Hart Plaza Renovation: Will It Ever Happen?

[wolverine]

Two words: Lakeshore Drive.

Chicago has the same issue, but it has found ways to mitigate that issue.

Really only in some parts of downtown. Many of the access points are terrible. Narrow tunnels that get overcrowded during the summer or narrow sidewalks beneath dark overpasses. The city has made some half-assed attempts to spruce them up like a murals program...but they're still concrete tunnels IMO

Oak Street Beach Improvement:


Navy Pier LSD improvement:



But the area of park along the lake is primarily for beachfront enjoyment and fitness. The largest share of park visitors on that side of LSD are bicycling, jogging, and skateboarding.

Only recently have they begun to improve access and when that's done it will have cost well over $1Billion....fortunately from a good share coming from the feds. Many of those improvements are long-span / high clearance overpasses with a ton of landscaping. People don't really know what they are passing beneath, but it's so open it feels more like a gateway than a bridge.

I'm not sure Detroit can achieve it. You need hundreds, if not thousands of feet of approach to create sweeping 100 foot wide sidewalks that would go beneath Jefferson. The only solution Detroit would have is a tunnel or a pedestrian bridge. The pedestrian bridge could be done nicely, but again.....long ramps for ADA or elevators that would get vandalized and dirty and I'd hate to see stairs. So I really don't know how it could be done effectively. Seems like most people would still continue to use crosswalks.

Additionally, it's a different problem with the other side is a plaza. The plaza tends to provide best utility for a large events. There's no issues getting people to go there...they have a reason to attend an event. The issue is convenience and getting people to cross at lunch or providing visual attraction to visitors not familiar to the city. I agree that many people see that wide crossing and go "I don't want to deal with that."

But if Hart Plaza can become a "super attraction" it could get visitors coming in just to see the park. More engaging sculptures, world class outdoor performance spaces, and patches of unique and interesting landscaped areas.

Right now Hart Plaza is an unattractive modernist nightmare. It's poorly bookended on each side by Cobo and a parking garage. Needs improved access along Jefferson and far better engagement with the river.

I think the best way to get things moving is to sell a really attractive $350 million park renovation to business leaders. Have the entire thing financed and eventually managed and controlled privately and maintained through a trust. It helps take the burden of maintenance off the city and also allows private security more managing control over the park [[banning panhandlers, removal of obnoxious park visitors and permitting consumption of alcohol for example)

[48202]

http://www.aiadetroitbydesign2012.com/submissions.php

180 concepts to choose from. Just pick your favorite, write a large check, and start building.

[Sehv313]

Hart Plaza is just too much.... concrete.

So adding grass that the city cant afford to maintain will improve it? That's not smart.

[wolverine]

So adding grass that the city cant afford to maintain will improve it? That's not smart.

Again, major parks and attractions should not be built or maintained by the city. That's absolutely crazy-talk in 2013. Everyone knows large cities do not have the resources to do either.

I can't imagine the city of Chicago having the money back in the 90's to build Millennium Park. And to think of the city attempting to maintain and run park operations there today would be next to impossible. Much of the funding sources and trust money comes from the businesses that have put their name on the park...many of them Big Banks.