N.H. Ave is pretty gross from University Blvd south to Eastern Ave.
Actually, its pretty gross way north of University Blvd too, but that is not in Takoma Park, and some of it is in a different county.
I hope by "improve" they don't mean -- getting rid of minorities and minority owned businesses. It's messy up (out?) there. But there is also a vibrant community with a good deal of activity, pedestrian and vehicular. It's a messy vitality, like Merrifield or the Fairfax Circle area. Anytime their are proposals to "fix" these areas. Minorities get pushed out.
Go to one of the charrettes. I think the issue is more of urban form. I am fine with all the taco trucks... but it is the physical rhythm of the street and the building frontage that I refer to when I describe the area as gross.
N.H. Ave. consists of a bunch of strip malls and drive ins, anchored at the north end by 3, count em, 3 50's shopping centers, and some more strip malls. The people who live around there are trying hard to impose a pedestrian lifestyle on this automobile centric mess, often with fatal results.
Maybe after the charrette the People's Republic of Takoma Park will actually do something to modify the physical form for the better. I'm not optimistic. In the past policy has been to say "That's nice." and file the report.
Good point. In my trans. and land use class, two students worked together as a team, and their paper compared the area around the intersection of NH and University Blvd. vs. the area around PG Plaza.
Now for whatever reason, long before Metro was on the horizon, the developer of that office complex wanted to do dense development at PG Plaza, but still, the area is different--still gross in my opinion, but at least transit oriented.
One big difference between the two areas is the number of pedestrian fatalities.
I guess as a Californian in spirit, I've lived around so many vital neighborhoods that looked just like that. Maybe with some denser housing nearby. That it doesn't bother me that much. And I've seen what happens when these get started -- suddenly new buildings are proposed and lo and behold gone are the brown people. Downtown McLean and Vienna look almost identical -- but there isn't any serious talk about redeveloping Maple in Vienna or the intersection of Old Dominion and Chain Bridge in McLean -- but there's plenty of talk about "improving" Merrifield and Fairfax circle -- and what are in those areas? Ethnic businesses.
If all we are talking about is improved pedestrian access than we are on to something. And if we recognize that there are merchants that have moved into that area and revitalized what would otherwise be blight -- than you're on. (Undergrounding the utilities would be a good place to start...) I just see how things steamroll and I'm always concerned when it happens to areas like that intersection.
You should go and make sure those points are heard. I only know two people on the team. Randy Gross, the ec. dev. guy, has done a lot of work with "minority" communities, including good work with a study in the Ivy City-Florida Market-NY Ave. area a couple years ago.
Although it is Takoma Park, the closest to Berkeley that exists in these parts, so probably those concerns will also be expressed by others.
You're right though that new buildings "naturally" crowd out old tenants unless steps are taken. c.f. Jacobs...
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