Phoenix is pitching a seductive idea to lure more people to downtown: shady, cooler sidewalks lined with canopies, mini parks, fountains and public art.
And, city officials say, several crucial projects will bring those scenes from the drawing boards to the streets.
Crews are working on a 2.7-acre, $30 million park that will bring trees and shade near Arizona State University’s downtown campus.
The loved-and-loathed red bricks of Patriots Square will be bulldozed in the fall to make way for CityScape, a development that promises green space for large events.
And this fall, city leaders are expected to weigh a slew of proposals for shady building overhangs, open space and strategic landscaping.
The stakes are high because foot traffic brings another kind of green to downtown. Future downtown projects, tourism and the success of the ASU campus could hinge on making Phoenix’s sometimes sweltering downtown more inviting, business and university leaders say.
While residents say they would embrace more greenery, some worry the new push will eventually wilt like past plans.
Residents have a right to be skeptical, said Phoenix Councilman Michael Johnson. But the recent flood of downtown projects brings added momentum that wasn’t there before.
"Before, we didn’t have development. Before, we didn’t have ASU. Before, we didn’t have the (new) convention center," said Johnson, whose district includes downtown. "It’s imperative that when we revitalize downtown, we have shade connectivity."
Shade required
Now that heat islands and global warming are coffee-shop topics, residents want green space, said Jim Burke, deputy director of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department.
"The principal idea is walkable shade and to have store fronts that are energized," Burke said.
For business leaders and ASU, the city’s current push has key opportunities:
• The Downtown Civic Space. The publicly funded park just south of the post office is for city and ASU events. The park will be in the area bounded by Fillmore Street, Polk Street, First Avenue and Central Avenue. The $30 million came from bonds approved by voters in March 2006, and city parks officials are expected to vote on a park master plan June 28.
• Taylor Street. Drought-resistant Palo Brea trees, pavers, public art and pedestrian lighting would extend from Central Avenue to Third Street. The $5 million taxpayer-funded project is under way but won’t be completed until August 2008, when the journalism school and student housing are finished.
• Patriots Square. The current park with its brick courtyards will be replaced by condos, shops, offices and green space stretching across three blocks.
• Downtown Phoenix Urban Forms Project. The city is updating zoning rules, creating a new "circulation" plan for traffic, and developing a master plan for public space and public art. For example, city leaders are expected to vote on ordinances requiring new development to provide shade. Recommendations for future small parks and public spaces in downtown probably will emerge, said city planner Dean Brennan.
Main Street mojo
This week, Phoenix Symphony musicians Bruce Pulk and Ron Whaley sat at a shaded downtown coffee shop as the temperature crept toward 100 degrees. The other outside tables were empty.
Two things determine where they walk downtown: shade and access to covered parking, the men said.
"I will always walk in the shade," said Pulk, 56, of Chandler.
The heat "is always a problem," said Whaley, 54 of Phoenix, who frequently goes to baseball games at Chase Field. "I have been downtown at the absolute worse times."
Phoenix is tackling issues that every major city grapples with. Most older cities, such as Boston and New York, have a master plan for urban open space, said Leslie Gould, principal of San Francisco-based Dyett & Bhatia, a planning firm working on the Urban Forms project.
"Phoenix is a little behind in that respect. But that’s because Phoenix isn’t as old as those cities," she said.
And all cities want to bring Main Street mojo to new parts of town, Gould said.
Tempe recently hired a New York non-profit to craft a downtown public space plan. Peoria is using its new Performing Arts Center to anchor its downtown redevelopment that will feature lofts and pedestrian areas. Gilbert is pushing for better sidewalks and other pedestrian upgrades in its downtown Heritage District. Glendale poured $16 million into landscaping, art, lights and other improvements.
ASU supports the Downtown Civic Space and is pressing the city to finish at least part of the park by this fall, said Mernoy Harrison, vice president and executive vice provost for the downtown campus.
"The key to retention is to have spaces for activity," Harrison said.
ASU expects 15,000 students to be enrolled downtown by 2015, he said.
Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 1, 2007 12:00 AM
Article can be found at: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/90778
