07/08/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

accommodated on the mall. He said this can be done both on the redesigned Willamette Street1s wide sidewalks and on other parts of the mall. e Mr. Miles said that Broadway, east of the central fountain, contains a lot of inactive space. He said this block needs to be designed and programmed to accommodate more intense uses--uses that wi 11 strengthen the connection, which is very tenuous now, between the park blocks and the Broadway/Willamette plaza. Mr. Miles showed a slide of Willamette Street at the turn of the century. He mentioned the prominent use of awnings, which were used not so much to provide continuous weather protection as to emphasize particular storefronts. He said the number of awnings downtown is being increased by the Downtown Awning Program. Mr. Miles said the mall redesign that occurred in 1971 emphasized the downtown core as a park-like environment that was like a self-contained precinct isolated from the city's street system. He said a streetscape environment is more condusive to retailing. Moreover, the street is an urban areals primary asset; it is what a downtown has that suburban shopping centers lack; and it is what is celebrated in the world's greatest cities. He said the improvements made to the downtown mall should return this area to a streetscape environment; and, instead of being a self-contained precinct, the mall should become part of the downtown street grid again. This can be cone through introducing traffic on part of the mall, and by using streetscape design features in the improvements made to the pedestrian areas. For example, the recent West Broadway improvements re-installed street signs not e only to emphasize the streetscape theme, but also to help pedestrians find their way throughout the mall and downtown area. He added that Willamette is the historic ma;nstreet of Eugene, and that the Downtown Plan recommends restoring this mainstreet image. Mr. Miles said the Public Spaces Study contains the results of a pedestrian count that was done on the downtown mall. He said that while the activity level on the northern block of Wiliamette and the eastern block of Broadway is driven by downtown employment, the southern block of Willamette and the western blocks of Broadway are active during both the week and weekend. He added that the most active street, Broadway, has the largest number of shop entries. Mr. Miles said that when discussing a streetscape environment, one can divide the street into three zones. The merchant zone is the sidewalk area and the storefronts; next to the merchant zones are pedestrian furnishings zones, which contain design components (trees, street lights, and so on) that establish the streetscape theme and emphasize continuity of the streets from block to block; and between the two pedestrian furnishings zones is the central activity zone (where the road would be on a traditional street). Mr. Miles said the central activity zone must be programmed and activated by such things as outdoor seating, performances, vendor pushcarts, and small shops in pavil ions. He recommended that these pavilions be satellites of stores already on the ma 11 . He showed a slide of The Bonis storefront on West Broadway as an example of a poorly functioning merchant zone: there is no e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 8, 1987 Page 9