdest urban ecosystems on Earth (IO9)
• Some nice tilt-shift photography from New York (Cool Hunting)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Well, I’m back in New York after a great trip back to Louisville (which explains the lack of activity recently).  Thanks for everyone who came out to the Livable Louisville Forum.  I’ll have something online about that soon.  There should be more activity coming online from here on out and a few aesthetic changes possibly happening this weekend.  Meanwhile, here’s your news.  There’s a lot of it but there are some good links buried in there.

Congrats to D Jason Crowder and barturtle for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as East Washington Street looking west between Floyd and Brook Streets.  Here’s a new photo ready for guesses in the comments.

Local News

• Natural foods market could open in downtown New Albany (NA Confidential)
• Alabama-based restaurant to open in the PNC tower (C-J)
• Drainage problems at Iroquois Park being fixed (Wave 3)
• Breslin Pool demolished, sprayground planned (Mojo)
• Patio at Olivia’s on Goss ready for summer dining (G-town S-burg)
• With surge in development activity, HVAC contractor opens Downtown (Biz First)
• UL School of Dentistry holds topping off ceremony (U of L)
• Future of historic Berrytown school uncertain after fire (C-J)
• New book released on the Louisville tornado of 1890 (Lou.com)
• Crescent Hill reservoir named a historic KHS historic site (Fox 41, Wave 3)
• U-Haul says Kentucky leads nation with rate of in-growth (Biz First)
• Fire destroys downtown New Albany business, building (Fox 41, NAC)
• Fire destroys home in Portland (Fox 41, C-J)

Events

• Mayoral Forum to be broadcast live on WLKY April 10 (Lou H & I)
• South End Mayoral Forum scheduled for April 20 (The Edit)
• Car-Free Happy Hour scheduled for April 20 (F Gas)
• East Urban Neighborhoods Mayoral Forum set for April 12 (Consuming Lou)
• Bon Air neighbors to discuss future of Bardstown corridor April 12 (C-J)
• July’s Forecastle line-up announced (Backseat Sandbar)
• New calendar to list local bike-related events (F Gas)

Transportation

• Bikes at the Frankfort Avenue Easter Parade (CART, Pedalaround)
• Five things to know about High Speed Rail (Planetizen)
• It’s a good idea not to paint your own bike lane (GOOD)
• Are wider lines on bike lanes safer? (Biking Toronto)
• What’s the difference between light rail and streetcars? (Human Transit)
• Calculator estimates how much you can save by taking transit (Public Transit)
• And what cities save residents the most time with transit? (WSJ)
• California company wants to make sidewalks from carbon emissions (Dirt)
• Study shows Europeans stay within 6-miles of home (Planners Web via P-zen)
• Does Kentucky really need an official sports car? (C-J, Fox 41)
• Kentucky in second place for basketball walkability (Switchboard)
• 20 hybrid UPS delivery trucks planned for Louisville (Biz First)
• About New York’s Sustainable Streets Index (NYDOT)
• Ray LaHood at the National Bike Summit (Fast Lane, NY Times)
• Video: Do sidewalks need a fast lane for quick walkers? (Planetizen)
• New sidewalks in New Albany, Charlestown Road

Everything Else

• Financial Times looks at the future of the city (Rebuilding Place)
• Beware the pitfalls of centralized city planning (Slate)
• Why it’s important for cities to bring in outsiders (Urbanophile)
• Portland has ambitious plan to solve homeless problem (NY Times)
• Rental units for homeless more effective than shelters (Chron via P-zen)
• Foraging for vegetables and more in the urban environment (Boing Boing)
• Strange scenes of an abandoned Los Angeles (Space Invading)
• New group to rank restaurant sustainability (TreeHugger)
• Can fungi clean up our urban environment? (Design Under Sky)
• How the ancient Japanese made their cities sustainable (TreeHugger)
• Target installing recycling centers at stores nationwide (Biz First)
• CBRE study shows economic benefits of sustainability (Sust. Industries)
• Graffiti advertising that only shows up in the rain (Egotist)
• And advertisements pressed into fresh snow (Boing Boing, Inhabitat)
• Video: YMCA says its time to take back community (Egotist)
• Architect says skyscrapers can be green and other observations (WSJ)
• Smart Growth taking hold in American cities (NY Times)
• And an interview with the author of the Smart Growth Manual (The Dirt)
• And cities across the country rebuilding urban cores (CNN)
• But keep a balanced view of real urban growth (New Geography)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.