The Future of Parking in Broward County

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Click here to learn more about
Pedestrian Oriented Design and A Citizen�s Guide to the $400,000 Mobility Study for Fort Lauderdale.

Aim of the study: to present alternatives for improving the transportation system in Greater Downtown Fort Lauderdale.  The focus is on getting people to walk.

POD =  Pedestrian Oriented Design (typical questions:  Do the roads, buildings and sidewalks encourage people to walk?)

TAS =  Transit Access Strategies (typical questions:  Does the bus stop at places that are convenient to pedestrians?  Can pedestrians find the bus?  Can pedestrians avoid getting wet when using the transit?)

What is a pedestrian oriented design?
According to the RAC proposal, POD includes
a) Human scale, non traditional, low floor, quiet vehicles to move pedestrians.

b) Interesting activities are along the path of pedestrians (cafes, fountains, entertainment, crafts, vendors)

c)  Elements of the following �schools of thought� are to be considered:
New Urbanism
Livable Communities
Traditional Neighborhood Design
Smart Growth
Crime prevention through environmental design
Greenways
Sustainable Communities
A central aim of the project:  reducing traffic congestion in the center of the city of Fort Lauderdale.  Traffic congestion can be reduced by encouraging people to park and ride transit.

Friendly Streets

History/ART Walk


What are the features of a more walkable city?

What can make a city more friendly to pedestrians?

What are the features of the Liner Buildings around Parking Garages?




What are the features of a more walkable city?





What can make a city more friendly to pedestrians?





What are the features of the Liner Buildings around Parking Garages?
Friendly Streets
How can Fort Lauderdale make its streets
more friendly or inviting to pedestrians?

PHOTOS of OTHER CITIES


PHOTOS of FORT LAUDERDALE
(at present)

Go to
Future of Fort Lauderdale


Points
1.  People tend to walk when they can walk past plate glass store fronts and look at items.  Tourists particularly enjoy this activity.

2.  People tend to walk where there are other people.  Downtown areas where there are shopping areas and other peple are walking will encourage people to get out of their cars to see what other people are looking at.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale doesn't have such conditions north of Broward Blvd. 

Along Second Street, if a garage is built and liner buildings are placed around that garage with retail on the first floor, there are enough pedestrians already present that those pedesrians might walk a little farther to explore the new retail areas.

Placing a Garage with liner stores on the ground floor somewhere along North Third Avenue would not have a ready audience.  It is not certain that people would drive in sufficient numbers to park at such garages to support the retail stores around the garages.


Brain Storming

What additional features could lure people to park their cars and experience a street on foot?

- signs and artwork that can be seen only by pedestrians

- tasteful, interesting music projected from "music rocks (outdoor speakers) a la Disney.

- an artwalk with footsteps or signs indicating how far to walk to the next feature

- items that are changed daily, weekly (sufficiently new to prompt locals to "take the walk around the new liner buildings.")

- Interactive walking zones.  At Disney's Imagination Hall, visitors can walk past light beams and turn on musical tones.  By touching sensors with their hands, lights turn on.  Depending on where the pedestrian is walking on the sidewalk, different tones could be emitted.  Sensors could pick up the walker's presence and a tone could be emitted.  Walkers wanting a quiet experience could be on the other side of the street.













What will the Garages with liner buildings become known as?   Retail Squares?  Shells?  Perimeters?
"We're going to spend the evening by eating at Jose's, then we'll walk around the Parking Garage."





Corner of Federal Highway and Broward Blvd.
Corner of Federal Highway and Broward Blvd.
Havana with awnings and balconies.
Northeast 4th Avenue east of Andrews Ave and .
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