Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[urbanboy]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

And all those people died riding a commuter rail train in LA... so it may not be a good justification.

I think light rail on foothill could work. I don't see how a train to Summit County would work. Davis County has 300,000 residents and less than 10,000 utilize the FrontRunner on a daily basis. Summit County has 35,000 residents, and yes I realize there are tourists but I just can't see how it would work. I think UTA ought to try some bussing first to see how popular it would be.

I think a larger percentage of Park City residents would use it to travel to Salt Lake. More people in Davis county would be using Front Runner, had the Legacy Parkway not been built.

[cololi]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Some of those families probably died in auto accidents up Parleys Canyon, If we had only had a train... A train to Park City would be used allot, it's safer, and it's not as dirty as the automobile.

I wonder if anyone has ever done a study to determine the safety impact a train has on parallel roads. My guess is no noticeable difference. No one builds commuter rails because they are safer than cars. The only thing I have ever seen get more than one or two sentences in an EIS is the safety issue of cars and trains on shared roadways. Air quality is a very legitimate issue and the number one reason why commuter rail lines are built. Parleys is rarely congested to the point that cars are idling and at the point of maximum pollution generation. it is highly unlikely that a rail project up Parleys would get federal funding.

[urbanboy]

The large cubes represent the two courthouses:

[arkhitektor]

This is not encouraging news:

Companies not sure what to do with Oddfellows Hall

Sounds like they're setting themselves up to say: "Well, we tried. But we're just going to tear it down anyway"

[urbanboy]

The companies should set it back down, and the Federal Government should find somewhere else to build their courthouse!

[anyiliang]

SLC doesn't have to be like other cities. Here in Taichung Taiwan, they added a space needle and building together. I know this is not the best looking building but it is different. I know that someone can design something better than this.



http://www.skyscrapers.cn/diagram/asia/taiwan/taichung/Golden_Plaza4.jpg

photo by greatbang101(6/2007)

[delts145]

That's exactly what I was thinking Anyiliang. Ofcourse, make the design of the building something very sleek and sexy like the library. I would be far more excited about a needle that is incorporated into the design of an iconic tower.

Originally Posted by delts145

I personally wouldn't have a problem with a Spaceneedle, as long as it didn't end up looking like a cheap concrete slab, like the one in Vegas. I would like to see something actually incorporated into the structure of a sleek tower. Anyway, it's definately not a priority for any of us probably. There are other firsts that I would rather see like a 600 ft. plus attractive tower, that is as sexy as the new 222, but taller.

[delts145]

This was kind of a cool capture I don't think I had seen before.


by justthismoment at flickr.com

[Future Mayor]

I continue to agree that the south end of Main Street needs some sort of anchor. While Gallivan acts as a type of an anchor, it doesn't really draw people further south than 300 S and the Gallivan Trax stop.

As for the needle I think a nicely designed needle or one incorporated into a tower would be nice or even simply a sleek tower design at that end would do wonders in bringing people to the South end of Main.

I like the most recent layout UrbanBoy except I am confused, do you intend that they tear down the Matheson courthouse and replace it with two courthouses instead?

As for Oddfellows, the GSA's reply doesn't surprise me one bit. Every time I think about the new courthouse I just get more and more angry. For all they care it could just fall apart.

Hey GSA here's an idea, set Oddfellows back down and restore the structure so that is structurally safe to use, and leave the Shubrick in place also. Play the eminent domain card, on the NE corner of the Holding block to the south (with fair compensation of course) and build a more sleek taller courthouse that faces the 400 S and Main intersection, with a nice plaza surrounding it. Go ahead a tear up portions of 400 south in order to install connector tunnels below grade to access the new and old courthouses. This would allow us to keep some historical buildings, and provide some development on the Holding block. Even with a surrounding plaza it would allow for development on half of the east and north sides of the block as well as the entire S and W sides.

Hey UrbanBoy, could you alter your South Main site plan to include a courthouse tower?

I'm guessing that instead of my above suggestion, we will end up with the borg cube and neither one of the historic buidlings.

[Future Mayor]

While I was attempting to find rendering of the original Triad Plan I came across this interesting article from 1989 in the Des News.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: UTAHNS GOOD AT PLANTING VISIONS, BUT HARVESTING HAS BEEN ANOTHER STORY

http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/7...T-HARVESTING-HAS-BEEN-ANOTHER-STORY.html

The interesting part is actually at the bottom of the article the Honorable Mentions to see how many of those have actually happened in the nearly 20 years since the article was written.

[urbanboy]

One similar to this would work: (it's the Raddison in Shanghai)

...and the plaza could be called Raddison Square Gardens! lol

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

I continue to agree that the south end of Main Street needs some sort of anchor. While Gallivan acts as a type of an anchor, it doesn't really draw people further south than 300 S and the Gallivan Trax stop.

As for the needle I think a nicely designed needle or one incorporated into a tower would be nice or even simply a sleek tower design at that end would do wonders in bringing people to the South end of Main.

I like the most recent layout UrbanBoy except I am confused, do you intend that they tear down the Matheson courthouse and replace it with two courthouses instead?

As for Oddfellows, the GSA's reply doesn't surprise me one bit. Every time I think about the new courthouse I just get more and more angry. For all they care it could just fall apart.

Hey GSA here's an idea, set Oddfellows back down and restore the structure so that is structurally safe to use, and leave the Shubrick in place also. Play the eminent domain card, on the NE corner of the Holding block to the south (with fair compensation of course) and build a more sleek taller courthouse that faces the 400 S and Main intersection, with a nice plaza surrounding it. Go ahead a tear up portions of 400 south in order to install connector tunnels below grade to access the new and old courthouses. This would allow us to keep some historical buildings, and provide some development on the Holding block. Even with a surrounding plaza it would allow for development on half of the east and north sides of the block as well as the entire S and W sides.

Hey UrbanBoy, could you alter your South Main site plan to include a courthouse tower?

I'm guessing that instead of my above suggestion, we will end up with the borg cube and neither one of the historic buidlings.

I've always thought the courthouse on State was a waste of space! The architect was surely more interested in designing a prominent building (which looks fake-ish) rather than designing an efficient buiding that respects space. Also the city council was very uninspired not to see the potential for a view corridor and easy access to TRAX.

Sadly, current required setbacks for government buildings makes it impossible to maintain Main Street's slot canyon nature, and would ruin the potential urban feel of that intersection. Therefore I refuse to locate a new government building anywhere on Main Street until the setback requirements have been abolished.

[Future Mayor]

I proposed it hoping to due away with the government building set back requirements. I wouldn't want the courthouse on that corner either if it required a set back.

[shakman]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

The companies should set it back down, and the Federal Government should find somewhere else to build their courthouse!

Relocating the Federal Courthouse will not happen; current and proposed.

[Comrade]

How 'bout a statue of me?

[shakman]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

How 'bout a statue of me?

If I knew how you looked like, I would comment ACCORDINGLY. (j/k)

[urbanboy]

Originally Posted by shakman

Relocating the Federal Courthouse will not happen; current and proposed.

Unless it is bombed by the federal reserve bank, then blamed on "terrorists" to instill fear and "terror" into our minds, then the media is used to sway public opinion to support a war justified by our fears, which in turn, is most profitable for the federal reserve. GO AHEAD FEDERAL RESERVE, BOMB OUR COURTHOUSE! Maybe then we can start over and do it right. Just make sure no one is in the building when it goes.

http://zeitgeistmovie.com/

[DMTower]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

How 'bout a statue of me?

you mean you or Pennywise? I'm all for the Pennywise statue lol

[urbanboy]

I did include a monument (or statue) on the sight plan. It's right in the middle of the courthouse block. It's not of anything in particular; the community would decide what or who the monument will be. Also, if you look north from the statue, there is a view corridor to Exchange Place.

[UTPlanner]

http://zeitgeistmovie.com/? Really, Urbanboy? I would have taken you for a more intelligent, mature individual.

Please nobody waste your time with this movie or its sequel. It is nothing but pure conspiracy theory. They have no real evidence. Everything is completely anecdotal. It's just a total, maniacal rant. It's a complete joke.

[urbanboy]

Good thinking UTPlanner! way to use reverse psychology!