Arena Mayhem: Halloween Countdown Edition

Jan 7, 2009

Mark your calendars for Halloween 2010. That’s right, the new downtown arena will officially open at 11:40 pm on Halloween in 2010 according to the Cardinal Countdown Clock posted on the corner of Second and Main streets. The clock has been up for a while, but we decided to check out just where six-hundred-sixty-odd days landed. All hallows night.

The Cardinal Countdown Clock. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

While that’s still way in the future, it at least gives us a chance to figure out our costumes for the opening ceremony. We’re still debating between a toaster or a band of lost soccer players from Liverpool.

There’s been a lot of excitement lately at the arena site, and there’s nothing like actual concrete being poured to top a giant wooden sandbox or or even an abandoned jet engine. It appears they figured out how to keep the piles from failing, because now there are hundreds of them poured and columns for the parking garage on the Main Street third of the site have been rebarred and will soon make the arena 3-D.

Work on the floodwall replacement seems to be progressing quite rapidly as well. We’d hate to see this thing become the largest swimming pool ever in Louisville sometime this spring (or, wait, that could be awesome!). You may notice there’s a lot of unexcavated dirt just north of all the activity along Main Street. We believe this is due to the underground parking garage being lower than the arena itself. The floor of the basketball court will sit just above the water table when everything’s finished (on Halloween, don’t forget).

Yes, start making your plans now. Halloween 2010 is just around the corner and promises to be an unveiling (uh, oh… ghost pun) like never before. The arena should be fun, too. Meanwhile, stay tuned for updates as the arena and its garage raise their cold, concrete hands from slightly more than six-feet-under Main Street.

Arena Mayhem: Is The Arena In Louisville Or Liverpool? (Broken Sidewalk)
Arena Mayhem: Shoring Wall Now Gigantic (Broken Sidewalk)
Arena Mayhem: Giant Engine Found Amid LG & E Rubble (Broken Sidewalk)
Arena Fails Its First Test: Weak Pile Can’t Take The Stress (Broken Sidewalk)

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Louisville Weirdness: Tree-Sitting Edition

Design

By Branden Klayko -

Jan 7, 2009

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Here’s another classic Keep Louisville Weird moment (or should it be Keep Louisville Trashy?). We spotted this chair perched high atop a street tree on Kentucky Street just west of Barret Avenue in front of the old Quill’s Coffee Shop. We couldn’t find any reason the chair should be there, except that someone may have thought it constituted art. We don’t see the art of throwing a dingy lawn chair into a tree, but if you painted it all sorts of crazy colors or something, we might say maybe. Chairs in trees. Louisville. It’s only possible here.

Bridge Building And A Quicker, Cheaper Alternative

By Branden Klayko -

Jan 7, 2009

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No, we’re not talking about 8664.org … yet. First up is the crumbling Harrods Creek Bridge on River Road that closed recently. Yesterday, the mayor’s office revived plans to widen the bridge to two lanes despite a lawsuit from River Fields. We’re not here to argue for expanding the one-lane bridge or rehabbing the dilapidated guard rails, but instead to point out an interesting quote from River Fields attorney Don Cox on the issue:

We’re not trying to stop the project, we’re trying to get them to agree to build a quicker, cheaper alternative that will maintain the character of the area, and that is a one-lane bridge.

Doesn’t that sound familiar? Sounds like… wait for it… 8664. We’re all for the quicker, cheaper alternative to that massive Ohio River Bridges Project that River Fields has also been fighting. And the grotesque tangle of highways downtown certainly don’t fit the character of a vibrant urban area. The 8664.org blog pointed out again today that the Bridges Project really has little to do with bridges at all:

Half the cost of the Bridges Project ($2 Billion) has nothing to do with a bridge. The proposed 23 lane wide Spaghetti Junction will make downtown a construction hell for 20 years. And you get to pay for it. $4, $5 or maybe even a $6 toll every time you want to cross the river. This project was supposed to improve ‘cross-river mobility.’

We like a line (and, frankly, that’s about it) from a recent C-J editorial about the pending Obama stimulus plan: “But we urge the incoming Obama administration to look beyond the immediate goal of “shovel-ready.” We urge it to aim for that—and also items that are ‘future-worthy.'” They were, of course, advocating the slow death of Louisville through an expanded Spaghetti Junction, but we feel “future-worthy” is a valid issue to raise. Is the Bridges Project future-worthy? We obviously don’t feel it is.

As many local business and civic leaders (even one who wanted to be Secretary of Transportation) try to hush any discussion of the future of transportation in our city because we’re “so close” to getting something maybe someday built. The C-J editorial board in one hand urges stimulus like that of the 1930s that will “transform” and “reshape our future,” but in the other urges the community to support an antiquated technology that will shackle Louisville solely to the transportation patterns of the last century.

Last point comes from a new study reported in the Boston Globe about what makes a city economically healthy and prosperous (hint: it’s not more highways). The study from economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia notes that “consumption amenities” like parks or riverfronts help metropolitan areas attract educated workers and create livable communities:

Urban growth and prosperity have less to do with transportation links and industrial infrastructure than the patterns that govern behavior at a social mixer: Beautiful and charming cities draw a crowd, while the featureless and unattractive wilt like wallflowers.

The study promoted “fun” over “joyless nitty-gritty” and suggests improving the qualities of unique urban life instead of paving over them will benefit cities far into the future. So maybe if critics of 8664.org like River Fields or the Courier-Journal would take their own advice and look at cheaper, quicker alternatives and consider future-worthy projects, Louisville could ride out the economic turmoil and emerge stronger and more livable in the end.

Standing Under The Highway, Regretting (Broken Sidewalk)

Video: Do You Know How To Lock Up Your Bike?

By Branden Klayko -

Jan 7, 2009

1

Here’s an interesting video from Streetfilms with bike mechanics Hal Ruzal and Kerri Martin as they walk around the streets of New York City grading how well bikes are locked and how a thief will try to steal all or part of the bike. Do you know the difference between a Kryptonite lock and a craptonite lock? The short film explains how easily a bike thief can break your locks and get away with a $100 tire or $50 seat. Excellent watching for anyone who rides a bike, for commuting or recreation.

Evening News Roundup: 2009 Edition

By Broken Sidewalk -

Jan 7, 2009

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Whew! We’re back. A little later than anticipated, but it’s water under the bridge now. We’ve got a lot to cover to catch up with 2009, so we’re starting things off with a fairly massive news roundup of articles we’ve found interesting since the new year. Also, maybe you saw it, but last week the Velocity did a little write up on yours truly in their Just Can’t Get Enough section:

“Want to know about that building under construction? Or the latest scoop about that empty storefront? Turn to this blog (brokensidewalk.com), a self-proclaimed collector of gossip, rumors and confirmed facts about urban development in Louisville.”

Thanks again to all our readers and here’s to a new year of BS.

Continue

Last News Roundup of 2008

By Broken Sidewalk -

Dec 31, 2008

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Here’s our last post for 2008, we hope you all have a good new year and we’ll see you back again next week.

Transportation Issues

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New Sidewalks: Fleur-de-Lis Construction Fence Removed

By Branden Klayko -

Dec 31, 2008

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Construction fence removed from the Fleur-de-Lis

The construction fences have been removed from the Fleur-de-Lis condos on the corner of Preston and Main streets, revealing a streetscape long barred from pedestrians. The last time we remember walking along this stretch of Main Street, the old Brinly-Hardy complex was still standing and boarded up. We had forgotten what the town looks like from this particular angle, and as it turns out: not bad.

New sidewalks at the Fleur-de-Lis. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

This intersection is one of the most transformed in all of Louisville with Slugger Field and a new condo building across Preston. The Preston Pointe building across Main Street (by the same architect as the FDL, Potter & Associates), shows off its shiny steel angles pretty well, too, from the new sidewalk. The sidewalk design follows what has been done elsewhere in the area surrounding the ballpark: red and black bricks with street trees. This stretch, though, features granite curbs and of course, a new luxury mixed-use building.

The work on the exterior of the building is all but done (some steps and a few metal panels aren’t finished). Beginning next year, work will resume finishing the interior spaces including two landscaped courtyards. Waterproofing should be done in the coming weeks and planting medium and some plants will be installed shortly after that. Other cold-sensitive plants will be installed in the spring.

Before any plants hit the building, though, we should be seeing actual human life on the property. The first condo will close next Wednesday and moving trucks will soon be parked along the street. Thirty-three of the building’s 82 units have been sold so far and a model unit is open for tours on Sundays. One last note we don’t really know much about: is Preston Street soon to be two-directional between Main and Market? New street lights were installed a little while back facing both ways, so maybe the street’s in for a change.

Snapshot: Fleur-de-Lis Update: November 2008 (Broken Sidewalk)
Snapshot: Fleur-de-Lis Update: October 2008 (Broken Sidewalk)

The new sidewalk provides for the first public views of the building up close. We took the opportunity yesterday to photograph the building as close as we could.

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Street Trees Installed At New Research Building

By Branden Klayko -

Dec 31, 2008

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New Street Trees on Hancock Street. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Yesterday, crews installed new street trees along Hancock Street and Muhammad Ali Blvd. in the Medical Center. You can see in the photos the tree boxes are large, and small metal brackets at the perimeter indicate a metal tree grate will eventually be installed around the tree. We’re happy to see the new trees aren’t spindly saplings but have a trunk diameter of three or more inches. After the tree massacre downtown a couple weeks ago, we’re glad new trees will be sprouting in the new year.

Street Tree Installation In Progress. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

One of the benefits of urban life is experiencing the unexpected

Urbanism

By Branden Klayko -

Dec 31, 2008

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Yesterday on Fourth Street, a rather large group of protesters was marching and chanting down the sidewalk in support of Middle East peace. We’re not entering the international political foray here, but delighting in the unexpected spectacle of the city. It could be the flute player whistling soft tunes a block down Fourth, a strange piece of public art you hadn’t seen before, or just a citizen on a soap box. City life gives birth to a richer experience. It’s dynamic, random, and somewhat uncontrollable. There’s always something new.