Jul 8, 2010 5

Potential Streetcar Alignments Being Studied

By: Kevin Buchanan

The city has released some documents from HDR, Inc.’s current planning work on Fort Worth’s modern streetcar system, and one of the documents gives some more depth, information, and details on the potential starter alignments being considered and how they’re being measured.  It’s important to note that at this stage of planning, the routes are not set in stone.  There are several potential starter routes for the first phase of the modern streetcar system, and each is being evaluated according to a set of criteria.  The end result might be one of these lines, or it might be a combination of parts of lines.  These answers will come from the study currently underway by HDR, Inc. that is providing a blueprint for our modern streetcar system.  This information comes from publicly-available planning documents posted to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, available as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

The criteria that the potential starter routes are being measured against come from factors in successful streetcar systems in other cities, and the goals and issues that a Fort Worth solution could be designed to address.  The criteria are focused on improving the development and mobility situation in Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods.  They reflect the objectives of the project as told to HDR, based on meetings with City of Fort Worth officials and staff, organizations like Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and Fort Worth South, Inc., and the city’s Modern Streetcar Task Force.

The sort of criteria that these routes are being measured against include:

  • Existing and anticipated population in the alignment corridor
  • Existing and anticipated employment in the alignment corridor
  • Major destinations served
  • Developable land
  • Potential yield from TIF and other locally-generated sources
  • Assessed value base
  • Compatibility with city and TIF district plans
  • Relative lack of engineering or traffic management constraints
  • Estimated ridership
  • Capital and operating costs
  • Public and stakeholder support

The following routes are being screened against these criteria.  Each is being analyzed as a potential stand-alone Phase 1 of the streetcar system.  It’s expected that, once the evaluations are complete, potential combinations of these lines could also emerge as a starter project, but the initial evaluation is of each route alone.  Note also that these descriptions are of the starter routes and do not include potential extensions to each route.

You’ll note that most of the lines include several segments that are the same as the other lines.  HDR’s plans showcase how the starter lines can build together over time into a network, and how they can share most of the same trackage in Downtown.

Click on the routes for a larger view.

West 7th

The West 7th alignment is 3.0 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound and heads to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound on 6th to Cherry, where it makes a slight right to merge from westbound 6th to westbound 7th.  The line heads westbound on 7th to Montgomery, where it then heads southbound to Camp Bowie, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown using the same route – northbound on Montgomery, then eastbound on 7th – until it reaches Henderson.  At Henderson, the line turns northbound on Henderson, then eastbound on 3rd.  After heading eastbound on 3rd, the line turns southbound on Calhoun before turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

North Main

The North Main alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound.  It heads northbound on Commerce through Belknap & Weatherford and makes the merge onto North Main past the Tarrant County Courthouse.  The line crosses the Paddock Viaduct (North Main bridge) where it is then envisioned that it would be integrated into the Trinity Uptown master plan.  One option, shown here, would have the line turn onto a reconstructed Commerce and head north before turning westbound on NE 6th and then southbound on North Main to head back to Downtown.  Once across the Paddock Viaduct, the line would merge from the bridge onto southbound Houston and continue southbound to 3rd, where it would turn eastbound and head to Calhoun.  At Calhoun, the line would turn southbound and head to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Trinity Bluffs

The Trinity Bluffs alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns and heads northbound to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound and heads to 7th, where it heads further westbound to Henderson.  It turns and heads northbound on Henderson to 3rd, where it turns and runs eastbound.  Upon reaching Pecan, the line turns northbound and heads to Bluff, then eastbound to Samuels.  It runs northbound on Samuels to the Cold Springs intersection, the terminus of the line.  It then heads back to Downtown via Samuels, Bluff, and Pecan.  At Pecan & 4th, it turns and heads westbound to Calhoun.  The line then runs southbound on Calhoun to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Near Southside – Jennings Option

There are two potential Near Southside alignments being considered at this time.  This is the Jennings option, which is 2.0 miles end-to-end.  The Jennings option heads southbound on Houston from 3rd.  At 9th, the line cuts over to Throckmorton headed southbound, then further over to Jennings.  It heads southbound on Jennings past Lancaster and under the railroad tracks and I-30, continuing southbound on Jennings to Pennsylvania.  The line then heads westbound on Pennsylvania to Henderson, turning southbound on Henderson to Terrell.  The line turns westbound on Terrell to 6th Avenue, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown eastbound and northbound via the same route – Terrell, Henderson, Pennsylvania, and Jennings – before reaching Throckmorton and heading northbound to 3rd, heading eastbound on 3rd back to Houston to head back to the Near Southside.  It is important to note that the Jennings option does not directly serve the ITC, but provides a connection to the TRE and the future SW2NE train at the Texas & Pacific Station.

Near Southside – South Main Option

The second potential Near Southside alignment is the South Main option, which is 3.2 miles end-to-end.  This alignment leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Magnolia.  It turns and heads westbound on Magnolia to 7th Avenue, where it turns northbound and heads to Terrell, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – 7th Avenue, Magnolia, and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Near Southside & Rosedale/East Side – Rosedale Alignment

The Rosedale line is 2.2 miles end-to-end.  It leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Rosedale.  It turns eastbound on Rosedale to Evans, which is the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – Rosedale and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Again, let us stress that these alignment options are still being measured against the design criteria.  The exact starter alignment has not yet been selected, and may in fact be a combination of elements of multiple alignments.  We’ll have more as the study by HDR continues.  For more information on this process, head to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, where this data is available to the public as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

May 21, 2010 4

Trinity River Vision Presentation At Villa De Leon

By: Kevin Buchanan

Yesterday, the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance had a get-together at the luxurious Villa de Leon condo building over in Uptown’s Trinity Bluff neighborhood, and JD Granger from the Trinity River Vision was on hand to give a presentation on the latest TRV news & info.  Here are a couple of photos from the presentation – JD talked about the progress on the bypass channel, the new bridge designs, Trinity Trail improvement projects around University/Rogers and the Naval Air Station, and many other aspects of the project.  More updates on TRV projects are coming soon.

Apr 28, 2010 4

New Trinity River Vision Bridge Designs Unveiled

By: Kevin Buchanan

After abandoning the former Bing Thom designs as being too costly, the Trinity River Vision has three new bridge designs by Rosales + Partners (who are also doing the design of the Lancaster Avenue pedestrian/bike bridge further south).

The new designs are said to take design inspiration from the Y-columns of Tadao Ando’s Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and represent a significant cost reduction:  the new bridges total at a projected cost of $65 million.  When factoring in land acquisition and other expenses, that goes to $110 million – still $45 million less than the Bing Thom designs, according to the Star-Telegram.

It’s hard to tell from the renderings shown thus far, but it appears that the bridges feature wide, separate sidepaths for bikes and pedestrians, similar to bridge designs in more bike-friendly cities.  In addition, the North Main and Henderson bridges are apparently designed to accommodate streetcar tracks in the future.

Click the thumbnails for a larger view:

Oct 28, 2009 4

Lawrence Halprin, Heritage Park Designer, Dies

By: Kevin Buchanan

Landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, one of the most creative voices in designing urban public space, passed away on Sunday at his home in California at the age of 93 from complications from a fall.

Halprin was a prolific designer, and created some of the most unique modernist public spaces in the United States. He studied how the human body moves and behaves in spatial settings, especially using dancers and choreography thanks to his wife and longtime collaborator Anna, who was a dancer. This sense of poetic movement found its way into his work, which exhibits strong relationships to human scale. Halprin devised his own landscape drawing system, which he called “motation” (motion and notation).

Several of Halprin’s projects have been demolished over time, and several more are in states of disrepair.

We have personally experienced two of Halprin’s designs, one of which is in dire condition and the other is gloriously restored and beloved. Of course, the one in disrepair is also the one Halprin did here in Fort Worth: Heritage Park, on the Trinity River bluff in Downtown.

All of Halprin’s designs reflect this passion to give people as many options as possible to go this way or that, to reverse directions, to pause, to start over, to be alone, to meet others, and to experience as many different sights, smells and sounds as the site permits.”

–Benjamin Forgey, The Smithsonian, 1988

Heritage Park’s quiet, meditative spaces and interplay of paths and “rooms” are classic Halprin. It’s not too difficult to imagine, as you walk through the park, how engaging it all would be if it were fully restored and taken care of by the city, rather than closed, dried-up, and left to decay and be overtaken by out-of-control landscaping. We were fortunate enough to make our first visits to Heritage Park before it was closed, and even in its run-down condition it felt very special. At one point, the city hired Carter + Burgess to come up with a plan to restore the park, and their response was to destroy the park’s character and integrity by slathering it with railings and other incompatible design features that were in complete opposition to Halprin’s lifelong intent of direct engagement between visitors and his works. Fortunately, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and other interested parties are now leading the way with a fundraising effort to carry out a restoration of Heritage Park that is sensitive to Halprin’s design, thanks to a collaboration with Laurie Olin, fellow landscape architect and friend of Halprin’s.

We’ve written a lot about Heritage Park in the past, and here are a few selections, including our three-park exclusive look at Halprin’s original design sketches of Heritage Park and the Trinity waterfront:

Heritage Park, “Insulted and Humiliated” – July 2008
An Update on Heritage Park – February 2009
Heritage Park now slightly less closed – August 2009
Designing Heritage Park: Inside the Halrpin Archives, Part One: Alternate Sites and Designs
Designing Heritage Park: Inside the Halprin Archives, Part Two: Oddities Along the River, Leonard’s Subway Extension, and More
Designing Heritage Park: Inside the Halprin Archives, Part Three: The Design Comes Together

As you advance towards the water in the collecting pools, you might wonder if you can trust you own sense of privilege, if you’re really allowed to do this. Trail your fingers in the fast flow up top, perch wet or dry atop the falls, wade barefoot into the bottom, or climb. You’re operating in that wonderful audio cocoon-bubble of privacy created by the loud rushing water, behind or maybe inside that wall of sound, so you feel alone and brave. Eventually you give yourself permission. Or you don’t. You decide how brave you want to get, or not. It’s a detail, but many have commented on that moment.

–Walt Lockley

The other Halprin design we have personal experience with is one that’s been well-loved: the Ira Keller Fountain in downtown Portland, Oregon. The Ira Keller Fountain creates an inviting space in the heart of the city that’s both playful and peaceful, depending on your mood. It’s a remarkable space in that there are no safety railings or nanny-safety-devices to prevent you from exploring the space. As we wrote about the fountain in our post about visiting it:

That’s it. There’s nothing stopping you from dipping a toe in, running your hands along the falls, wading around the pads. It is the kind of public space we simply don’t do anymore. The restoration and ongoing use of Ira Keller Fountain is in direct opposition to the blandified, watered-down world of railings that Carter + Burgess recommended for Heritage Park, which is even less arguably dangerous than the Keller Fountain. Keller has kept its interactivity and its soul, and that little bit of mostly-imagined danger that, as Lockley says, lets you “decide how brave you want to get, or not.”

The Ira Keller Fountain is an outstanding example of Halprin’s brilliance, and because it’s been respectfully cared for it’s a real direct, undiluted experience. Because the city hasn’t cordoned off the fountain and interfered with Halprin’s intent, the simple act of visiting it is also an act of engaging in a conversation with Halprin, as your body and mind respond to the subtle cues and design touches that he used to guide your procession through the space.

It’s that the verbal message of those signs is so effectively contradicted and drowned out by the bravery, openness, good sense and loud sexiness of the water, that’s the best part. There are no railings or fences. The place is untamed and attractively dangerous, like the natural world.

–Walt Lockley

Coming from another urban area (Oakland-Berkeley) a number of years ago my first reaction to Ira’s Fountain was slack-jawed disbelief. The thing most striking to me was its absence. Where were the signs saying ‘keep out,’ ‘danger’, ‘caution’, ‘no swimming’? There were no warnings or precautions visible. Did the lawyers know about this? How do they pay the liability? I was charmed, impressed and fell totally in love with the city of Portland at that point. Charmed that they cared enough to give over this energy and space to a non-revenue generator… To this day, many years since, I would name either the Salmon Street Springs or Ira’s Fountain as my favorite spots in the entire city. It is the joy factor of watching people interacting with the water. The kids especially are surprised that it is O.K. to go in. They look around as they approach the fountain, half-expecting someone to yell, ‘Stop, don’t touch that!’

–Barbara Duncan

So today, we celebrate the work and talent of Lawrence Halprin, master of designing spaces for human-scaled interaction. We are fortunate in Fort Worth to have an example of his work in our city, and hopefully soon we will all be able to enjoy it again, the way he intended us to.

Rest in peace, Mr. Halprin. And thank you.

Sep 3, 2009 7

Trinity Trail Work Near Rogers Road And University

By: Kevin Buchanan

We noticed some questions as an offshoot of our Gallery 1701 post, on the subject of the Trinity Trails. Questions asking what the surveying markers and signs announcing a trail re-route are all about. We’ve learned that the Trinity River Vision Authority will be doing some work to both the trail alignment and the trailhead in this location. What’s happening is that the trail in this area will be reworked to be less steep and provide better visibility – as you come under University, the current alignment and grade risks slamming you blind into a runner or cyclist coming the other way. This will be corrected. In addition, work on the trailhead will bring ADA accessibility and a slate of upgrades including a fishing pier. On the whole, the changes will make this part of the trails both more attractive and safer.

Thanks go to Laura at the TRVA for giving us the heads-up!

Aug 11, 2009 1

Heritage Park Now Slightly Less Closed

By: Kevin Buchanan

Heritage Park might still be closed and awaiting restoration, but it’s been opened back up just a little bit while the design process takes place.

The city has rearranged the various fences enclosing the park, and they now allow people to get slightly within the space. It looks like it’s been done to, in essence, “let people see what they’re missing,” to give them an idea of the interior of the park while it lingers in closure.

Design work on the restoration is underway, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a fundraising effort surfacing at some point. For now, visitors can get a little better look at Lawrence Halprin’s handiwork and the state of neglect it’s in. Click the photos for a bigger view.

If you’re curious to read more on Heritage Park, here’s some of our earlier posts on it:

Designing Heritage Park – Inside the Halprin Archives, Part One: Alternate Sites and Designs
Designing Heritage Park – Inside the Halprin Archives, Part Two: Oddities Along the River, Leonard’s Subway Extension, and More
Designing Heritage Park – Inside the Halprin Archives, Part Three: The Design Comes Together
Fort Worthology Goes to Portland, Part Three: Ira Keller Fountain
An Update on Heritage Park
Heritage Park: “Insulted and Humiliated”

Jun 22, 2009 1

Villa de Leon Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan


Photo uploaded by Brian Luenser on Flickr.

Villa de Leon at Trinity Bluff has really come a long way, and our friend Brian recently headed out and took a couple of photos of the progress. With the scaffolding gone, we can now get a good look at the facade of the building.

Villa de Leon features 23 units starting at $750,000. For more information, check their web site.


Photo uploaded by Brian Luenser on Flickr.

May 22, 2009 5

Fort Worthology goes to Portland, Part Three: Ira Keller Fountain

By: Kevin Buchanan

It’s time for our next Portland post. Today, we’re going to shift gears just a bit, and take a trip away from the larger-scale posts to examine something very specific – the Ira Keller Fountain. We’ll have another post next week with more about Portland’s parks and plazas in general, along with more posts about the other topics we’ll be talking about.

The Ira Keller Fountain was one of the must-sees for us on this trip, because of its designer: Lawrence Halprin.

First, a bit of background. Lawrence Halprin is a landscape architect who designed several urban parks & plazas during the 1970s. Now, our disdain for most everything architecture from the ’70s is pretty well known to regular readers, but Halprin’s work is often an exception. Trouble is, it’s not so easy to see a lot of Halprin’s work, because it’s getting plowed down as it ages.

Here in Fort Worth, we are fortunate enough to have our own Halprin work – Heritage Park, on the north end of Downtown Fort Worth on the bluff looking out over the Trinity River. Heritage Park is one of our favorite, and we think most underrated, public spaces – and it’s also one of our most terribly maintained.

Heritage Park is an intimate collection of water features, plazas, and scenic overlooks designed by Halprin not long after Philip Johnson’s larger, more elaborate, and far more well-known Water Gardens opened at the south end of Downtown. Like most Fort Worth water-related parks, though, Heritage Park fell into severe disrepair and was unceremoniously closed a couple of years ago, with no word from the city. Even prior to the closing, it had been neglected and forgotten about.

To their credit, the city has recently opened up about the park and is working with Laurie Olin, a former associate of Halprin, on respectfully restoring and reactivating the park. This comes after a report by Carter + Burgess that recommended smothering Heritage Park with safety railings and other elements that would ruin Halprin’s vision and the park’s feel.

In preparation for the restoration of our own Halprin park, one of a dwindling number still intact in the United States, it can be helpful to look at other cities that have kept their Halprin designs. Few are as lovely as Portland’s Ira Keller Fountain.

Situated in the southeastern part of Downtown Portland, the Ira Keller Fountain was completed in 1970. It’s comprised of an elaborate water feature, running over and between blocks before culminating in a waterfall over concrete blocks and slabs. The waterfall feeds a pool, over which a series of concrete pads appears to “float” above the water, taking visitors close to the falls.

So much of ’70s architecture ages very, very badly, but Ira Keller seems to have aged quite gracefully. It’s a wonderfully inviting place, as the roar of the water seems to drown out your nervousness about playing on the various pads and steps. As architectural writer Walt Lockley writes:

Like the Apollo program, the Ira Keller fountain in downtown Portland Oregon is an accomplishment from the 70′s that we as a society could now barely manage. It’s a loud and playfully interactive physical expression of civic values that today seem too liberal and humane to be true, and, in that wonderful sneaky ability of environments to set our social expectations, it perpetuates those values. Protecting this fountain has a practical social benefit…

…As you advance towards the water in the collecting pools, you might wonder if you can trust you own sense of privilege, if you’re really allowed to do this. Trail your fingers in the fast flow up top, perch wet or dry atop the falls, wade barefoot into the bottom, or climb. You’re operating in that wonderful audio cocoon-bubble of privacy created by the loud rushing water, behind or maybe inside that wall of sound, so you feel alone and brave. Eventually you give yourself permission. Or you don’t. You decide how brave you want to get, or not. It’s a detail, but many have commented on that moment.

That’s right – incredibly, the Ira Keller Fountain has not been mangled by safety nannies and ADA regulations, even following its restoration. There are no safety railings at all. No walls around the edges. No barriers preventing you from interacting directly with the water and the architecture. Only a few standard signs, seen around all Portland water features, are present:

Please use caution while enjoying this fountain. Like all streams and waterfalls, slippery surfaces, rapidly moving water, pools of water and high drop-offs require careful attention.

That’s it. There’s nothing stopping you from dipping a toe in, running your hands along the falls, wading around the pads. It is the kind of public space we simply don’t do anymore. The restoration and ongoing use of Ira Keller Fountain is in direct opposition to the blandified, watered-down world of railings that Carter + Burgess recommended for Heritage Park, which is even less arguably dangerous than the Keller Fountain. Keller has kept its interactivity and its soul, and that little bit of mostly-imagined danger that, as Lockley says, lets you “decide how brave you want to get, or not.”

As Lockley further writes:

It’s that the verbal message of those signs is so effectively contradicted and drowned out by the bravery, openness, good sense and loud sexiness of the water, that’s the best part. There are no railings or fences. The place is untamed and attractively dangerous, like the natural world.

Of the Keller Fountain, civic planner Barbara Duncan writes (quoted on Lockley’s page):

Coming from another urban area (Oakland-Berkeley) a number of years ago my first reaction to Ira’s Fountain was slack-jawed disbelief. The thing most striking to me was its absence. Where were the signs saying ‘keep out,’ ‘danger’, ‘caution’, ‘no swimming’? There were no warnings or precautions visible. Did the lawyers know about this? How do they pay the liability? I was charmed, impressed and fell totally in love with the city of Portland at that point. Charmed that they cared enough to give over this energy and space to a non-revenue generator… To this day, many years since, I would name either the Salmon Street Springs or Ira’s Fountain as my favorite spots in the entire city. It is the joy factor of watching people interacting with the water. The kids especially are surprised that it is O.K. to go in. They look around as they approach the fountain, half-expecting someone to yell, ‘Stop, don’t touch that!’

Fort Worth is in a rare group of American cities that still have interesting works by Mr. Halprin. Not only should Heritage Park be preserved, but it should be preserved in a kind and respectful way to Halprin’s original intent. It should not be railinged and barricaded to death. Restore it, maintain it, don’t let the plants overgrow it again, make it the way it was supposed to be.

Portland’s preservation of Ira Keller Fountain is a great leading example. I’d be first in line to knock down most ’70s architecture, but something about much of Halprin’s work is different. He created fascinating spaces, and there is nothing else in Fort Worth even remotely similar to Heritage Park – not even the Water Gardens, which is the closest equivalent in town, is even vaguely like Heritage Park.

Keep Heritage Park in its intended configuration. We could wind up with a beloved, unique, and intimate public space in the heart of the Trinity River Vision, rather than a watered-down half-hearted effort covered in safety frosting.

The city’s new collaboration with Laurie Olin is encouraging – we may yet see Heritage Park reborn as it was supposed to be. For now, here are some more photos of Ira Keller Fountain, in Portland, Oregon – a place that “got it” with respect to their own Halprin projects.

Let’s hope Fort Worth “gets it,” too.

More in our Portland series to come, including:

Parks & Plazas
Architecture
Residential Development
Local Businesses
The retail scene in urban Portland
The brewpub culture
The vegan/vegetarian culture
Food Carts (seriously)

And more.

Apr 28, 2009 Comments Off

Designing Heritage Park: Inside the Halprin Archives, Part Three – The Design Comes Together

By: Kevin Buchanan

Continuing our look into the archives of Heritage Park designer Lawrence Halprin courtesy of District 9 City Council member Joel Burns, in Part Three we’ll be looking at sketches from the actual design of Heritage Park itself, and seeing how the park evolved as Halprin went along.

Our first image finds Heritage Park on the west side of the Paddock Viaduct, as we know it today.

At this point, the overlook had not yet appeared, and the configuration of the park was a bit more compact.

As the design progressed, the overlook appeared, though on the other side of the park. Some elements of the final design were starting to be seen, including the water wall along the park’s entrance on Bluff (one of the features that hadn’t worked for some time due to lack of maintenance by the time the park closed).

Halprin started to play with the location of the overlook, here thinking about the various sight lines from a location on the western side of the park.

Here, the park is starting to resemble the park we know a bit more – the overlook is in its eventual place, and the layout is starting to come together. The interior details are still a bit different, but the final design is starting to emerge.

As we start to arrive at the final design, here’s a section looking at the eastern elevation.

A view from the west, looking up what would eventually be the brick path that leads from the river to the park.

Halprin also did some sketches of the interior views, especially of the overlook and other various walkways.

Another walkway sketch, showing one of the cascading water features that follow the paths.

The overlook, extending from the bluffs towards the river on the north.

Finally, we arrive at the final design of the park. This gives an idea of how much more open and light the park felt when new, before lack of maintenance led to it being heavily overgrown. A lot of the problems with the park’s rather uninviting feel could be solved by trimming the trees back a bit.

Once again, a big thanks to District 9 City Council member Joel Burns for sharing with us these images from the archives of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. They give us an interesting look into the design process of Halprin as he put together Heritage Park. We hope that the planned restoration of the park will give the city back this unique space on the bluff.

Apr 27, 2009 Comments Off

Designing Heritage Park: Inside the Halprin Archives, Part Two – Oddities Along the River, Leonard's Subway Extension, and More

By: Kevin Buchanan

Continuing our look into the archives of Heritage Park designer Lawrence Halprin courtesy of District 9 City Council member Joel Burns, we’re taking a look today at some…odd selections leading up through the design of the park. Tomorrow, we’ll be looking at some actual sketches of the design of the park.

First, this rather unusual map…

It’s a bit hard to see what’s going on in this drawing, but close examination reveals some details. The map shows a Downtown Fort Worth that never was, and a good number of structures that were never built. Not all are named, though some appear to be parking structures. It’s almost like a variation of the infamous Gruen Plan. At the top of the map, a curved roadway appears crossing the Trinity to the north of Downtown, and it’s marked with the note “Southwest Freeway general alignment.” It’s hard to picture a freeway slicing through what is now slated to be prime urban development property in the heart of the Trinity River Vision – it would almost certainly have been looked back upon as an unfortunate addition to the central Fort Worth urban environment.

A note just above the Paddock Viaduct notes “Main St. closed to through traffic,” indicating that North Main and the Paddock Viaduct would have perhaps been turned into a pedestrian path.

At upper left, a very interesting piece of history – what appears to be a small lake-type body carved out of the convergence of the West and Clear forks of the river. While much smaller than the lake planned in the Trinity River Vision, it’s clear the idea has been around for a while. Some sort of structure is shown with what appear to be boat docks extending into the lake. A dotted line runs through this structure and to the south, all the way to at least Lancaster Avenue. It’s our belief that this dotted line represents the Leonard’s/Tandy Center subway line, running through some sort of new waterfront development. The dotted line to the south meshes with old plans by the city to extend the Leonard’s subway all the way to Lancaster. Which leads us to…

This appears to be a rendering of the waterfront structure from the map above. The bridge shown is the Henderson Street bridge, and it matches the existing structure’s single arch design. Boat docks extend into the water, and there appear to be people fishing off the structure as well. The river is wider, showing the small “lake” from the previous map. At the lower part of the image, the tracks of the Leonard’s subway can be seen running out of the building into Downtown.

Finally, this is one of several pages of notes written & drawn by Halprin during the design of the park. As this was presented to us without explanation, we can only guess at what Halprin was saying here, exactly, but the note is interesting to look at even without context. Movement has always been a key component of Halprin’s design process, and it would appear he was thinking about it during the Heritage Park design – whatever these notations mean.

Tomorrow – design sketches of the park itself.

Apr 24, 2009 1

Designing Heritage Park – Inside the Halprin Archives, Part One – Alternate Sites and Designs

By: Kevin Buchanan

Recently, we noted the city’s planned public meetings on the restoration of Heritage Park. The city is working with Laurie Olin, noted landscape architect who worked with Heritage Park’s original designer, Lawrence Halprin, to come up with an effective and respectful restoration plan for the long-neglected and intimate park on the Trinity Bluff just west of the courthouse and Paddock Viaduct.

Now, in celebration of the newfound interest in the park, we’ve got something special to share. Fort Worthology is very proud to present a series of posts showing ultra-rare original design and concept sketches by Lawrence Halprin during the design of Heritage Park. These images are from the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania, and aren’t available online anywhere else. Thanks to District 9 City Council representative Joel Burns, we can share these treasures of the city’s architectural legacy with our readers.

We’ll be presenting the Halprin sketches in a series, starting today and continuing next week. Today, let’s take a look at some conceptual sketches that show that Heritage Park wasn’t always intended for the west side of the Paddock Viaduct – and that the desires behind the Trinity River Vision were around in the ’70s as well.

First, some background:


View Larger Map

Heritage Park sits atop the Trinity Bluff just west of the Paddock Viaduct and north of Bluff Street, near the Tarrant County Courthouse. A small, intimate space of concrete paths, outdoor rooms, water features, and an overlook extending from the bluff face, Heritage Park was the design of famed landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, who designed quite a few urban spaces like Heritage Park. One of the most notable is Ira Keller Fountain in Portland, Oregon. Halprin designed Heritage Park to be a reflective, meditative space. In the years that followed, the park fell into disrepair and became overgrown with plants, and the city finally closed the park not long ago. Recently, the city embarked on a plan to restore and re-open the park.

Heritage Park’s location wasn’t always just west of the Paddock Viaduct, though. Early design sketches reveal that the park was at one point intended to go to the east of the bridge, roughly in the location of the current Tarrant County College campus project.

In this Halprin sketch, the area of the bluffs east of the bridge is examined, and various issues surrounding its then-current design are explored. Numerous notations point to the potential of the bluffs as a recreational area hampered by a lack of access – a problem to this day. Further notes read “water oriented activities?” It’s easy to read this as one of the seeds of today’s Trinity River Vision and Trinity Uptown project. The little-utilized land past the bluffs on what will be the TRV islands is noted, and the area from the flat land to the water’s edge occupied by the levee system is marked with the note “high potential use – how to develop?” This was 1977 – it would only be today that we launched a project (the TRV) to enable the development of this waterfront land. Perhaps even more interesting from a hindsight perspective is the caption over the Samuels Avenue neighborhood – “What is the future of this residential area to be?” In the last few years, that area has become the hot Trinity Bluff development:

The sketch is remarkably prescient in its details relating to the TRV and Trinity Bluff.

With the site initially having been east of the bridge, some early design concepts were put together showing a very different Heritage Park than what was actually built.

One of these initial sketches reveals a more sprawling and open design that terraces down the bluff and does not have an “overlook” setup like the finished park. This design features a pedestrian overpass crossing Bluff Street from the courthouse area. This is roughly in the area of the present Tarrant County College project:

At some point thereafter, Halprin created this sketch with another radically different design:

In this design, the park becomes a large hexagonal pod jutting out from the bluff face. A smaller hexagonal pod extends above it to the east. A larger pedestrian overpass crosses Bluff Street from the courthouse. What might be windows indicate an interior to the structure of some sort – perhaps a restaurant or visitor’s center?

As indicated by these sketches, Heritage Park could have turned out very different indeed. The location east of the bridge, in retrospect, may have given the park a more prominent location than it has now, where it wound up tucked into the shadow of a huge county parking garage. Plans for TCC’s campus would have been quite different with an eastern Heritage Park as well. In the end, though, Heritage Park’s western site may give it a more noteworthy view as it looks out over what will be the downtown lake in the completed TRV.

In our next installment, we’ll take a look at more sketches, including a rendering of some sort of riverfront train station & recreation development, and a sketch showing an overview of Downtown with a TRV-esque downtown lake, a freeway ringing the bluff area, and North Main closed to car traffic. Afterwards we’ll get into sketches showing the design of the final park coming together.

A big thanks once again to District 9 City Council representative Joel Burns for providing these sketches.

Apr 23, 2009 2

City seeking input on Heritage Park restoration, public meetings May 8th and 9th

By: Kevin Buchanan

The city is at last taking a look at options to save Heritage Park on the Trinity Bluffs in Downtown. What follows is a press release from the city explaining their request for input, and details of the actual meetings. We encourage anybody in the city with an interest in saving Heritage Park to attend.

City Leaders Seek Ways to Restore, Improve Heritage Park

The Amon Carter Foundation, Downtown Fort Worth Inc., and the Heritage Park Steering Committee are working together with the City of Fort Worth not only to develop a plan to restore the Heritage Park Plaza but also create a vision for transforming it into an important Fort Worth destination.

The steering committee, convened by the city, has been meeting since March 2009 with officials from the city’s Planning and Development and Parks and Community Services departments to begin the planning process. Those meetings have included public workshops with Project for Public Spaces Inc. and a Steering Committee meeting with landscape architect Laurie Olin of OLIN studio. Mr. Olin is a former associate of Lawrence Halprin, who designed Heritage Park Plaza.

As a result of that planning process, a two-day community workshop has been scheduled for May 8 and 9. The workshop will provide the community with a history of the area and an opportunity for participants to work together in small groups to design solutions and present their ideas. The workshop is being conducted by OLIN.

The information shared and ideas developed during the workshop will be used to help the city decide on a plan of action for re-opening Heritage Park Plaza.

Heritage Park Integral to Fort Worth’s History, Culture

Heritage Park Plaza was commissioned in the late 1960s by Streams and Valleys, a nonprofit organization committed to the beautification and recreational development of the Trinity River, to commemorate the nation’s bicentennial. The plaza, which sits on a steep bluff overlooking the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River, was designed by renowned landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. The location, just north of the Tarrant County Courthouse and just west of the Main Street Bridge, also is the approximate site of the frontier military post of Fort Worth established by Major Ripley Arnold in 1849.

The plaza consists of a series of tiered outdoor rooms and is part of the larger 112-acre Heritage Park which sweeps down to the river bank. Construction of the plaza is primarily concrete but incorporates water elements that migrate through each room. The most striking portion of the plaza is an elevated walkway parallel to the Trinity River that provides a spectacular view to the north.

Heritage Park is owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department. The construction of the plaza was funded primarily with private donations. It was closed in 2006 for public safety.

Public Input Sought for Heritage Park Restoration

Who/What:
Heritage Park Study Workshop and Open House

When:
Friday, May 8, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Where:
Norris Conference Centers – Fort Worth
304 Houston St.
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Map

Why:
This two-day event is an opportunity for the community to discuss and formulate a vision for the future of Heritage Park, including ideas for restoration of the plaza. The first day includes an overview of the site, its opportunities and constraints. This will be followed by a community-driven session where participants will work together in small groups to design solutions and present their ideas.

On the second day, ideas from the previous day will be presented and next steps will be discussed. Officials from the city’s Planning and Development and Parks and Community Services departments will be on hand to answer questions. The workshop will be facilitated by Philadelphia-based landscape architecture design studio, OLIN.

Seating will be limited, so send an e-mail to Randy Hutcheson at the City of Fort Worth to RSVP.

Apr 22, 2009 20

Fort Worth presents radically improved bicycle plan, aims to triple bicycle travel by 2015

By: Kevin Buchanan

Last night at the Central Library in Downtown Fort Worth, the city showcased a draft of a radically altered and improved bicycle transportation plan called “Bike Fort Worth.” Aiming to replace the rather lacking 1999 bike route plan with a more robust and elaborate system, the city has been working for a year and a half on “Bike Fort Worth,” and the results look impressive.

With “Bike Fort Worth,” the city has laid out ambitious goals: to triple the level of bicycle transportation in the city, to reduce the number of bicycle-related accidents by 1/4, and to attain official designation as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” from the League of American Bicyclists – all by 2015.

With “Bike Fort Worth,” it is clear that the city is making a huge new commitment to the “Complete Streets” movement and that the attitude of planning and transportation at City Hall has truly radically shifted. Now, let’s dive into some of the details of “Bike Fort Worth.”

(Apologies for the weird photos – seating was limited and we were at an angle.)

Some of the challenges identified in “Bike Fort Worth” are our high-speed arterials with no bike provisions, unsafe behavior by both motorists and bicyclists, street design features that are unfriendly to bicycles, missing connections between bike facilities and neighborhoods, and a lack of convenient and safe bike parking & storage at destinations. “Bike Fort Worth” aims to address all of these issues – and let’s start by taking a look at the subject most near and dear to our hearts here at Fort Worthology: bike lanes, routes, and trails.

In the 2007 bicycle survey, the message from respondents was strong: when asked what would encourage residents to bicycle more often, 86% said “bike lanes,” 84% said “new trails,” and 68% said “signed bike routes.” “Bike Fort Worth” addresses all three forms of infrastructure.

The new bicycle transportation system aims to provide links to existing and planned bike facilities in neighboring cities, provide safe bicycle routes along major corridors, identify alternative parallel routes to major arterials too large for safe bicycle accommodation (think six-lane plus designs), fill gaps in bicycle routing and linkages, overcome barriers to bike travel between neighborhoods and destinations, and provide connections to major destinations. Links to transit centers, existing and planned rail stations, the Urban Villages, Downtown Fort Worth, schools, colleges, universities, major employers, the Trinity Trails, and parks and recreation areas are all part of “Bike Fort Worth.”

“Bike Fort Worth” identifies three categories of bike infrastructure and uses them all: on-street striped bicycle-only lanes, on-street bike routes marked with “sharrows,” and off-street trails. Related are several other pieces of bike-friendly infrastructure, including intersections with sensors properly tuned to detect bicycles, bicycle-only traffic signals where trails and on-street facilities cross, and new crossings of barriers such as the Trinity River.

“Bike Fort Worth” proposes a huge increase in the scope and quality of bike infrastructure in the city of Fort Worth. At present, there are approximately 39.6 miles of “sharrow” bike routes, 8.5 miles of striped bicycle-only lanes (including the new Magnolia Avenue “road diet”), 58.4 miles of off-street trails, and 3.9 miles of “sidepaths” (wider sidewalks in situations where bikes-on-sidewalk is appropriate). In all, there are 109.4 miles of bike infrastructure in Fort Worth.

Under “Bike Fort Worth,” our bike infrastructure would be radically increased:

  • Sharrow routes would jump from 39.6 miles to 224.1 miles.
  • Bus-only lanes in Downtown would change to bus & bike-only, for a total of 1.75 miles.
  • Striped bicycle-only lanes would massively increase from 8.5 miles to a truly impressive 475.9 miles.
  • Off-street bike trails would increase from 58.4 miles to 153.3 miles.
  • Sidepaths would increase from 3.9 miles to 43.1 miles.

Total on-street bicycle infrastructure would jump to 704.75 miles, and total off-street would go to 196.4 miles. Truly, this is a paradigm shift in bicycle transportation in the city of Fort Worth.

Highlights of new off-street trails include:

  • New Trinity Trails extensions, connections, and crossings.
  • A new connection between the Trinity and Sycamore trails.
  • Trail Drivers Park to Trinity.
  • New trails along the Trinity Uptown waterfront.

Above is a view showing primarily Downtown, the Cultural District, and the Near Southside. Among the highlights:

  • New dedicated lanes in the Near Southside – at a minimum, the plan wants all of Magnolia from 8th to South Main, all of Rosedale from 8th to South Main, all of Pennsylvania from 12th to South Main, all of Vickery from Adams into the east side of the city, Jennings from Magnolia into Downtown where it joins up with Throckmorton, South Main from Lancaster all the way south to Morningside, Summit from Rosedale to 5th Street in Downtown, 12th Avenue from Pennsylvania to Rosedale, Cooper from 12th Avenue to Summit, and College from Pennsylvania to Rosedale. These dedicated lanes would be supplemented by existing and new “sharrow” routes. We say “at a minimum” because it was made clear that this is the “Bike Fort Worth” minimum and the even greater number of striped lanes in the Near Southside design standards are still available through the Near Southside TIF and other mechanisms.
  • A large network of sharrow routes in Downtown, in a reversal from the previous plan’s position that Downtown was already bike friendly enough.
  • Re-marking the Throckmorton and Houston bus-only lanes in Downtown into bus & bike-only lanes.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on 3rd Street from the east side of Downtown all the way out to East 1st, continuing on to the east from there.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on Sylvania running long-distance from north to south.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on East Lancaster from Downtown to Tennessee.
  • A new sharrow route on Henderson from 5th to Belknap that turns into a dedicated lane from Belknap to White Settlement.
  • Dedicated bike infrastructure on all the new Trinity River Vision bridges at White Settlement, Henderson, and North Main.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on White Settlement from North Main west past Rockwood/Westview.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on Bailey from White Settlement to the big University/7th/Camp Bowie/Bailey intersection.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on Carroll from West 7th to Whitmore, joining a sharrow route from Whitmore to White Settlement by way of Foch.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on Foch from West 7th to Crestline.

A close-up view of Downtown. One of the biggest changes and improvements in “Bike Fort Worth” is the creation of real bike connections between districts in the central city – dedicated bike lanes will carry riders between the Near Southside and Downtown on South Main, Jennings, and Summit. Dedicated bike lanes will also connect to the Cultural District – which we’ll get to in a moment.

Looking further south:

  • A number of new sharrow routes increase connections between existing routes and new bike lanes. A new route more directly connects to Forest Park, for example – a sharrow route will run down Park Place to the trails.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on Forest Park and McCart from Huntington to West Devitt.
  • New sharrow route down Rogers, between Cantey and new dedicated bike lanes on Lovell and West Vickery.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on University, from Cantey heading south past Berry (not shown here but presumably to Bluebonnet Circle at least).
  • New sharrow route on Hartwood, Mockingbird, and Colonial.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on Stadium from Cantey to Berry, then dedicated lanes heading out West on Berry and Bellaire.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on East Allen and East Maddox from I-35 to Comer.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on Nashville.

Also seen here is the long-distance route of the new dedicated bike lanes on Sylvania/Riverside.

In the Cultural District, we see:

  • The previously mentioned dedicated bike lanes on White Settlement, Bailey, Carroll, and Foch.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on Lancaster from Currie to Montgomery right past the museums.
  • A sharrow connection on Lancaster between Currie and Foch.
  • Dedicated bike lanes on Montgomery from West 7th south.
  • New sharrow routes on Crestline, Trinity Park, Cedar Elm, West 7th west of University, Dorothy, Bailey north of White Settlement, Hillcrest, Ashland, El Campo, Byers, Owasso, and Harley west of Montgomery.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on Harley between Montgomery and University through the Will Rogers Memorial Center, joining the sharrow route on a brief stretch of University to Crestline.
  • New dedicated bike lanes on West 7th between the big University/7th/Camp Bowie/Bailey intersection and Lamar in Downtown.

    • The dedicated bike lanes on West 7th are an especially big addition, especially with all the development activity along the street.

    In addition, the plan adds extensive new signage for bike lanes, bike routes, trails, and wayfinding to destinations using the system.

    “Bike Fort Worth” also looks at bicycle parking and storage. The plan calls for the adoption of mandatory bicycle parking requirements in zoning and development plans for new commercial, office, industrial, and multi-family residential development. In addition, the city will implement a “significant” bike rack installation program to radically increase the amount of public bike parking in the city. The plan calls for the placement of bike parking in convenient and logical locations by the main entrances of businesses – not stuck in the back or in the middle of nowhere. “Bike Fort Worth” will also implement preferred bike rack designs, favoring designs like the “inverted U” and “lollipop” racks and discouraging designs like the “wave” and “wheel-bender.” The plan also calls for new parking garages to provide bicycle parking space.

    The plan even has strategies for replacing some on-street car parking with on-street bicycle parking, which allows the parking of a great number of bicycles in the space previously reserved for just one or two cars. A good example is shown in this Streetfilms video about bicycle parking in Portland, Oregon:

    In addition, the plan calls for the construction of a Downtown Bicycle Commuter Station. An example of bicycle commuter parking can be seen in this Streetfilms video about Alewife Station in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

    “Bike Fort Worth” also features extensive education, enforcement, and outreach programs:

    • The plan ties into the national “Safe Routes to School” initiative, encouraging more kids to walk and bike to school.
    • The city plans a “Share the Road” educational campaign to educate Fort Worth drivers and riders on safe, correct motorist/bicyclist interaction.
    • A new, better bike map will be published.
    • The city will participate in National Bike to Work Day and reinstitute the Clean Air Bike Rally.
    • The plan calls for Fort Worth to hold Sunday Parkways – weekend days when sections of road are closed to car traffic and turned over exclusively to bicycle and pedestrian usage.

    The plan for Sunday Parkways is inspired by other such events in more bike-friendly cities, such as Portland, Oregon. This Streetfilms video shows some scenes from Portland’s own Sunday Parkways:

    In addition, the plan calls for changes to street design standards, subdivision standards, and the development review process to ensure bicycle support is “built-in.” The city intends to fully embrace the “Complete Streets” movement and it will be policy that street planning, design, and construction will accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users from the very beginning.

    The plan also calls for the city to launch an accurate bicycling count program, and a bicycle-related crash data & reporting program.

    “Bike Fort Worth” is in draft stage and the city is currently accepting public input on the plan. The last of the three public meetings will be tomorrow night at 6:30 PM at LMRA River Pavillion, 3400 Bryant Irvin Road. After the plan is refined based on public input, it’s off to implementation. As said before, the plan’s goal is to triple bicycle travel, reduce bicycle accidents by 1/4, and attain a “Bicycle Friendly Community” rating from the League of American Bicyclists by 2015.

    It’s a radical plan for a city that’s been more slow and measured in the past, but it shows the fundamental shifts in thinking and planning that are occurring at City Hall. Fort Worth is a city that is changing its thinking, and “Bike Fort Worth” is a great example of progress towards creating a more livable, sustainable Fort Worth. We came away from the presentation very impressed indeed – a big thanks to Don Koski, the Senior Planner in Fort Worth’s Transportation and Public Works Department, for putting on the presentation last night.

Apr 6, 2009 Comments Off

Trinity River Vision Bypass Channel Video

By: Kevin Buchanan

The Trinity River Vision Authority has posted this video, about nine and a half minutes in length, taking a look at the scale bypass channel model and the engineering and philosophy behind the project.

I’ve noticed that recently, a few more buildings have been demolished to make way for the TRV bypass channel, including the old Whataburger and chocolate factory buildings on White Settlement. There is starting to be a pretty noticeable swath of demolition along what will be the bypass channel route.

Linklog

Browse the Fort Worthology Linklog - interesting and cool urbanism, transit, and bicycle links that aren't necessarily Fort Worth-centric.

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