Hemming Park Problem

[fieldafm]

It was decided that with the final report being submitted to the AD Hoc Hemming Plaza Committee that there is no need for any further sub-committee meeting at this time.

So, no meeting next Wednesday?

THAT was the final garbage that will be presented to Council?

What a joke, except it's not funny.

[tufsu1]

Lastly, I have to agree with Lake’s (Ennis’) persistent push for restrooms in the park.  What does the visitor think, on a Sunday, or in the evening, or even in the day, when they must face a non-restroom environment?  If not for now, surely in the future, when we’ve achieved a better balance of park “people”, we can place a restroom in the park. 

I was recently told that there used to be restrrooms down below the park...and that they are still there....would be interesting to find out if this is true

[fieldafm]

Lastly, I have to agree with Lake’s (Ennis’) persistent push for restrooms in the park.  What does the visitor think, on a Sunday, or in the evening, or even in the day, when they must face a non-restroom environment?  If not for now, surely in the future, when we’ve achieved a better balance of park “people”, we can place a restroom in the park. 

I was recently told that there used to be restrrooms down below the park...and that they are still there....would be interesting to find out if this is true

There definately were restrooms there.  Hemming used to be the main transfer station for most bus lines in the city.  I was told the remnants(not completely working restrooms mind you) were just paved over when they poured all the new concrete during the changeover from Hemming Park to Hemming Plaza.  That wouldn't be shocking if that were true.  It's amazing what's buried underneath most structures downtown (including trains and old cargo ships).

[wsansewjs]

The below email was sent to me from Dan MacDonald, who is Denise Lee’s assistant:

“It was decided that with the final report being submitted to the AD Hoc Hemming Plaza Committee that there is no need for any further sub-committee meeting at this time. The Ad Hoc Committee offered its thanks and congratulations for the serious work done by the members of the sub-committee. Its recommendations will be an important part of the final report that is presented to City Council Preswident Stephen Joost.”

Bulls***! They don't deserves ANY thanks or congratulations.

-Josh

[wsansewjs]

Even during the day, you could lay down in half of these streets and not worry about getting ran over by a car.

Have you seen the average teenager at the wheel? Texting in one hand and talking on the phone in the other. They might as well think they are driving on the Autobahn, let alone pay attention to the road ahead. I have also seen way too many people going the wrong direction down our so-called 1-way streets. Driving downtown is as bad as it is in the burbs!

Where did you get that load of lard from?

-Josh

[mtraininjax]

Josh - You've been downtown before and never seen anyone go the wrong way on a 1-way street? I've seen people head West on Forsyth Street from Laura, even though there are countless signs that state ONE WAY, and before Laura was 2-way, I used to see people head up it the wrong way.  It does happen, which is the scary thought.

And its not just teenagers, just yesterday I saw a woman jogging while talking on the phone. Really?

[Adam W]

Josh - You've been downtown before and never seen anyone go the wrong way on a 1-way street? I've seen people head West on Forsyth Street from Laura, even though there are countless signs that state ONE WAY, and before Laura was 2-way, I used to see people head up it the wrong way.  It does happen, which is the scary thought.

And its not just teenagers, just yesterday I saw a woman jogging while talking on the phone. Really?

FWIW, I know I've done it myself!

[fieldafm]

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/04/high-cost-losing-urban-trees/1716/

The High Cost of Losing Urban Trees


Every tree in urban Tennessee provides an estimated $2.25 worth of measurable economic benefits every year. Might not seem like a lot, but with 284 million urban trees in the state, the payoff's pretty big.

Through energy savings, air and water filtering and carbon storage, the urban trees of Tennessee account for more than $638 million in benefits, according to a report [PDF] conducted by the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and released earlier this year.

The biggest savings are attributed to carbon storage, which the authors of the report value at an estimated $350 million. Collectively, the state's urban trees store about 16.9 million tons, with each ton stored worth about $20.70 to the state every year. Air and water filtration is also one of the functional benefits of urban trees, and the report estimates the value of this work at $204 million per year. The trees are credited with removing 27,100 tons of pollutants each year, including ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. And because of the shading they provide, these urban trees are credited with saving about $66 million in energy costs annually.

And these valuations don't even consider the aesthetic value of having streets and parks lined with red maples and yellow poplars. Those benefits are a little more difficult to quantify, which is why this study, a pilot, focused on the more measurable benefits urban trees can provide. The method used for estimating tree values is commonly used and was developed by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers.

Similar pilot studies have been or are being conducted in Indiana, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Colorado. Indiana's street trees, for example, have been found [PDF] to provide about $38 million in tangible benefits every year, including stormwater treatment, energy use reduction, air quality improvement and carbon sequestration. They were also estimated to provide about $41 million in aesthetic values and impacts on property values. (That study counted about 52 million trees in the state, but it's unclear how many are "urban.")

The authors behind the Tennessee report also note that the state's trees are under threat from a variety of invasive species and diseases. They argue that more work needs to be done to prevent these threats from reducing the urban tree canopy and the benefits it provides. If every urban tree in the state were to die, the cost of replacing them is estimated at $79.5 billion. While that's an unlikely event, the high cost underlines the economic value that trees provide, whether in functional and utilitarian ways or in those less tangible.

Photo credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

Keywords: Tennessee, Urban Trees

Nate Berg is staff writer at The Atlantic Cities. He lives in Los Angeles. All posts »

[JFman00]

What are the chances of JTA/COJ could get together and do this on one of the N/S streets adjoining Hemming?

http://theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/03/los-angeles-seeks-pedestrians/1410/

[thelakelander]

Pretty cool.  I'd say Monroe (between Pearl and Hogan) would be a better candidate than Hogan or Laura Street for something like this.

[Ralph W]

Every time we hear the city cry poor mouth there seems to be enough money available. Who knows where it comes from.

Since we seem to have funds, I recommend Monroe St. be closed from the courthouse to Jefferson and a new jail and sheriff's office be built on the blocks from Adams to Church with a huge parking garage for "official" vehicles under the entire structure. Utilize what used to be Monroe from Jefferson as the secured entry point to the structure, with a key card or encrypted garage door opener.

Since the State attorney is going to get her high flying secure walkway to the courthouse there needs to be another from the jail to balance the books. Can't have the accused and their handlers exposed to the elements and the threatening riff-raff.

From the courthouse to Hemming I recommend Monroe be closed and redeveloped into a walking Mall with a dedicated PCT (trolley) shuttling between the Skyway and the courthouse for everyone. Five minute headway should do it.

Parking will be at the King St. garage and the parking and ride to and from will be free. Council members can park there too. (Somebody wrote a letter to the editor stating exactly what I wrote in a post last week here on MJ). There are also other lots adjacent to other Skyway stations that can be utilized. Since we seem to have money in the city coffers, all that parking for courthouse or city business can be free, too.

What?? Traffic is too convoluted to knock out more roadway?? Driving and parking downtown is always tedious and convoluted. Deal with it.

[fieldafm]

What are the chances of JTA/COJ could get together and do this on one of the N/S streets adjoining Hemming?

http://theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/03/los-angeles-seeks-pedestrians/1410/

Was just there, studied it and talked to the business owners along that stretch.  That particular road closure would work better in one of the intown neighborhoods(San Marco Square or Neptune Beach would be the best candidate IMO)

[WmNussbaum]

There's an interesting letter to editor in today's T-U.

If the park/plaza is to become much of anything, it needs to be larger and that can't happen unless a bordering street or two are closed permanently. Duval in front of City Hall is only about 1 lane wide, so why not close it? I doubt it would affect traffic flow too badly. It would be a short walk from either Laura or Hogan or across the park/plaza from Monroe to the front entrance to CH.

Now I realize that might mean that some members of the Council might have to make that trek, but if we put a few guards armed with Uzis along the route, they probably would be safe.

[thelakelander]

Why does it need to be larger?  It was fine for over a century until we started treating it as a red-headed stepchild.  It's a pretty decent sized square in comparison to its peers around the country.

[fieldafm]

IMO, you don't need to close a street.  Extending the tree canopy from Hemming to the new courthouse would make Monroe from Laura to Pearl a natural pedestrian-centric connecting artery to the only other 'pedestrian centric(that term is used loosely)' artery downtown now in Laura Street.