larry.mason

I would be cool to see regularly published statistics on Transit Ridership, Percent of Trips to work, shopping and recreational destinations that way we could gauge how effective some of our transportation expenditures are. By the way, do we even know what percent of work commute trips are made by single occupancy, carpooling, transit, cycling, and walking? https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/commuting-to-work-data-car-public-transit-bike/580507/?utm_source=newsletter&silverid=%25%25RECIPIENT_ID%25%25&utm_campaign=citylab-daily-newsletter&utm_medium=email ...more »

Any plans or ideas about a public or private secure bike parking facility near downtown HSV. I think more people would ride to the CBD and downtown offices on bikes if there were better and more secure places to leave bikes while attending meetings and doing business. I know I would be willing to pay one or two dollars an hour to keep my bike safe. Just curious if others see a need for such a facility.

I know we are doing a lot of planning around the existing greenways, and the Land Trust in doing a lot of good work to develop a plan to connect many paths, but it would be cool to pick and develop a loop that can be branded, and provide a focus as a priority project that puts people first, and provides a health "track." Below is an example of a walking, running, biking loop infrastructure that connects Portland's downtown ...more »

There are many great designs that could turn University from an ugly "STROAD" into an attractive walkable Boulevard, Trees, Bike lane and pedestrian walkways in a center strip and ample crosswalks could make University a place folks want to go again, and not just "get through" in the fastest possible manner. A "STROAD" is a confused mishmash of a Street and a Road, by being neither little is accomplished except increasing ...more »

One way for the city to be more open in its operations would be to provide a public-facing dashboard. An example of such a dashboard can be seen by following the link below. The City of Brampton provides a constantly updated website with shows the metrics of the city operations. Not unlike the dashboard in the SIM City games, the dashboard can show finances and assets, various tax revenue, property improvements, energy ...more »

I must say at the outset, I thoroughly expect this the get a record number of downvotes... but I just have to say it. I think a well-planned traffic circle at Jordan Ln and 9th Ave, (and at Triana and 9th too) would do wonders for connecting neighborhoods to walkable and bicycle destinations, but that would not be the biggest benefit... no, the biggest reason would be increased traffic flow through the area while improving ...more »

There tends to be general agreement that sprawl and car-oriented sub-divisions are a drain on the tax revenues and city budgets. There seems to be a movement to increase density in some neighborhoods and in the city in general. This is particularly evident in the older inner-core neighborhoods. There has been good progress made in improving the walkability and quality of life in many of those inner-core places. Unfortunately, ...more »

One way to encourage building renovations and incremental development in neighborhoods, while discouraging land speculation and derelict buildings, i.e. encouraging the highest and best use of parcels is to implement a split tax rate on property. Sometimes called a Land Value Tax the idea is to tax the land at a greater percentage of the total evaluation than the improvement. While I realize that the property tax system ...more »

Many cities and several states are investigating the feasibility of establishing public banks. Using public capital to provide reserves for a public bank is a good way to leverage reserves on hand to loan money to public infrastructure projects and to help fund loan programs for local entrepreneurial startups administered through loan agencies. The interest on the loans goes back into the public coffers and thus saves ...more »

A good pedicab costs about $3,500. Would be a good way to move people between the craft beer taprooms and other cool locations, is there any public policy issues that would hinder such entrepreneurial enterprises in the downtown and inner core areas of Huntsville?

It would seem to me that just a small amount of design and fairly inexpensive improvements to Seminole Dr would make that street feel a lot safer and more pleasant to add walkability between Governors and Lowe Mill, that is NOT a bad neighborhood just could use a little TLC, if you know what I mean. Some street lighting, trees, and furniture would do wonders, and encourage more neighborhood commerical.

As the Big Picture plan is approved and Huntsville begins the implementation phase, it might be a good time to rationalize and have a look at how the city might make zoning and zoning codes more understandable and accessible to citizens. Form based code practices can be as hard to understand as the alphabet soup variety. Fine grain zoning practices can help shape neighborhoods but often are not easy to understand. Some ...more »