Mobility
Evening News Roundup
For your enjoyment, the plight of the urban Zozos. [via StreetFilms ] There’s nothing like Derby to bring out seasonal allergies, and there’s no place for seasonal allergies like the Ohio River Valley. Regular posting should be back tomorrow.
Now & Then: Looking Back On Fourth Street
The spot is the current location of Theater Square. It’s Fourth Street just north of Broadway. It’s two stories now, with a central plaza, but it used to be five.
It was made of brick with simple detailing that was far superior to the modern brick buildings. One building was made of glazed terra-cotta with a gothic motif. It’s long gone.
The massive building in the photo below was the Berkeley Hotel and we’re sorry it’s not here today. The west side of Fourth from here to Broadway is lacking in urban scale and definition. The modern version does have retail, though, but it would be nice to have some of these buildings around to renovate.
Shotgun House Wall Partially Collapses in Butchertown
A segment of wall between two windows about three feet wide collapsed on the side on a shotgun house duplex on Franklin Street yesterday. A bright pink “Order To Vacate” was posted upside down on the front door. A tipster tells us there may have been talk of demolition by city folks, but the collapse isn’t that bad.
The house completes an impressive streetscape on Franklin between Campbell and Shelby Streets and the last “missing tooth” was recently filled in by the Franklin Flats two houses down. Opening up another vacant lot would destroy the progress that has already been made. Since the collapse is pretty minor and the building resides in a historic district, there’s plenty of reason to suspect it will survive. The house does need some maintenance work on the outside, especially a tuckpointing job to ensure the rest of the walls are sound.
Video: This Is What Bike Rush Hour Looks Like
This is the scene just about every morning in Portland, Oregon as the masses of commuting cyclists head off to work. On this particular bridge, cyclists account for 20 percent of all traffic. Here’s a bit from StreetsBlog about the film: “The first time you visit Portland, Oregon, the gaggles of cyclists streaming over the Hawthorne Bridge during rush hour is a sight you will never forget. It’s something other cities need to see and be inspired by.”
Evening News Roundup
Trying something new this evening. With Derby Week in full swing, don’t forget to take the free TARC buses anywhere in the county Friday after 6:00. It might be nice to take the bus into town for an extended First Friday trolley hop that goes until midnight. While you’re downtown, try out a new bar. Luckily the girls at Louisville on Tap have new reviews on Stevie Ray’s and Freddie’s. The LEO says even cruising is looking up this year with a mix of community events to go with tricked out cars.
It’s A Crime To Walk To School
A Louisville man was arrested today for making his 6-year-old daughter walk to school. WHAS 11 reported that the father was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor since the route to her elementary school was on a busy road with no sidewalks. The incident happened on a two-lane suburban street, but it’s the same with all sorts of streets in Louisville and other cities including Hurstbourne Lane pictured above. The girl was apparently walking to school because she missed the bus.
Louisville Among The Cities Of The Future
I guess we’re the Possibility City after all. Or so says Foreign Direct Investment magazine, a publication of the Financial Times company in London. Four months went into researching 400 cities classified under four population categories. A litany of benchmarks covering economic potential , human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, business friendliness, and promotion strategy (we’re sure the Possibility City folks helped out with that last one) were used to decide the best.
Louisville ranked 7th overall in the “Small City” category just behind Sacramento, Irvine, and St. Louis. Tampa, Minneapolis, and Raleigh took the top spots. The “Small City” category represents a population base between 100,000 and 500,000 people. I assume this means in the urban service area. For comparison, New York was listed as the top Major City and Toronto is situated as 7th. In the Large City category, San Francisco came in first and Orlando pulled in a number 7 spot.
Our own fair town is the only other city besides St. Louis and Chicago to land a spot on the list from anywhere remotely close to our region, either Midwest or South. Besides the top ten spot for “Small City of the Future,” Louisville was also ranked as 3rd best city for economic potential (just behind Raleigh and Tampa). The magazine used data ranging from construction investment to number of knowledge-based jobs to retail prices to crime rate per 100,000 residents to the airports serving the city.
Read the full article and all the city rankings here [ Warning: PDF ]
Construction Watch: Family Resemblance Shows In SoBro
Brick arches and ornate details can now be found on the corner of Fourth Street and Breckinridge Street in the SoBro neighborhood. Much more brick has been applied to Presentation Academy’s new Arts & Athletics Building since we checked in a couple months ago, and a distinct resemblance to the original Presentation Academy building across the street can now be discerned. A cast stone base was installed a while back (it’s underneath the plastic apron) and the brick facade is nearly complete.