We’re fighting the temptation to ask what “real” cities would do, but we’ve never been in a major city that is as lackadaisical about maintenance and repair as ours.
This photo is a case in point. The sad thing is that it is hardly the exception to the rule, because all us downtown have witnessed for years repairs of this caliber on Main Street, formerly Mid-American Mall.
Long-time Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joe Riley sums it up well. He says there is no matter too small when it comes to the urban design and development of a city’s urban fabric. In fact, he founded the Mayor’s Institute of City Design to proselytize his gospel: that mayors are the chief urban designers for their cities. It’s also why as mayor, he’s picked the brick type and the brick patterns for public projects and the designs of low-income housing that speak to the architectural traditions of his city.
His advice was ringing in our ears as we looked at yet another eyesore masquerading as a repair on Main Street. Yet another car drove on our “pedestrian mall” and broke yet another grate and yet another repair by city government sends the message that we lack any sense of design or standards for our public realm.
The answer to the damaged grates is to affix plywood over them. It’s not the first time this has been the City of Memphis’ answer to this problem, because some of the boards have been in place for years.
Then, there’s the bricks lining each side of the trolley tracks. Finding one that isn’t cracked or broken as the result of a car running over it is about as easy as finding a mobile home still standing after a tornado. That’s not to mention the lack of a coherent sign policy that’s a key element to a downtown that looks cared for.
One thing is certain: it’s impossible to keep Main Street, allegedly a pedestrian mall, in a reasonable condition as long as city government only gives lip service to keeping cars and trucks off the street. More to the point, it’s often as not that the damage on Main Street is in fact caused by a city vehicle.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time downtown on my bike this summer and I’ve got to say, it’s pitiful. I’d like to complain to my Councilperson about it but I don’t have one, and since the Council abdicated their responsibility for the mess to quasi-public-non-profit (except for the contractors) dis-organizations, it probably wouldn’t do much good anyhow.
Maybe you shoulda pinned 5 bucks to her tent dress while she was still taking up space in city hall..
Bottom line: AC Wharton, while still better than King Willie, still sucks. Big time.
Can I ask a personal favor of one of the contractors who have been awarded sewer work this year… Can you just do us a favor and make a civic jesture by figuring out how to get the fountains back on? I’ll find a 501c3 for you to invoice and we’ll write it off as a tax deductible contribution. It’s 100 freakin degrees and sunny, the civic center fountain should be on.
Can I ask a personal favor of one of the contractors who have been awarded curb & road work this year… Can you just do us a favor and make civic jesture by figuring out how to replace the mall pavers with something other than plywood? I’ll find a 501c3 for you to invoice and we’ll write it off as a tax deductible contribution. It’s tourist season and the main downtown thoroughfare shouldn’t look like ass.
Downtown should be a high concentration tax revenue generator, the global identity for our region and the target for future development opportunity. If our government isn’t going to care, I’d hope our corporate community would. At least the ones getting a little business from government work?
The big problem is Main Street was constructed of some nondurable materials to begin with. The metal grates on the drains were too thin and the granite paver accents were too thin also. However, the brick paving and concrete pavers on the tracks have held up well.
I think there is little impetus to spend money on this street because it may be redesigned and refurbished soon anyway, so all is not lost.
Pave over it, make it a street again
Pave over it and make it a skate park
Place some Mississippi mud and dirt over it, install lots of hitching posts and bring horses back
I’ve been watching the spot shown in the photo slowly grow over the course of the summer. Several mornings have included a work crew of 3 to 4 individuals. Perhaps the nature of the problem is still eluding them after these many months just as the nature of the demolition work on Madison seems to be beyond the ability of that particular owner/contractor.
Urbanut is my hero.
Perhaps we could borrow the golf tourney’s old scoreboard and put it up across Madison. We could keep a running total of how many months/weeks/days that segment of road is closed. We could calculate the interest payments on that $2 million section of trolley and regularly update that. Or we could rank all of the dumb obvious improvement projects that should be priorities.
Closed Trolley
6 over par
Mall Maintenance
5 over par
Hickman Building “Temporary” Fence
4 over par
1st Tenn. Bank Barbed Wire Prison Parking Across From Elementary School
3 over par
City Hall HVAC Plaza Installation
2 over par
Civic Center Fountain
1 over par
Concrete Block Peabody Place Garage Façade
Even par
Convention Center Sidewalk Chain
Maybe if we celebrate our faults, we will grow to love them!
I propose that we begin a photographic project on key design and repair issues, particularly downtown, and see if we can get some attention to the need for some standards of quality and reasonable action.
We can take photos over time to document problems and to track actions to fix them.
I really like that idea.
I would like to add the work on Union Avenue between Fourth and Danny Thomas to John’s scoreboard. The fact that as of 9:30 am this morning there is a 20′ by 4′ hole in Union that is not the focus of any construction activity (or a cover plate) is beyond reason.
Add Danny Thomas and N. Parkway. They’ve been playing with that dirt pile on the N. East corner for quite awhile now.