There was someone downtown on a Friday night?
Let us now turn from the topic of my qualifications for discussing music criticism to an issue of local significance. Sometime over the weekend, the Canal Walk was vandalized. I'm kind of amazed that anyone noticed so quickly.
For a long time, I obeyed the rules about no bike riding on the portion of the walk that goes through Brown's Island. Then, about two months ago, I got a wild hair and rode through it anyway, figuring I couldn't do more damage than, say, Seal's tourbus. Now I do it every day, and I've never once seen another human being. This could be the time of day I go (about 10 a.m., usually), but you'd think the law of averages would kick in at some point, and someone--a disoriented tourist, a shopper reeling from the prices at La Diff, someone from the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation fitting Don Harrison with cement shoes--would cross my path.
But no.
I emailed a friend who's in an unusually good position to know how the Canal Walk was planned, and he confirmed my suspicion that the walk's restrictive rules (no bikes, no skateboards, no food from Kroger) was a somewhat optimistic attempt at a safety policy in what the city saw as the key to waterfront density. That may yet happen before we all die, but most of the time Canal Walk looks like another fine example of what-if-they-gave-a-downtown-and-nobody-came. The typical Richmond twist is that the only people who might be interested in using the park regularly--skaters, cyclists, tearoom enthusiasts--are banned from it.
Last year I went to a meeting with Councilman Bill Pantele, who said the city was going to look at easing the restrictions on the Canal Walk somewhat. Uncharacteristically, this doesn't seem to have happened, and Anal Walk remains empty, save for criminals such as vandals and renegade cyclists. Score another one for the Richmond of the future.
posted by Andrew Beaujon at 11:34
14 Comments:
Man, I was making this argument like 7 years ago.
It sounds like there might be a crack though: tonight's Council is making an ordinance about picking up after dogs at the "downtown Canal area".
I work downtown and I can guarentee you that there are many, many people using the Canal Walk every day, spring, summer, fall and winter.
I don't believe the highly successful River Walk to which our Canal Walk is compared allows skateboarders either; I hardly think that's responsible for the downfall of Richmond, an expectation that skateboarders do their sport in suitable areas that don't conflict with other areas or damage expensive stonework.
Well, CM, I guess we're just going at different times of day. So maybe the solution is to--until Canal Walk reaches its potential--allow cyclists and skateboarders to use the park during "off hours."
Yes, lunchtime is def the peak use hour at the Canal. Go down some time, it's neat; different people walking, having lunch, jogging, wathing rafters go by.
Urban planners, landscape architects, and architects can tell you that designing space for human use starts with an analysis of needs and compatible uses. Form follows function, right?
The needs of a skateboard park (which WOULD be cool, yes) are very different and incompatible with the needs of a public gathering place. No, the space was designed to be a public gathering place, it's growing into that role, and it's incompatible with the impacts of a skateboard park. Lets have a skateboard park, but somewhere where it doesn't conflict with the needs of a community festival area.
I think perhaps you misunderstand me. I'm not talking about building a skateboard park, I'm talking about opening the park up to rollerskaters, cyclists AND skateboarders when it's not being used as a festival area, or maybe even at lunchtime. Just a thought. I think density follows use; I don't think you can control what kind of density you get. In fact, I think the problem with Richmond is that it tries to control what happens too much of the time, and nothing ends up happening!
No, I didn't misunderstand. I'm saying if you want a place to skateboard, let's build an appropriate space for that use. The canal walk is not an appropriate place. Let's NOT allow skateboarders along the Canal Walk because it is not compatible with pedestrian needs or community gathering places.
Skateboarding is very destructive to stonework. It's not an appropriate use in a plaza with nice stonework.
Talk about a solution looking for a problem. Just because skateboarders don't have a park doesn't mean they should be allowed into the Canal Walk where it is clearly incompatible with the existing and proposed uses.
Maybe that should be the City's new slogan- 'Waiting for 'appropriate', intended use.'
What a waste.
well who do you think wrote "anarchy" on the wall, a ... say... skateboarder?
or a middle aged office wonk on lunch break?
hmmmmm....
Festival plazas are great. Skateboarding is great. They just aren't compatible in the same space.
I sure wouldn't go walking about so much if I knew skateboarders and bikers were allowed; I hate being shooed aside "COMING THROUGH!!!", twisting, almost falling, being shoved aside. (all real expereinces I've had when I "got in the way" of bikers or skateboarders).
Certain modes of transportation are not compatible and it is considered progressive to provide for seperate routes.
If you're going to dis the canal, it's only fair that you visit during lunch on a week day first before you claim it's such a wasteland.
Any non-motorized transportation (bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, etc.) are perfectly compatible with pedestrians. They could include clearly marked separate lanes for pedestrians vs. wheels if safety is a concern.
Hey, this is fun!
Here's my argument: lunchtime is fine and dandy. But it's at best 10 hours out of the week. Even with summer concerts, you have a park that's used a fraction of the time it's open.
My idea is, rather than shoo away people who'd be interested in using it (and let's get away from the skateboarding for a second--if sociopathic skateboarders were interested in Canal Walk, they'd be there already, sign or no sign), Canal Walk should welcome inappropriate use during off-hours.
Not only would that help turn it into a place that wasn't thriving only at lunchtime, it might actually serve as a place for lots of different communities to gather.
Unless that possibility is really the problem....
Hey, I live within a half mile of the damn thing.
Skateboarders and bikers increase positive traffic flow in parks during off times, and I feel safer going to parks where they are present. I have an unconventional schedule, and rarely am I able to go to any park at noon. I run mornings or afternoons in Forest Hill Park, and sometimes on the Canal Walk. Mornings are prime pick-up times for cruisers and afternoons tend to be for loners catching a buzz. I have noticed that if there is a steady flow of people, including bikers, rollerbladers and whatknot, than I am apt to cross the paths of fewer people looking for drugs or sex in parks.
They should also lift any restrictions on transsexual prostitutes on the Canal Walk, which have gotten all sorts of dander up among my Northside neighbors who also get freaked out by loud noises, burned out streetlights and selecting appropriate foliage to landscape statues of dead generals.
The Canal Walk, like so many other reasonably pleasant ideas in Richmond, is staid and underused because it was conceived as a way to drive economic development downtown, rather than as a response to development. Sort of like the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation's grandiose plans were intended to spur economic growth, rather than spur cultural life.
Oh, I agree. It's so damn hard to find a tranny in Church Hill these days!
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