Recently, the Columbia Association released proposed plans to revamp the Lakefront, reported both by Tom Coale at HCR as well as David Greisman with Patuxent. I waffled on whether or not to write my thoughts on it, because they're not particularly supportive of the plan, but then after some Twitter encouragement (thanks Julia and David!) and some thought, I'm doing it. I mean, what's the point in blogging if I don't write what I think and put myself out there, right?
The renderings themselves are beautiful-- there are people, I see cafe umbrellas in the distance, and look at the kayaks and paddle boats! I love paddle boats. But these are conceptual drawings (and $10K don't buy much), so they don't show a lot of important, concrete details. I also wasn't at the presentation, so I'm not sure what kind of additional context was given by the architectural team.
Cy Paumier is paraphrased in the article: the lakefront "is no longer what it should be, he said, not with limited space for outdoor restaurant seating, too little performance space and not enough room for those wishing to walk or relax." (In case it's not clear, I'd like to emphasize that the quotation marks are Greisman's words from the article and not a direct quotation from Paumier.)
But at the same time, these plans are so similar to the lakefront we have now. We do have outdoor seating and sidewalks and grassy areas to sit on and paths to walk. None of these are drawing people to the Lakefront. The most encouraging thing about the renderings to me is the addition of happy people, but I am not sure why they would be there in real life. I don't know that more of what we've currently got will draw more people. Additionally, I don't think the Lakefront's problem is that there isn't enough space to hang out. There's lots of room there now, especially since there aren't too many people there to jockey for space. I don't see the connection between these plans and the cited result that this will "generate new life and economic vitality."
Also, is there such a thing as too much open space downtown? The Phase I plans for Symphony Woods also call for a lot of open space (though that might change given recent developments). Being that Symphony Woods is literally down the street, will there be enough demand for all this straight-up open space? In this case, I mean "open space" literally, not as a planning synonym for "park." I mean empty space.
For this and the "no-bid contract" way this happened, I really hope that the CA Board engages other firms in submitting proposals for the Lakefront.
So what about possible alternatives? More on that soon (hopefully).
What do you think of the proposed plans?
If only it were as easy as 'drawing' the people in. Where's the Holodeck when you need it!
ReplyDeleteWhat are the people in the drawings actually looking at? Is there a fountain with a laser light show planned for the middle of Lake Kittamaqundi?
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%. This plan is more of the same. Cenennial Park is the most utilzied park in the County because it has a pathway that circumnavigates the lake. Is this a possiblity for downtown? Can you add vendors that rent bikes, rent remote controlled saleboats? Can you add a family priced restaurant or- better yet- a section for food trucks on the weekends? This plan just looks like less lake, more concrete, more of the same.
ReplyDeleteIt's still so boring that the homeless won't hang out there.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the draw of a Whole Foods on the lake?
ReplyDeleteHowChow-- something to be leveraged, perhaps!
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