Detroit closing part of Woodward Avenue for pedestrian block

[scooter]

This is horrible since the SMART buses cannot go the regular route all the buses-[[even the one I ride) , now have to go to Jefferson, they were so backed up most buses were running fifteen minutes late, because of the back up

[Honky Tonk]

This is horrible since the SMART buses cannot go the regular route all the buses-[[even the one I ride) , now have to go to Jefferson, they were so backed up most buses were running fifteen minutes late, because of the back up

So what? The hipsters can sit in the middle of Woodward in beach chairs with sunglasses on.

[jackie5275]

I walked through it today on my way to the CAYMC bldg. It was near the end of lunch hour. I saw fewer food trucks there than in Campus Martius. I'm not that impressed with it, but for people who like it, to each his own. I can see this being done as a seasonal thing, like May to Sept.

[jcole]

I walked through it today on my way to the CAYMC bldg. It was near the end of lunch hour. I saw fewer food trucks there than in Campus Martius. I'm not that impressed with it, but for people who like it, to each his own. I can see this being done as a seasonal thing, like May to Sept.

If they did this seasonally, people would be so damned confused! The bus schedule alone would be an issue

[Bham1982]

So what? The hipsters can sit in the middle of Woodward in beach chairs with sunglasses on.

Yeah, I was basically thinking the same thing.

As if the 90,000 daily SMART riders, most lifelong residents with no other transportation options, had any clout in the city.

[DetroitNightLights]

​Spirit of Detroit Plaza to stay open permanently

The "Spirit of Detroit Plaza,” a curved walkway and seating area along the median of Woodward, will remain open permanently, the city confirmed Friday.

[...]

"It's much less difficult for pedestrians to reach Hart Plaza. We monitored 11 locations and found that traffic was actually improved, especially on Jefferson. Some of the other spots on Griswold and Randolph, there was no significant impact," Cox said.

[southen]

I hope they take steps to make it feel more permanent and substantial. It still feels cheap and temporary to me.

[warsaw7]

​Spirit of Detroit Plaza to stay open permanently

The "Spirit of Detroit Plaza,” a curved walkway and seating area along the median of Woodward, will remain open permanently, the city confirmed Friday.

[...]

"It's much less difficult for pedestrians to reach Hart Plaza. We monitored 11 locations and found that traffic was actually improved, especially on Jefferson. Some of the other spots on Griswold and Randolph, there was no significant impact," Cox said.

Much less difficult to reach Hart Plaza... how? You still have to play frogger to get across Jefferson. Not to mention who utilizes Hart Plaza in the fall and winter months?

[K-slice]

Much less difficult to reach Hart Plaza... how? You still have to play frogger to get across Jefferson. Not to mention who utilizes Hart Plaza in the fall and winter months?

Before it was nearly impossible to make it all the way across Jefferson in one signal unless you ran. You can now make it across in one signal walking without worrying about left/ right turners onto/ off of Jefferson running you over. My experience has been that this shutdown makes the Hart Plaza to Campus Martius connection much stronger and easier for pedestrians and bikes.

As an added bonus, it is much easier to fist bump Gordie Howe without traffic constantly circling the fist!

[MSUguy]

I hope they take steps to make it feel more permanent and substantial. It still feels cheap and temporary to me.

You're not the only who's had that complaint. New York City has created a couple dozen of similar pedestrian plazas and they've been well revived. Here it seems pretty lukewarm. When the Congress for New Urbanism was here last year Janette Sadik-Khan who started the program touted their model around quick inexpensive treatments. But maybe when you live in a very crowded city there's more concern around just getting more public space than material used to create it.

https://youtu.be/3x3yure0Qko

[bust]

I think it makes sense to follow an iterative approach: Release an MVP, test in the real world, learn from the results, improve, re-release, repeat. Seems like a very successful outcome of the first release.

[Infrastructure]

Much less difficult to reach Hart Plaza... how? You still have to play frogger to get across Jefferson. Not to mention who utilizes Hart Plaza in the fall and winter months?

So if you're crossing Jefferson, you would typically wait a while for your signal to cross. When you get your WALK signal to cross Jefferson, it would be paired with the SB Woodward to Jefferson Green light. Without that right turn or left turn movement to worry about, it's a pedestrian only phase which makes it safer and probably more efficient as there are no vehicle / ped conflicts.

Still a long ass walk, but now safer and slightly quicker. With reduced movements, you could start to look into road diets, but there are several fixed points [[ramps, underground parking) that would make it cost prohibitive.

[Jason]

I'm sure most of us here have thought about how that intersection could be improved over the years. I've had my own ideas but never went as far as completely removing a chunk of Woodward, because I didn't think it could be done without disrupting traffic. But I'm pleasantly surprised that it worked out, and I'm looking forward to the permanent plaza.

Design-wise, what I would like to see would be:

- A simple flat surface of high quality pavers [[no stamped concrete...), extending from the base of One Woodward Avenue, all the way to the Spirit of Detroit [[I would personally replace the radial pattern). Using pavers or stone would also allow for using a tray system, which would let water drain more easily, helping out a lot with ice.

- Two rows of trees with strong canopies parallel to Jefferson, extending all the way through the grass lawn in front of the City-County building. One row of the same trees along Larned doing the same. There would be loose street furniture under the shade of the trees on the plaza part, and the under the trees of the grassy part would be more of a quiet picnic type area.

- The center of the new plaza would be left open and uncluttered, except for the United Way monument [[which has a great position and scale for anchoring that space), so that there's space for gatherings and events. The trees with big canopies edging the plaza would enclose the space which is way too big and open and undefined right now.

- I don't think the site has a strong natural spot for food trucks, and successfully accommodating them might be the biggest design challenge.

- All of the poles and everything else should be minimized as much as possible. Integrate lighting into the ground, put a little additional lighting onto the people mover tracks, bury any utility boxes. Attention to detail at the human level.

- idk how this would affect the intersection, but if the buses on Larned were shifted over a little bit, this plaza would be a much nicer place to wait for the bus. I don't know what they've been doing so far during the temporary phase.

- The design language should be considerate of the City-County Building and One Woodward Avenue which imo are very complementary and capable of making a very strong unified space, and Hart Plaza which this is supposed to transition into. This isn't the place for hipster confetti.

[1953]

I walk through it periodically...it usually not very busy, since there is little reason to hang out there. I'd like to see Woodward opened back up.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I walk through it periodically...it usually not very busy, since there is little reason to hang out there. I'd like to see Woodward opened back up.

I more or less agree. I don't hate it, but I think it's sort of a no-place-in-particular choice of location. No real reason to hang there. And it's just across Jefferson from a massive open space. I would spend the money on a jump-start of Hart Plaza renos. The NYC examples [[Times Square & streets adjacent to Madison Square Park were the first places) seemed natural because there were already dense crowds, many on leisurely trips, crowding adjoining sidewalk. Sort of turned crowded hallways in living rooms.

[Jason]

Even if it doesn't have a major traffic impact I do think closing that bit of Woodward causes a wayfinding problem. People expect a street like that to go all the way through to Jefferson, not to stop literally one block short.

My favorite part of this is the expanded Jefferson median and the no left turns. That alone makes it way safer and smoother for cars and pedestrians alike.

Personally, what I would consider is eliminating left turns at Griswold and building a Michigan left down by Cobo and another one west of Randolph.

[ABetterDetroit]

I admit that I was a little skeptical at first because this seemed like a major closure.

Now after using it often this was a brilliant idea. It makes walking from the RiverWalk to Downtown easier, safer and quicker.

[Atticus]

I admit that I was a little skeptical at first because this seemed like a major closure.

Now after using it often this was a brilliant idea. It makes walking from the RiverWalk to Downtown easier, safer and quicker.

Also a big fan of this change. It has made the cluster go away that used to be at Woodward at Jefferson. Better for peds, better for traffic.

[eastland]

Also a big fan of this change. It has made the cluster go away that used to be at Woodward at Jefferson. Better for peds, better for traffic.

Not unless you have to cross Randolph, which has turned into a speedway since the Woodward closure.