The presentations by the four finalists, the winner of which will develop a downtown plan, are just under 2 weeks away and we need your help! As we all get ready to watch four major firms give their presentations, it’s time to start thinking of questions to ask these firms. What are you looking for in a firm? We are gathering a pool of questions to help the Downtown Steering Committee development questions they will ask following the consultant presentations. Leave your questions in the comments below, then come on September 22nd and 23rd to Wichita Scottish Rite beginning at 5:30 pm to watch the presentations.
by jmalone [ September 11 - 2009 ]
I see you have no comments yet. So I’ll pose several questions, in case no one shows up. I know I can’t make it.
Consider the notion of “human scale” versus “automotive scale” development and the obvious fact that Wichita, KS is designed for cars.
Question 1: Is it really a downtown if people just drive in, park, do one thing, and leave? How does that experience differ from a visit to a strip mall?
Question 2: Isn’t the whole purpose of downtown to be a place where people hang out and walk around? Doesn’t it _have_ to be built at human scale?
Question 3: Can a vital downtown be built with a public transit system that shuts down at 6 PM?
Question 4: Is there, in fact, any need for an actual downtown in a car-centric town with unlimited space and an infinite supply of gasoline?
Question 5: How will you convince Wichitans to use your downtown as a _real_ downtown and not as another strip mall or theme park?
Question 6: If your plan is chosen, what will the city, county and state need to do to maximize its chances of success?
P.S. FWIW, my answer to the last question is this: We should gradually shift the tax burden away from income, sales and property, and toward “moving stuff around”: gasoline taxes, toll roads, mileage-based taxation, car registration and driving licenses. Most of the driving in this country is unnecessary and adds literally nothing to our GDP. I would rather tax highways to pay for schools than tax food to pay for highways. Or arenas.
Comment by Alden Wilner — September 16, 2009 @ 5:56 pm
First of all I could kiss the person who made the last post, I heartily agree. Also, I wish I would have seen this sooner. But here are my questions anyway:
1. Alex Garvin an experienced urban planner made a comparative speech of Wichita’s downtown to other River Cities of its size. Garvin mentioned the seriousness of us being a vehicle driven traffic market, how the lack of pedestrianizing our streets, and updating local transit, could be the detriment of projects as a whole.
— How do you plan to incorporate pedestrian friendly routes by way of streets, transit system, and bicycle friendliness?
Comment by Rebecca McNelly — September 21, 2009 @ 8:19 pm