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downtown austin entertainment district still has room for improvement – part 1 of 3

Jude Galligan | November 22, 2008 |

downtown austin entertainment district
downtown austin entertainment district

On Friday and Saturday I participated in a tour of 6th street.  This wasn’t a bar hop.  This was to observe.  I’ve joined the ‘Community’ group for the Responsible Hospitality Institute’s (RHI)- ‘Austin Hospitality Zone Assessment for Sixth Street’.  This effort is the result of 6ixth Street Austin and the DAA teaming up to develop a revitalization plan for Sixth Street.  Our first mission is to tour the entertainment district and simply observe.

The convention center is located east of Congress.  Several residential high-rises are located east of Congress. Have you noticed that all of Downtown Austin’s big hotels are located east of Congress!  Sixth Street is the anchor.   What do you imagine is the experience of visitors to Austin when they visit Sixth Street?

Sixth Street should be Austin’s historical and cultural hub.  Landmarked buildings should be required to meet minimum aesthetic standards.  Instead, as it is today, Sixth Street is in disrepair and needs to be cleaned up.  This is the movement to do just that.  There is opportunity to provide a better mix of services and overall experience for hotels guests, the convention center, and all of the residential buildings east of Congress.  I’m not alone in this opinion as hotel operators, Sixth Street proprietors, city council members, city staff, police, and many outspoken residents were in attendance at the initial RHI meeting on November 4th.

Still to come, my [not under the influence] observations of Sixth Street.

Filed Under: buildings, downtown austin, entertainment district, life Tagged With: downtown austin, entertainment district, life

Downtown Austin Parking + the most interesting presentation on parking in the history of the world.

Jude Galligan | November 16, 2008 |

Downtown Austin Parking = FAIL
Downtown Austin Parking = FAIL

The most interesting presentation about parking in the history of the world (pdf).

(Okay, this is about parking so it’s dry as your grandmothers turkey.  But, in the world of parking, this is a home run presentation.  I’ve heard from DANA board members that Patrick Siegman, the guy who wrote the presentation, is an amazing speaker on the topic of parking and new urbanism.)

I’ll help out… below are three major reforms that could be applied to Downtown Austin parking.

1. Charge fair-market prices for curb parking
2. Spend the resulting revenue to pay for neighborhood public improvements
3. Remove the requirements for off-street parking

Over the past 48 hours there’s been lots of discussion over at Austin Contrarian about parking issues. This is encouraging because sometimes I wonder if our citizens recognize the immense impact that parking guidelines have on the look and feel of our city.  Downtown Austin apartments, condos, and retail are putting more stress on the availability of [convenient] parking.  Parking has a causal relationship with keeping cars on the road, walkability, and overall neighborhood-ness.

In October I was fortunate to be included in a delegation of Austinites sent to Vancouver in order to learn about how they’ve managed rapid growth and become one of the most admired cities in the world. One of their council members, Gordon Price, delivered one of the most impassioned orations about smart urban planning.  He made one particular comment that struck me…

“Show me your parking ordinance, and I’ll show you what your city looks like!”

Personally, this was a revelation.  Will Austin City Council adopt new parking rules that will encourage use of mass transit and walkability?  I hope so.  The alternative is more cars, more roads, and more scorched earth strip malls.

Filed Under: austin transit, city council, downtown austin Tagged With: Austin City Council, downtown austin, Parking

Arthouse expanding

Jude Galligan | March 19, 2008 |

Arthouse says the expansion will triple its total space from 7,000 square feet to 20,830 square feet. The two-story building, built in 1850, is four blocks south of the Capitol building. In 1920, it housed the Queen Theater and it was turned into Lerner Shops department store in the 1950s.

link

Filed Under: miscellaneous

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