Quote:
Originally Posted by isaidso
Nice to see the perimeter of the Commons, Citadel, Public Gardens, etc. slowly being rimmed with decent density. I've often thought that Brunswick Street between downtown and the Citadel should be closed and the turned into the terminus for Citadel Hill. Just put a giant public pedestrian only square there with cafes, water feature, etc. Citadel Hill can then be properly stitch into the urban fabric of downtown. That stretch of Brunswick Street is awful the way it is. It just doesn't work.
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It already has those things (sans water feature, except when it rains) and it remains an unfriendly wasteland. It has always been so. There is nothing there to attract the pedestrians that seem to be so beloved by the planning professions. Certainly Citadel Hill itself is hardly much of an attraction, and the businesses along Brunswick have always struggled. The fact that it is on the side of a steep hill means pedestrian traffic is always going to be rather limited as it is a challenging walk for all but the fittest.
I am more of the view that Citadel Hill is an impediment to DT development and should be tunneled under so it can be avoided. Former Mayor Ron Wallace's brilliant idea to dig it out and put a large car park under it remains one of the most forward-thinking ideas ever proposed. But I could be equally on-side with hollowing it out to create a transit hub as long as tunnels were constructed along Duke, Sackville and other hilly streets connecting it to the waterfront and long escalators like those used in the D.C. Metro subway stations to move people up and down the hillsides. Moving sidewalks for more level sections towards SGR would also be useful.