The garage sale began Friday morning and was scheduled for both Friday and Saturday.
We participated in the event on both days, but my home was the only house on my block that participated in the event on Friday. As I left the neighborhood mid-morning on Friday to attend a brief meeting, I noticed that a lot of my neighbors were involved in the community garage sale. There was plenty of garage sale traffic in the neighborhood and there we plenty of wayfinding signs on street sign poles and makeshift wayfinding directories at key intersections. The community garage sale organizers had a map on Craigs List with a list identifying all of the neighborhood homes that were participating. We were not on that list since I didn’t read the community newsletter closely enough. The streets however, where multiple home were involved seem to have a lot of garage sale traffic.

Returning around noon to continue my involvement with this process, a few people stopped, but I basically noticed drive-by garage sale shoppers. On Saturday around mid morning, two neighbors directly across the street from our home joined the garage sale. Almost immediately, the garage sale traffic on our street dramatically increased and there was less drive by shopping.

I believe there’s a message here for creating destinations. To be successful, there must be multiple points of interest to attract attention.

Words like Streetscapes, Public Spaces and Pedestrian Amenities are commonly used words by city planners, urban designers, landscape architects and public space managers. But what do they mean if you’re a layperson interested in creating more walkable spaces in your neighborhood.

Wiktionary defines streetscape or streetscapes as the visual elements of a street, including the road, adjoining building, street furniture, trees and open spaces that combine to form a street’s character. The Transportation Demand Management Encyclopedia describes streetscape as urban roadway design and their conditions as they impact street users and nearby residents. Their description goes on to say that streetscaping recognizes that streets are where people engage in various activities….

Streetscapes include public spaces where people interact with each other, helps to define a community’s aesthetic, identity, economic development, health, social cohesion and opportunity. Streetscape improvements may include changes to intersections, traffic management, sidewalk infrastructure, landscaping; street furniture, building facades, signage and the materials used in the street and adjoining buildings. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first know use of the word streetscape was in 1924.

Public space is a social space that is open and accessible to people. Public squares, parks beaches and commons are typically defined as public space. Public places can be indoor or outdoor areas that may be privately or publicly owned to which the public has access. Public spaces include restaurants, shopping malls, airports, train stations, healthcare and medical facilities; libraries, art museums, stadiums and arenas.

Pedestrian amenities include street trees, planting strips, benches, signs, bike racks, trash and recycling receptacles and a host of other items. (View a complete list of pedestrian amenities). Pedestrian amenities are placed behind street curbs and provide a buffer between pedestrians and vehicles.

Unlike the 2012 Better Block Jefferson Park that focused on a neighborhood retail district, Better Block Five Points focused on making the Sonny Lawson Park kid and family friendly.  In addition, it showcased the Five Points Historic District community assets, healthy foods, sustainability and entrepreneurship.  The event was a huge success.

The event highlights included –

Sign Banner Designed by Additional Postage Required

Temporary Neighborhood Identification Sign
The primary entrance into the neighborhood and the historic district from downtown Denver is Welton Street – a one-way street used as a pass through to other neighborhoods within the city and a light rail corridor.  The neighborhood district has no boundary identification signage to advertise its presence.  City residents and visitor have an idea of where it’s located but there’s no gateway signage to signal that you’ve reached a destination. The temporary sign is expected to remain in-place during the summer.

Photo Courtesy of WalkDenver

24th Street Mural Design by Homeless Artist Through RedLine Gallery

This Saturday – May 11 – between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM, WalkDenver is hosting Better Block Five Points in Denver’s Historic Five Points Neighborhood. WalkDenver is a non-profit organization devoted to making Denver pedestrian friendly step by step. The organization advocates for pedestrian friendly environments that contributes to community and physical health, economic development and public safety.

Building on the 2012 success of Better Block Jefferson Park, WalkDenver along with community partners will present Better Block Five Points this weekend. The target area for this project is Sonny Lawson Park at 24th Street between California and Welton Streets in the historic African American community of Five Points. While designated as a Pedestrian Corridor in the North East Downtown Area Plan, 24th Street and adjacent historical Sonny Lawson Park have been neglected and present conditions are substandard and unsafe. The Better Block project will introduce low-cost improvements to the park that will result in an inviting and vibrant public space essential to the social and economic health of the community. Many of the improvements introduced during the event will hopefully become permanent amenities in the park.

The event program includes activating the park with both kid and family friendly activities. The kids area will host two story telling sessions, tennis lessons, a crawling tunnel and a dedicated kid play area – something the neighbors would like to become permanent in the future to protect the area for kid only activities. There will also be a bubble machine, bubble wands for bubble making, balloons; tennis lessons for the kids and face painting.

Family friendly activities include gardening demonstrations, neighborhood walking and bicycle tours to highlight the neighborhood architecture and community assets, neighborhood museums – Black American West Museum and the Stiles African American Center. The Blair Caldwell African American Research Library adjoins Sonny Lawson Park and The Denver Fire Fighters Museum, Vintage Motos – A Vintage Motorcycle Museum is also in the neighborhood as well as Redline Gallery – a partner in the event.  A giant mural will also be painted on 24th Street in the event area.

YouthBiz – a neighborhood youth entrepreneurial group will host a business marketplace during the event, Mo Betta Green Marketplace will be present with a Farmers Market and there will be live music – the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, Conjunto Colores and Bucken Funken Jazz, and a ballet performance by Wonderbound.

During Better Block Five Points, Sonny Lawson Park will also host three yoga sessions, a boot camp, a strength and agility class and half-court pickup basketball. The event will also feature food trucks, picnic tables, lawn games and chess. Finally, the event will feature three dance walking events from Sonny Lawson Park along Welton Street to “The Point” in Five Points where Coffee on the Point and The Crossroads Theater and the Center for Spiritual Living is located. Merchants along the Welton Street Dance Walk route and beyond will have an opportunity to display products during the event.

Join WalkDenver and residents of the Five Points community for Better Block Five Points.

This past week, we were involved in multiple conversation involving the question – are there other companies out there offering products that are similar to yours. My response is typically no, not really. There are outdoor furniture manufacturers offering different individual items here and there, but not to the extent that we do. The response I usually receive after answering is – I don’t think so either.

As you may know, we market Streetscapes, Inc. as a company offering distinctive furniture and site amenities for public and pedestrian spaces. In our world it means – we are offering eye catching, show stopping, is it art or furniture, cool looking furniture that speaks to people. In a world of knock offs and look-a-like products, our products stand out.

But great design and good looks is only part of the story. Our streetscape, deck and garden, recreation and parks, passenger and pedestrian amenities furniture evokes emotion which activate public spaces with action, energy and movement. These products encourage people to create new friendships, generate new idea, exchange knowledge and best of all relax in a tech driven fast is great world. They also scream out to everyone who willing to listen that we’re different, we’re unique and like beautiful people all over the world, they crave attention.

Curious? Take a peek at streetscapes.biz, view our public furniture catalog or explore the masterformat furniture codes. Then tell us what you think.

UrbaStyle Hysk Cast Stone City Planter

Each spring the streetscapes around the globe come alive with people, festivals, concerts and food. In my opinion, the unsung hero’s in any streetscape are the city planters. Like the passenger and pedestrian amenities, people see them daily, sometimes use them and are unclear about the role they play in everyone’s daily lives. City planters are my streetscape hero’s because the plants and flower that they contain brings immense pleasure to pedestrians and motorist alike. Filled with colorful plants and flower, they display amazing beauty, creates an atmosphere that is warm and welcoming and provides a unique sensory experience.

City planters, also known as plant containers or receptacles are versatile, movable and are without ego. They’re also known as planters, flower pots or plant pots; bowl, vases, vessels and Jardiniere – a French word for planter. They can be left in one place or moved to many different locations during their life span. In fact, the ability to transport plants and flowers to indoor and outdoor locations between the seasons is one of their historical strengths. However, the relocation of large street planters is rare today given their size and weight.

Flower pots were historically made of terra cotta, but today can be made of concrete, cast stone, fiberglass; metal, plastic or wood. Street planters are available in a variety of shapes – primarily bowls, rounds, squares, rectangles; semi-circle and triangles. Some smaller rectangular planters are also known as flower boxes – aka window box, window flower box or window box planters. Planter boxes are typically placed under windows, on walls, decks, patios, side walks or hung from fencing or rails. And if you’re interested in creative planters, almost any type of container can be converted into a flower pot – an old wheel -barrow, buckets, tires, washing machines or bathtub, if tastefully done.

City planters are also my streetscape hero’s because they get abused in their public settings. They’re designed to hold soil, nutrients, plants and flowers, but in a typical day receive paper trash, cans, cigarette butts and other unmentionable items. The plants and flower grown in the planters are typically hand watered, but they also received stale soda, beer, coffee and other types of liquids in need of a readily available repository. Although I must confess that during some of the dry summer months, they’re probably really thirsty and are willing to accept any liquid they receive. Hopefully, sub irrigated planter inserts and modules will change that dynamic. If they’re large enough, they’re sat upon and if placed too close to the street in wet or snowy climates receive an unrelenting bath of rain runoff and winter road slush. And they’re rarely cleaned.

But they keep on providing us with colorful plants and flower, dazzling beauty, a welcoming atmosphere and a unique sensory experience.

Modular Newspaper Structure

Modular Newspaper Condo
Configuration Shown Contains 12 Newspapers
Six Dome Tops
Six 49-B – Coin Operated News Racks
Six 49-DW – Free Distribution Racks
Four Modular Pedestal
Dimensions – 145-1/2″W X 16″D

 Application – Designed to consolidate multiple newspapers display boxes into a single display system while maintaining individual newspaper identities. This system will accommodate both fee based and free distribution newspapers in a variety of different sizes. Logos may be screen printed on display doors and advertising frame may be added to generate revenue. Module tops may be either flat or dome shaped. Both standard and custom colors are available. Endless configurations are available.

Potential Markets – Business Improvement Districts, Main Streets, Downtown Partnerships; Shopping Centers and Multiple Family Housing Developments.

Advantages – Modular Newspaper Condo reduces street clutter, improves pedestrian and vehicular visibility and reduces litter. If purchased and maintained by the property or district management team, they may also provides some degree of control over how quickly graffiti can be removed from tagged locations.

Spring signals a new beginning and a new growing season. This is especially true for the flowers, grasses and greenery that we plant each spring in boxes, containers, planters; pots and receptacles. Each year, we add soil amendments to the soil left from the previous year and add new plants to the planters. And in a few weeks, we hope for lush greenness and stunning brilliant colors to create a warm welcome and a respite from the dullness of asphalt pavement.

Unfortunately, one of never ending challenges is how to keep the plants watered especially when the plants require watering on a daily basis. In a business improvement district, the chore may be the responsibility of each individual store or business owner. If you’re lucky, the job may be the responsibility of a dedicated staff member or the chore may be contracted to a watering service.

Do yourself a favor this year and take a look at adding sub irrigated planter inserts or modules to your main street, business or retail district. A sub irrigated planter insert or module consist of hollow airtight reservoir, a moisture sensor with a porous tip, a water source and a fill hole with stopper or plug.

The reservoir is filled full through the hole at the top of the reservoir. A stopper is placed in the hole, creating an airtight seal. Water flows into the soil through small holes at the bottom of each reservoir (the water source). Thanks to the capillary action of the soil, water wicks its way up until it reaches the moisture sensor, planted at a level 1/3 to ½ way down the container. When the water reaches that level, the white tip of the sensor absorbs waters and closes like a valve. It prevents air from passing through the tubes, and a vacuum is created above the reservoir, keeping water from flowing into the soil.

As the plants and flowers use the moisture and the soil starts to dry, the sensor tip dries and allows air to pass through the tube. The vacuum above the water is broken, and water can flow to the soil. The process forms a cycle, interrupted only by the removal of the stopper and the filling of the reservoir.

The overflow drain (where present) allows excess water (typically rainwater) to escape without disrupting the cycle.

There are two types of sub irrigated planter devices – Inserts and modules. Inserts form a self-contained pot with the water reservoir in the walls. Modules are reservoirs connected with flexible tubing, directly planted in the pot. The inserts are made to accommodate specific shapes and sizes. Modules are made in different shapes, sizes and heights and can be combined into a variety of configuration to fit almost any type of container.

Here’s a video of how sub irrigation planters work.

So before you add plants to your flower boxes, containers, planters; pots and receptacles, take a look at sub irrigated planter inserts and modules. They’ll eliminate the need for daily watering and will make sure – if the water reservoir is filled on a regular basis – that you’ll get the lush greenness and the stunning brilliant colors of your desire.

Now that spring has officially arrived, it’s time to think about the summer months ahead. If you’re managing public space, it’s a good idea to perform a site audit of your outdoor furniture and site amenities – especially if you didn’t have the opportunity to do so last fall. The site audit will identify the current condition of the furniture and amenities in your amenity zones and provide you with an opportunity to maintain, repair or replace any furniture that is not suitable for use. The audit may also identify public safety hazards and determine whether the public space elements are located where they’re expected.

Here’s a list of items to review –

Cleanliness
- Are the sidewalks free of gum?
- Are trash receptacles missing lids or ashtrays?
- Are weed sprouting in plant receptacles or containers, tree grilles or tree borders?
- Has any of the public furniture been tagged with graffiti, gum, posters or stickers?
- Is the street furniture clean of dirt and debris?
- Is there trash below the trash and recycling receptacles liners?

Damaged Items
- Are any of the furniture components broken or damaged?
- Are bench, tables or trash receptacle missing surface slats?
- Are the doors on trash or recycling receptacles closing properly?
- Are the doors on trash and recycling receptacles lockable?
- Are there any benches with damaged or broken arms?
- Are there any items with damaged or broken legs?
- Are there missing banner hardware components?
- Are your street banners tattered and worn?
- Has any furniture been damaged by snow removal equipment or vehicles?
- Has damage been caused by skateboarder to walls, rails, steps or stairs?
- Has damage to trees and shrubs been caused by lawn maintenance?
- Has damaged been caused by prolonged exposure to ultra violet rays?
- Has the drainage of planters on the sidewalk caused sidewalk damage?
- Has there been landscape damage caused by pedestrian foot traffic?
- Have your plant receptacles been damaged by freeze and thaw cycles?
- Is there damage to bollards, borders, fences, handrails or light post?

Safety
- Are lampposts and light poles missing access plates creating a safety hazard?
- Are protruding objects creating a safety hazard?
- Are there any missing drainage covers, tree grates, tree guards or plant borders?
- Are there streetlights, pedestrian or sidewalk lighting that require new bulbs?
- Has damaged or heaving sidewalks creating a pedestrian safety hazard?
- Has water drainage across sidewalks created a safety hazard?

Maintenance
- Are plant receptacles in needed of soil enrichment?
- Are there plants in planters root bound?
- Are there dead spot in the landscaped lawn?
- Are your plants receiving enough water?
- Do you have furniture that need to be oiled, painted or stained?

Lifecycle
- Does your outdoor furniture match your target demographics?
- Has your furniture reached the end of its lifecycle?

Signage
- Are your directories and wayfinding signage accurate?

Shade
- Is there adequate shade in your public gathering areas?

Taking the time to review these items will go along way toward making sure that your public areas are pedestrian friendly and ready for the coming summer months.

Fixit Bicycle Repair Station

Earlier this month in Heard on the Street – our monthly newsletter, we continued a discussion about why public spaces are so important. They’re important because they are a visual representation of our identity. To put that thought in context, we introduced information from consumer insights firm Scarborough about millennials. A free copy of the research article – OMG: getting inside the Millennial Mind is available on-line.

One of the key findings in the research survey is that 30% of millennials drive less or use alternative transportation which translates into more walking, biking and use of public transportation. Suddenly everyone is talking about these trends and how the real estate market is responding. Headlines in November 2012 Denver Post reads “Bike Repair Rooms Popping up in New Apartment Complexes in Denver“. The National Association of Realtors has published a report entitled-“How Millennials Move: The Car-Less Trends. Just a couple of weeks ago, a Zipcar released a survey indicating that Millennials are more Dependent on Mobile Phones than Cars.

In response to those trends, apartment owners understand that it’s important to remain relevant to that market. So they are adding active transportation amenities in large numbers -secure bike parking, bike maintenance rooms and on site car sharing programs.

The larger question is how will the existing apartment owner respond to this challenge or opportunity. Will they find a way to provide bicycle parking behind ground floor stairwells, provide hanging bike storage in basements or create secure bike storage in parking garages.

Cities are facing the same challenges as apartment owners. If millennials, who are very sociable are unable to have a valued experience in your city – the sidewalk cafes and coffee shops and/or bike parking and/or public transportation amenities and/or active public spaces they will migrate to other communities where they feel more comfortable.