Two months
ago, I suggested the route for a possible walk through
downtown Petaluma. I hoped that readers
would propose their own urban walking routes, either in Petaluma or in other
North Bay cities. One reader forwarded
several walking routes that he had prepared for a Rotary club several years
earlier, a couple of which included downtown Petaluma. But otherwise, no one rose to the challenge.
However,
several people indicated an interest in taking the walk that I had outlined,
which I called Jake’s Walk after a canine walking companion. This past Saturday was picked for the walk,
although the frequently over-exuberant Jake was left behind.
The day
worked out well. There were only three
of us, but it was well-matched three. We
ambled slowly through the town, stopping frequently to talk about a well-formed
tree on B Street, the history of the plaza in front of St. Vincent’s Church,
the new Ricky Watts mural, the potential of American Alley, and the missed
opportunities along Water Street.
The American
Alley talk was particularly interesting, with the shared vision that the alley might be turned into a pedestrian wonderland if problems such as emergency
access and solid waste collection could be solved. We were particularly enthralled by the
possibility of an entrance directly into the used book room of Copperfield’s
Books. There was the concern that one
end of the lane ends on E. Washington Street, which lacks pedestrian
friendliness. But we were only prepared
to solve one problem at a time.
By the time we’d
finished a leisurely lunch of paninis and draft beers at the recently opened
Corkscrew, we’d spent more than three enjoyable hours in enlightening
conversation.
I think we
should build on this auspicious start. With
summer rapidly approaching, I know that family schedules are well-booked. But I’ve set a couple of fall dates. Please put them on your calendars.
On Saturday,
September 21, starting at 11am, we’ll do a Jake’s Walk in Windsor, taking a
close look at the urbanist thinking behind Windsor Town Green and the development
around it. If a reader from Windsor can
propose a route, that’d be great. If
not, I can assemble a plan from my visits to Windsor.
On Sunday,
October 20, starting at noon, we’ll do a reprise of the original Petaluma Jake’s
Walk, hopefully with more folks to supplement the original three.
The goal of
both walks will be the same, to observe the urban context and to talk about what
works, what doesn’t, what the future opportunities might be, and how the
planning process helps or hinders urbanism.
Jake’s
participation in either walk remains uncertain.
I think having dogs come along would be fine, but Jake needs to acquire
a few more manners before he can join the group.
As always,
your questions or comments will be appreciated.
Please comment below or email me.
And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
