Spoke Shops Signal Smart Growth

The Return of Neighborhood Bicycle Shops: A Sustainable Community Indicator

“The communities that embrace the bicycle and all that goes with it NOW will be the successful communities of the next generation.”

–Alex Obriecht, President Bike Maryland & Race Pace Bicycles

Did you buy that bicycle at the hardware store?

Baltimore Bicycle Works baltimorebicycleworks.com
Credit: David Whitaker

This was quite likely several decades ago. From the 1950’s through the 1970’s, you could often find a bicycle shop combined with a local hardware store in communities throughout the U.S. This was a unique 20th century retail combination that was often located on or near a main street or at a nearby neighborhood commercial center.

Retail operated differently decades ago and both bicycle shops and hardware stores often were located in the neighborhood. Sometimes that first paper-route bike or later the Schwinn Stingray, Varsity or Paramount 10-speed was purchased at one of these long gone local hardware & bicycle shops.

Several years thereafter there was a commercial transition

Is There Life After Malls?

(co-authored by John Coleman)

A typical suburban enclosed mall (Crossroads Mall; Omaha, Nebraska; Labelscar, the Retail History Blog)

The enclosed suburban shopping mall came to symbolize the height of middle class American culture from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. The ubiquitous shopping mall was a retail model that wooed stores away from downtowns and main street shopping areas. The enclosed mall became the location for retail, socializing, cinema and the ever present food courts where teens and their families often spent the afternoon far from their community and the comfy confines of their kitchens and dining room tables.

An Accolade for a Frederick County Sidewalk

New sidewalk would protect Monocacy Middle, Frederick News-Post (March 19, 2013)

The article above describes a project near a Frederick County public school that exemplifies quality planning. In this instance, a local school facility planing director decided to make a difference in order to help middle school students safely travel to and from school.

 

Monocacy Middle School

Over the past several years MDP has urged public school construction officials across Maryland take a more active role in Safe Routes to Schools projects. Ray Barnes, Executive Director for Facility Services with Frederick County Public Schools took it upon himself to apply for a grant to complete a sidewalk located along a road off of the school property. A sidewalk was clearly need on this segment of Opossumtown Pike

Richard “Dick” Floyd (December 4, 1940-January 8, 2013) – A Planning Commissioner for the Ages

“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics, whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were, and ask why not.” ~ John F. Kennedy

Richard Floyd
December 4, 1940
-January 8, 2013

It was a late night at the Frederick County Planning Commission, a day comprised of public meetings and work sessions that began before noon. As the hour approached 11:00 p.m., spectators in the half-filled auditorium at Winchester Hall fought off weariness as an applicant’s attorney summed up a land use proposal laconically by referencing specific articles in the zoning ordinance as well as applicable sections in the subdivision ordinance to support approval of the request. Agreeing to post all applicable agreements and bonds, the attorney then followed up with an explanation as to why this particular land use proposal would be a “Win – Win” for the county. Those listening with attentive ears at this point in the night were few.  The Chair of the Planning Commission was listening to every word.

WalkUPs: A Real Estate Model for the 21st Century

“The market is flashing very large and very loud signals: ‘Build more walkable urban places,’” says Christopher B. Leinberger

For many decades urban and regional planners have chased the elusive “walkable community” much like the Holy Grail. From Radburn to Columbia to your local mixed use center, walkability has often been a planning goal, although rarely achieved. This is now changing. An emerging land use in the second decade of the 21st century are walkable urban places.