I Found Something...

****EDIT****
I found this lurking on the interwebs.

Full text at: nexus.umn.edu/Theses/ReubenCollins_ProfessionalPaper.pdf

It's a master's thesis about light rail impact mitigation strategies. I'm in the process of reading it, but here's a table near the end with the summary. Full descriptions of each measure are found on the actual paper. "...so then I found this thingie on the interwebs and it told me exactly what to do..."


****END EDIT*****


Been thinking... we need to win over both local communities and auto-users alike.


Here's some ideas for winning over communities....


-Involve Local Churches, Schools, Community Institutions:

• Community Charettes at churches and schools, involving local kids and parents, possibly with assistance from local colleges and technical schools/architecture schools
  (you could even bus in UMCP/Georgetown architecture students)
  
• Grassroots Art- Graffiti as art, celebrating the grittier side of urbanism, kids stenciling their own design on panels judged by a jury to be placed along construction or more permanent installations. Installation competitions painted open air.
• Subsidize Local Events: Open air dance/martial arts competitions, community information sessions, farmers markets, urban farming events for churches/schools, art markets- even before the first track is laid, to begin building the social base that would become habituated to visiting these community events.
  

-Involve Local Businesses

• Feeding workers could be an opportunity: They could be bussed out to local restaurants and commercial centers. Alternatively, they could sign up in the morning for food from local restaurants, which could be delivered on site.
  
• Paneling Posters along the side of construction in some areas could advertise deals at local businesses. In addition, they could play host to paying advertisers, which would subsidize the cost of putting up the local business posters.
  

Here's some ideas for winning over auto-users...

• Offsite Parking- have construction workers park in designated offsite lots rented by local businesses and bussed into the construction sites.
• Off-Hour Construction: Construction during weekends and nighttime when possible, especially for light construction work (i.e. anything not involving heavy construction equipment.)

Here's some ideas for station/infrastructure improvement...

These improvements can take place in one of Four places...

-Nearby Pre-Existing Park/Open Space --> Community Event Space
-Nearby Boulevards and Greenways --> Linked Ped/Bic ecofriendly transit system w/ shared bikes, enhanced street infrastructure
-Exiting Station Plots --> Enhanced signage, enhanced aesthetics, more informationally utility, enhanced drainage
-Mini-lots --> Space for urban farms/bike share-stations, pocket parks and police/utility vehicle parking (for neighborhood patrols and infrastructure improvement)


Full Rosemont visual anaylsis at...

http://chimerapathogen.deviantart.com/art/BOAA-Rosemont-Station-205394060

Also this sketch:

This picture features a "Destination Marker"- large scale sculpture/structure which signals incoming trains, as well as lighting up to tell the community about ongoing events. These lights would also be placed at community centers (for example, a green light would light up during a farmer's market at both the station and the community event space (whose marker would be visible from the station.)








And this sketch: An urban garden on an empty plot only one block away from the Rosemont Station. Because of the nature of the block types, it's not that uncommon to have an empty plot or half plot on the end.

Trellises and banners along a scaffold walls, along with minimal landscaping into regular plots and concrete or cobbled walkways gives you a nice pocket urban farm- especially once you add in a little water storm water retention garden at the end. (note: forgot to draw flowers)