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October 26, 2005
Now that's a Sidewalk
I couldn't resist posting this. It's a sidewalk just outside our hotel in Prague. The care to make a border around a water meter lid shows a regard for the public realm that we just don't find in the United States. I can only dream that we could have sidewalks with this much love in their design and execution.
A side effect of the cobbled sidewalks is that baby strollers have very large rubber wheels!
Posted by Chris Smith at 10:19 AM
Comments
October 26, 2005 11:05 AM
Bob R. Says:
A couple of months ago, I attended a CAC meeting on the transit mall where designers presented ideas for surface treatments of the sidewalk, especially in the Pioneer Courthouse Square area.
The topic came up of how it is already difficult on the mall with brick sidewalks for the visually impaired to navigate. There was a concern that adding more textures and patterns would increase the difficulty.
My point? I think Portland does have more of a concern for the public realm than much of the US, but also a concern for the varieties of people who must move through the public realm at any given time, and the varieties of challenges that people face.
At what point does beauty hamper accessibility?
- Bob R.
October 28, 2005 10:34 AM
stephen Says:
We saw a lot of that kind of pavement in Lisbon.
What kind of stone is it?
