The city will soon begin replacing the sidewalks on both sides of a 550-foot section of Center Street from College Avenue to an alleyway near the downtown square.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
With a sidewalk replacement project planned on Center Street between College Avenue and the square, several downtown business owners and a City Council member are asking that an alternative concept be considered before construction begins next month.
Instead of simply removing and replacing the existing nine-foot sidewalks, the group is advocating for a new design that will provide wider sidewalk areas to allow for streetside cafes and other amenities.
Taste of Thai, Petra Cafe and Vetro 1925 are among 21 businesses represented on a petition which states, “We (Business Owners), the undersigned believe Center St. deserves more than just the ‘standard’ Fayetteville sidewalk.” The businesses, according to the petition, want a design that will “energize the downtown area with new life and vibrancy just as the city has done on Block Street.”
Jeremy Pate, the city’s development services director, said the idea was first pitched by Center Street business owners who presented drawings from Modus Studio architect Chris Baribeau which showed some different options for the upcoming sidewalk improvements.
The idea is also backed by Ward 2 Alderman and Street Committee member Matthew Petty.
“Center Street is a unique street, and it’s in the middle of a revival,” Petty wrote in a recent blog post. “It’s true that installing the standard sidewalk would be an improvement, but to really catalyze Center Street and make it more active, Fayetteville should go farther than meeting the minimum requirements.”
According to Petty, the new design includes brick liners, street trees and street lights to match other downtown areas, but also feature “bumpouts” which will increase the width of the sidewalks by up to eight feet in certain spots. The extra space would allow restaurants to add patio seating and would provide room for possible future installation of bike racks and benches.
The bumpouts, of course, won’t come without a tradeoff.
“All of theses options removed parking spaces, which was a concern of staff, due to the fact that both sides of that street are regularly full,” said Pate.
But with so much support for the idea, Pate said city planners are now working on new concept drawings to present to the Street Committee.
A portion of the Center Street sidewalks have already been replaced including this section closest to the downtown square. (Pictured: North sidewalk, facing west)
Photo: Todd Gill
Early drawings, according to Petty, include the removal of seven parallel parking spaces which would reduce on-street parking from 24 to 17 spaces along Center Street.
Plus, Pate said a redesign would likely delay parts of the project. The initial timeline, he said, called for the south side of Center Street (the side where the restaurants are located) to be completed before the University of Arkansas’ fall semester begins on Aug. 20.
A redesign could also include added costs.
“Depending upon what is approved, it may have budgetary impacts that require City Council approval,” said Pate. “That part is still really up in the air, as we haven’t even started estimating any costs yet.”
Ultimately, Pate said, the intent is now to provide greater width to the sidewalk for outdoor dining opportunities, bike racks, and possible benches, while maintaining the existing driving lane width for fire safety and delivery purposes.
The Street Committee will consider the new plan during its next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 31 in City Hall room 326. The meetings are typically held immediately following the City Council’s agenda-setting sessions which begin at 4:30 p.m.
Map of Center Street sidewalk replacement area
RE “We (Business Owners), the undersigned believe Center St. deserves more than just the ‘standard’ Fayetteville sidewalk.” The businesses, according to the petition, want a design that will “energize the downtown area with new life and vibrancy just as the city has done on Block Street.”
Apparently nobody has informed these people that the improvements on Block are an embarrassment, an abomination, an inconvenience, a danger to the public, a source of utter confusion and a death knell to business. For the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, will the naysayers please step in and save these business owners from themselves?
David: I’m sorry you feel so strongly about Block Avenue. I think you’re in the minority, though. Our business on Block is booming. We like the traffic slow, because it allows for more people to safely walk, sit, and bike on our street. We have the most eclectic group of local, independent business in Fayetteville, some of whom have been there for over two decades. We have strong support for the culture that is fermenting on Block. I’m sorry for you you’re missing the party.
Your sarcasm detector is in need of adjustment.
David, I’m not sure you actually know the meaning of the word “sarcasm.”
I apologize for misunderstanding, David. I keep seeing you refer to the Block project, and I’m thinking “what IS this guy talking about!?!?”. Thanks for clearing that up. That makes sense.
jdub80– That’s quite all right; your surety would be superfluous.
Hannah– That’s quite all right; I don’t go out of my way to make it easy. See the comment preceding yours.
Block Street is awesome. It’s Chick-fil-a that is the abomination.
The only complaint most people have about Block Street is the back-in parking. The rest of the improvements are great. I hope Center Street gets its wish. It should be a destination, like Dickson. All we need are a couple of infill projects at Block and Dickson, and we’ll have quite a large entertainment district for a city this size.
How exciting! This could absolutely be a wonderful improvement to Center Street!
Hopefully with these changes in mind, business will begin to fill in the north side of of the street as well!
I think Fayetteville should think about closing a street to traffic and making it pedestrian only. It would need to be a popular street with lots of businesses/restaurants like Dickson or Block that draws a lot of foot traffic. You could still have the cross streets. Then you could put park type features where the road is currently like fountains, benches, trees, etc. I have seen this in larger cities and it is awesome (3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA). Of course Fayetteville is not a large city yet so it may not work quite yet but it is worth considering.
Sounds a lot like Pearl Street Mall to me.
Same concept as “Old Town” in Fort Collins Colorado where I use to live & it was absolutely packed all the time with folks walking around. I would love to see that sort of concept happen in Fayetteville’s downtown
Agreed. Old Town in Fort Collins and a few parts of Boulder are awesome. I would love seeing Fayetteville do the ssame.
Jason I actually lived in the Old Town pedestrian mall in the building that was known as the Antler’s Hotel back in 1985 when I was a student at CSU. That place just opened and it was awesome to be able to walk outside my door and visit all of the shops. Also a cool place to hang out in in the hot evenings. Fayetteville could do something like this on Center and have residential areas there too. It can work if we get some creative minds to work on it.
@J.R. – When this idea was first designed by Modus Studio, we wanted to do something similar to your suggestion. We didn’t want to close it completely to traffic, instead opting for a “shared street” scenario. (Here is a link for more on shared streets: http://www.walkinginfo.org/engineering/calming-street.cfm).
I still think turning Center St into a shared street is a good idea, and it’s a good idea for other streets, too. I pushed a shared street concept for Block Ave in the beginning and I’m writing a grant right now that will design a shared street scenario for portions of Dickson and West. Unfortunately, that idea wasn’t possible for Center St with the budget restrictions we have right now. This was budgeted to just be a sidewalk project, and to keep costs from running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, we need to keep it a sidewalk project. When it comes time to redesign the whole street, we can look at doing more powerful pedestrian interventions like the shared street scenario.
I’m not sure, but I think the next downtown street scheduled for a big overhaul is East Ave. If you like the shared street concept, remember this conversation and make sure to send your comments when that discussion starts.
Petty, that’s interesting. Would the “shared street” concept be enforced by using pavers or textured asphalt for a cobblestone effect? These are all great ideas. I imagine once that area is made into a “special” pedestrian area, those empty storefronts will fill up quickly.
Yes, along with other techniques.
Petty wrote: “I’m writing a grant right now that will design a shared street scenario for portions of Dickson and West.”
This is what a good Alderman looks like.
I don’t find any mention of this project on the city web site. Are the project drawings available for viewing somewhere?
Not yet, no. We are still drafting. I sent comments back two days ago on an early draft and staff is working up the changes. I expect on Tuesday we will have drawings ready. In the meantime, you can see the original concept, which was produced by Modus Studio, at my website here: http://www.matthewpetty.org/dont_sell_out_center_st
That’s what I wanted to see. Thank you.
For it. I’d like to see it pedestrian only. Do it.
I think that might be too progressive for fayetteville, honestly. I think that was the original plan, but someone from the city nixed it. Too progressive. For Fayetteville. Bummer.
Yes to wider sidewalks! The most common complaint I hear about sidewalks is that they are not wide enough, and that includes the new sidewalks on College and Block. And what’s up with those stupid sidewalk drops on Dickson Street? Some of them are high enough that you need a railing to prevent the pedestrians from falling off the cliff. A better solution to lowering the sidewalk would have been to raise the street in those areas.
I support widening the sidewalks throughout downtown. Our city must prioritize people over cars. Sidewalk cafes, street trees, and plantings enliven the streetscape and help make our city vibrant and beautiful. A lively sidewalk culture would also make the area more attractive for retail businesses and some investment by the city would hopefully spark property owners to spruce up their buildings. If elected to City Council, I will be a strong supporter of these types of community improvements.
-Sarah Marsh
Candidate for Fayetteville City Council, Ward 1
I wish ALL the streets were like Block St. And I pay double the amount on my parking fees just ’cause I love it!
I’m a ward 2 guy and I’m completely in favor of turning whatever street we can into pedestrian only. This stretch of center street actually seems to make a lot of sense for that and would be very simple for drivers to adapt to. Of course I’d be in favor of doing this on any street where we can make it happen but this small stretch seems very doable. I don’t even see the need for it to be shared, there are many streets leading to the square. Go all out with cobblestones, trees, benches — and can we turn some of those law offices into retail and restaurants?
Little Rock tried turning Main Street downtown into a pedestrian only area and it was a complete failure. They eventually took out the fancy fountains, bricks, and even a Henry Moore sculpture and reopened the street.
Please do not compare Fayetteville with Little Rock.
Little Rock tried this when people were fleeing the city for the suburbs and the murder rate in the area just south of downtown Little Rock was the highest in the country for a few years. They also attempted to replicate a mall environment in an outdoor setting, with the same big stores. There was no River Market and there were very few reasons for people to be downtown, other than to go to work.
We’re talking about something much smaller, in a downtown that is thriving and has lots of momentum, and a population that already turns out in droves for a Farmer’s Market and art walk just a block away.
I can’t tell you guys how encouraging it is to see so many comments about this topic. We’ve come a long way!
Since everyone is so interested in pedestrian-only environments, I thought you guys might like this article. It’s about when pedestrian malls work and when they fail. I only share this as food-for-thought, because each street needs to be considered in its own context. http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/scott-doyon/18588/pedestrian-malls-are-so-20th-century
But if shared street is the direction we choose to go then I don’t see why that can’t gradually be what we do to every street connected to the square and parts of Dickson. What a fantastic downtown that would be.
A simple yet elegant way to reclaim parking spaces for pedestrians is a concept called a “parklet”. I would like to see one as part of the proposed sidewalk improvements on Center St. Here is what they look like:
http://unionsquaremain.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/philadelphia-parklet.jpg
This is an excellent, cool feature. Here are some things to consider..
1. This concept should not be limited just to Center Street.
2. The street trees should be the same distance from the buildings on both sides of Center to maintain a balanced, centered view of the Courthouse.
3. There should be a permitting policy developed for the entire downtown area to make it fair for others.
4.Would the “parklet” units be stored somewhere else in the winter to free up the parking spaces?
5.The biggest downside is sitting right next to a travel lane. Perhaps a row of large potted plants would soften that.
6. Having the Parklets would allow for the flexibility of cafes coming and going over time instead of having a fixed design and loss of parking set in concrete.
7. This would allow for the north side of Center to have the same amenity when the time comes.
Please don’t take a one-off, piecemeal approach to one-half of one side of one block of downtown. Think ahead and plan for this to become a popular concept. Build in long-term flexibility.
This can be great new dimension for downtown if done properly.
I like what you said about #2. Good thinking. The view of the courthouse is what gives Center Street its uniqueness. I like the idea of enjoying a meal outside with views of a beautiful old building.
Oh man, Mountain Inn, if only you could’ve held out for another decade! The eastern view from all these supposed patios would’ve been nice.
Dan, in reference to #7, both sides of the street are getting this treatment. Our idea includes planning for the north side eventually having equally successful restaurants and bars. We obviously want to see this idea spread, but asking to implement it on this small section first was feasible. Planters along the edges would be great.
Neil, we definitely have talked about parklets, they are a great idea. (we need to run a guerilla parklet campaign through the city)
Its about time… How long till we see this on Dickson
+1 for wider sidewalks.
Was just talking the other day about how Center street used to be a weekend destination about 10 years ago. Its still great, but it doesn’t draw out the crowds like Hoffbrau and that old mexican place that would stay open illegally until 5AM used to. I think some outdoor table/cafes in the space, I’d go there all the time.
Athens, Georgia (another wonderful southern college town) has a wonderful downtown area with extra wide sidewalks and thriving sidewalk seating utilized by restaurants, coffee houses, and bars. What a wonderful experience, to sit outside, sip a nice cup of coffee or a beer, and just people-watch while studying. There’s a one-block stretch of street immediately across from the UGA arches that is completely closed to traffic; and adjacent streets that are open to traffic have plenty of sidewalk room for tables. This concept makes more sense to me to happen on Dickson, rather than off the square. Between West and School streets would make perfect sense, if School extended to Lafayette. As it is now, you’d have to go all the way to College Avenue to hit a viable north-south street.
Since moving back to Fayetteville from Athens, the sidewalk seating, and the feeling of community and a strong link between town and gown, that it engenders is something I’ve found sorely lacking in my hometown. I hope to see this conversation continue.
Attracting business would be, filling with the street (closed to vehicular traffic, except for deliveries) like a bazaar, dotted with restaurants (no skates or pets please) flowing through the old BofA building and back down Mountain Street. A huge water fountain at Mountain and College would be a nice touch. With film companies lining up to film their scenes of lovers running through the flocks of pigeons. At night sparkling lights dangle from building to building and soft romantic accordian music in the distance…
Why should these select businesses get free square footage for outdoor dining etc.?
How about a nice big hotel on the next corner (Mountain), paid for with TIFF dollars?
What happened to the TIFF lawsuit? Kit? anybody?
Folks if you widen the sidewalks you will have to find somewhere else for trucks to stop a deliver their goods. During the day it’s very hard to get by them the way it is, just think about narrowing the street. Also there is no way you can close Center, it is a main access point for folks to get to the square.
In this case, the traffic lane is not being narrowed. On the portions of the street with the wider sidewalks, the sidewalks will only extend to the edge of the parking lane. Delivery behavior will not be affected through this plan.
How about Fayetteville replacing sidewalks all over town. Wilson Park sidewalks and areas off Dickson, Lafayette and Maple are really showing signs of decay. They are treacherous for walkers and impassable for people with disabilities (ADA accessiblity – hello!!). We pay a LOT in taxes in Fayetteville and it would be nice if the sidewalks were better maintained. Block Street is a bit too much – just something simple, well-maintained and most of all, SAFE for everyone.
This happens. There is a sidewalk program that is budgeted to replace sidewalks and also to build new sidewalks in each of the 4 wards every year – here is a past article on the Flyer about the 4.4 miles of new sidewalk to to be added in 2012:
http://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2011/12/21/council-approves-4-4-miles-of-sidewalk-improvements-for-2012/
Fayetteville has lots of sidewalk that was neglected for many years and had design standards in the past that didn’t require sidewalk construction for local streets, so it will take time to catch up – but this is a yearly effort that I think has not received enough appreciation.
I’d love to see better sidewalks in general in Fayetteville. Having moved from a very walkable city, I find it bizarre that there are some residential streets with no real sidewalks. I love this idea for Center street, and although parking on Block strikes me with deep panic, there’s no doubt that it’s a vibrant and wonderful part of the community. I look forward to seeing more of Matt Petty’s ideas. The more I listen to him, the more I like him.
Agreed. Petty is a good one.
Aw shucks! (Seriously, thanks!)
I’m in the middle of a vote pledge drive. If you support me, pledge your vote at http://matthewpetty.org/pledge_your_vote
Matt, you’ve got good ideas for walkability/bikeability.Can you somehow influence the walkability situation on and around campus with all the construction going on…
I want to echo the great job of helping this idea push through, thanks for the support Matt!
@Ryan Dickerosn: during construction there will always be inconveniences, but soon those construction projects will be complete and the city fabric will be more walkable/bikable and urban. Our Sterling Frisco project will go a long way to make the main connections to campus from Lafayette and Maple much more pedestrian friendly.
The mall in Burlington, VT is another great example of a successful downtown pedestrian marketplace in a city of comparable size (or smaller) to Fayetteville.
As long as we’re reminiscing about cool places we’ve visited and imagining what might be: How about Memphis’ Beale Street? If I’m not mistaken, Beale Street is open to traffic during the day, then a 2 or 3 block stretch is closed to traffic at night (with the cross streets remaining open), allowing street vendors, street performers, sidwalk seating, and pedestrian traffic. If Dickson Street resurrected its music scene, something like this would be a nice draw, I think.
Do our city planners and commissioners visit other cities to see how things work (and/or fail), and to generate ideas? Or do they just read things online and listen to consultants? (That sounds sarcastic, but it’s not meant to be. I’m genuinely curious.)
@James – Speaking for myself, I’ve never had the City pay to send me on a trip to study things like this, but when I travel for pleasure or business I always make a point of researching the best streets and the best neighborhoods so that I can take some time to study them. I read a lot of articles and books, too, but they are no substitute for actually seeing how a neighborhood works and how it affects the people within it.
That said, I do think budgeting a trip for planning staff and the Council to visit a City and see examples of these kinds of things would be very useful. It’s been done in the past, but it was a long time ago and we have a new Council with new decisions to make now.
A trip to Boulder would be great. Not only does their downtown have a lot of good ideas happening, a tour would show how College Avenue and other commercial streets can be made more pedestrian-friendly and how consistent development over time can transform neighborhoods. The cities have a lot of similarities.
I’m sure there would be those who would oppose city-paid jaunts; but it seems like a good idea to me. I wonder if any city decision-maker has actually driven in a modern roundabout. The only time I’ve driven in one was 25 years ago in Rome — one of the more terrifying experiences of my life. Can’t wait to see the mess the roundabout next to the hospital is going to cause.
The primary problem with our new sidewalks is they are built to minimum width standards. Make them wider, provide ample seating and shade, and you will see more use. Sidewalks should be a part of the entertainment experience. What we have are conveyor belt designs that don’t allow for casual foot traffic, loitering, and milling about. The new building on Block street is a good example of poor sidewalk interaction. Instead of leaving the front of their building open to foot traffic they built a concrete wall and gate.
The front lawn of the Walton Arts Center should be brought down to street level to entice through traffic.
Your proposal wasn’t posted before I made my comments. I’m glad to see it is balanced. Now we just need to make sure there is a process that others can follow. I really like this concept. Could I swing by your office and visit next week?
We would be happy to have you visit the studio, Wednesday morning is best this week. Drop me a line through this page and let me know when you think you might be by. http://www.modusstudio.com/contact/