Tactical Urbanism

What is Tactical Urbanism?

Tactical Urbanism refers to a citizen-led approach to improving our neighborhood using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions to catalyze long-term change. This method has been used across the country to create temporary changes to roadways with the intention of sparking long-term intervention from the local government. You can read more about Tactical Urbanism and examples of how this was used to create greater change here.

What is the Tactical Urbanism proposal for Fountain Square?

Our proposal is to close the southernmost lane of Calvary St. between Virginia Ave. and Fletcher Ave. to vehicles to create a larger lane dedicated to pedestrian or bicyclist usage. We intend to use water barriers to create separation between vehicles and users of the pedestrianized space. 

What is the problem that this Tactical Urbanism proposal hopes to address?

The interstate presents a barrier that makes it difficult for neighbors and visitors who are walking or biking to travel between the neighborhoods and businesses of Fletcher Place and Fountain Square. There are only 3 bridges connecting the neighborhoods, two of which only have 5’ sidewalks. The speed of vehicle traffic directly next to the sidewalk makes pedestrians and bicyclists uneasy with traveling on this crucial connection from the businesses to the neighborhood. Our proposal would widen the lane so that there is more protected pedestrianized space.

When would this go into effect?

The goal is to implement the proposed plan in June and remove the barriers in Late October. We would maintain the pedestrianized space during this time and conduct traffic surveys to measure the effectiveness of this Tactical Urbanism project.

How can I help?

The easiest way for you to get involved is to take our survey, linked here! We would like to collect as much information from the community as possible, so please take our survey and share it with your neighbors! If you would like to get more involved, please feel free to reach out and we can connect with you on how you can support this initiative!

Survey Link:

https://forms.gle/oFJNVps7skY8wkUg7