Urban Design Studio: The long road to fixing sprawl

Karin Murphy, director of the city’s Urban Design Studio, wants to bring downtown character to a section of the city that has become increasingly suburban.

In the forthcoming revised city code the Urban Design Studio is producing, she hopes to create an environment that encourages the gradual overhaul of a sprawling eastern part of the city, anchored around a major intersection at Fruitville and Beneva roads.

During the month of May, the Urban Design Studio toured this portion of the city, visiting with neighborhood associations to examine specific issues they’re facing. Once these neighborhoods gathered at a May 28 meeting, however, their common threads became clearer — and a major link is the management of the land and roadway near Fruitville and Beneva. 

Those roadways are a major concern for residents. A 2013 traffic study said the intersection fails to meet the city’s level of service standards and that five lanes need to be added for traffic to flow at an acceptable level.

For the Urban Design Studio, which has focused on getting people out of cars and encouraging the use of other modes of transportation, a wider road is the wrong way to solve the problem. In addition to making the streets more imposing for pedestrians, Murphy said there’s no guarantee congestion will improve.

“If we want less cars, I always think of the analogy — if I want to lose weight, I don’t buy a pair of pants two sizes bigger than I already wear,” Murphy said.

The Urban Design Studio is instead working on changes that, over time, could lead to an overhaul of the area’s layout. The fixes are focused not just on the major roadway but also on improving the connections between the various residential complexes and retail centers nearby.

One area the Urban Design Studio concentrated on is the northwest corner of Fruitville and Beneva, a half-mile stretch with two shopping centers, anchored by a Publix and K-Mart. In addition to the obvious issues — the strip malls create a vast swath of parking lots facing the streets, a sin in the world of New Urbanism — Murphy lamented the internal road configuration of this land.

With few access points, the ability to travel about this area is restricted. Residents who live just a few blocks away as the crow flies are required to travel more than a mile thanks to the street system in place. As a result, neighbors who might like to walk to the grocery store face a steep barrier to entry.

“There are a high number of vehicle miles traveled caused by the lack of the connectivity,” Murphy said. “We want to examine: How do you get that a little bit better?”

Murphy said the studio would reach out to property owners in the area to ascertain what they need to develop the land in a more pedestrian- and neighborhood-friendly manner. Although connectivity improvements could be installed relatively quickly, the bulk of the transformation process would take time. Still, regulations that incentivize desired development over vacant land would help spur the process.

“If they see the incentives, if they see things that aren’t requiring complicated development agreements, they’ll get going,” Murphy said.

“If we want less cars, I always think of the analogy — if I want to lose weight, I don’t buy a pair of pants two sizes bigger than I already wear.” 

 

— Urban Design Studio Director Karin Murphy

Traffic Troubles

In addition to the redevelopment of vacant land, residents at the May 28 meeting asked how the new code would address the congestion at Fruitville and Beneva.

Neighborhoods such as Glen Oaks Manor have complained about a high volume of cut-through traffic in the area. The Urban Design Studio is looking to redesign neighborhood streetscapes — making lanes narrower and less inviting for drivers who want a quick alternate route.

The Urban Design Studio is also pushing the idea of an expanded public transportation network, advocating for long-term investments such as a potential streetcar system. That proposal didn’t sit well with some attendees, who had no plans to give up their cars and were interested in a more immediate solution to reduce their daily commutes.

Murphy said the desire is not to force residents to use modes of transportation other than cars but to provide a wider variety of choices. By gradually reducing the length of vehicular trips — and eliminating some altogether — the net effect would also benefit those residents who continue to rely on their cars.  

“I don’t want to ever say we’re not having cars,” Murphy said. “If you think of it like a food pyramid, right now, the pyramid is out of whack. What we want to do is reduce vehicle miles traveled.”