Comments on Catalyzing strip-mall sprawl into a mixed-use boulevard - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by Lance

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:33:55 EDT

@David. ok, I will check it out.

Comment by Dave Murphy

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:50:58 EDT

David, Laurence: I just did a piece on this exact issue. I've been idling in the left turn lanes of MD355 as far back as I can remember, and I believe the problem has more to do with the lack of a grid network supporting th main strip. check this out: http://imaginedc.blogspot.com/2008/06/imagine-rockville-pike.html

Comment by David Alpert

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:45:45 EDT

Lance: What Bianchi said. Strip malls don't just create some neutral value economic growth while some time goes by until they can be turned into something better. Instead, strip malls actively promote car-oriented development that makes urban development more difficult in the future. And we could easily have been building urbanism in the mid-twentieth century and gotten ourselves enormous economic growth—we just didn't do that. I encourage you to read Christopher Leinberger's The Option of Urbanism which covers this very topic.

Comment by Rich

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:51:31 EDT

The stretch S of Twinbrook would be more adaptable because of Executive Blvd/Jefferson and Parklawn Dr, which already provide some alternative to the Pike and could be used to divert traffic. Some of the strips already reach to the street, while some, like Mid-Pike Plaza actively try to make it difficult for pedestrians.

Comment by Bianchi

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:30:07 EDT

An alternative to strip malls and more cars and more roads and more parking lots and more cars...has always been available, just as it is now available. Its a matter of making a choice. The built environment we are saddled with didn't happen by accident and it won't be improved without people making choices.

Comment by Laurence Aurbach

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:05:29 EDT

The biggest and most fundamental problem with converting suburban strips into boulevards is the surrounding dendritic street network. What that means in plain language is, the major arterial has collector streets branching off of it; the collector streets have a lot of cul-de-sacs branching off of them. The net result is that everyone has to get on the major arterial (Rockville Pike) in order to go anywhere. Traffic congestion is built in because there are no alternatives. That makes it very hard to put the Pike on a "road diet" and dedicate lanes to transit, medians and frontages with street trees, and generous sidewalks. In contrast, street networks that are well connected, like DC's, provide alternative routes and thereby distribute the traffic. DC's avenues are 4-6 lanes plus street trees and sidewalks, sometimes on-street parking, and rarely get completely gridlocked. Rockville Pike is 6-8 lanes and commonly is gridlocked during peak periods. Here are a couple of other local strip-to-boulevard retrofit proposals. Fairfax Boulevard Partnership Master Plan http://fairfaxboulevard.com/ New Hampshire Avenue Corridor Concept Plan http://www.takomaparkmd.gov/gateway/

Comment by Lance

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:02:44 EDT

David, Interesting post. I am not against strip mall development since (when needed) it get turned into a more urban environment as is occuring in Rockville. Actually, without the strip mall developments of the last half century the US could not have grown to the extent it grew. I look at it sort of as an organism putting out weak "feelers" which as the feelers mature and gain strength become the impetus for more-urban like development. Actually, the same argument could be made for roadways. Yes, there's no doubt that building more roads starts the vicious cycle of creating more traffic to fill the empty roads. But what is the alternative? To stop the roads ... and stop the development? No, like the strip mall feelers, they are an intermediary necessary step toward developing fuller longtern urban developments. I think if you look back to even ancient cities, you will find that whole (now ancient) districts only developed because there was a (then) highway initially used just to transport people and things. (e.g., the Via Appia.)