Hey, we have "Library Plaza" staring us in the face, and we didn't even notice!

Weekend Pedestrian Plaza
Originally uploaded by Eye Captain.

With this photo, Eye Captain, a Dupont Circle resident, calls our attention to the weekend promotion of pedestrianism on King Street in Alexandria.

He writes:

The lowest block of King Street is closed to traffic for the day. Alexandria, VA.

This is a great idea, but may not work for this block. Unlike Boulder's Pearl Street, the street itself is not very interesting, and the two sides are too far apart. Rather than make the block seem lively, the lack of cars reveals how empty the street is. This would be better if they could fill the street with a farmers market, or with a Weihnachtsmarkt for Christmas. Plus those white plastic barriers are ugly.

Generally, I don't favor pedestrian only streets because there tends to not be enough activity at all times of the day and night, so the space ends up appearing desolate and scary, which is how the old pedestrian mall in front of the Martin Luther King Library appeared, even at 12 noon!
Pedestrian mall on G Street NW in front of the Martin Luther King Library. Photo by Raymond Fudge, taken in 1977. (Flickr photo found by Rob Goodspeed.)

The G Street NW pedestrian mall never looked this good when I first came to DC. From an urban design perspective, it wasn't designed to be an active space. (Note the principles mentioned in yesterday's blog entry featuring Clare Cooper Marcus.)

Because of the intensity of uses that are redeveloping along the 7th Street corridor, I do think it's possible that G Street, between 7th and 9th, could become a pedestrian priority place, as long as it was designed not as a peaceful park with nothing to do, like the old plaza in front of MLK, but with lots of other stuff happening too, such as an ice skating rink in the winter, street-based fountain during other parts of the year, food kiosks, like at Bryant Park, movable tables and chairs, etc.
Fountain, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder. City of Boulder photo.
Tables and chairs at Schenley Park, Pittsburgh's Oakland Cultural District. (There is also a carousel there, which was closed for the season. And food kiosks. But this was the first week of November at late in the day at that, so the space was less active.)

This could be an area where "more innovative vending" could be developed, along the lines discussed in yesterday's Post article, "D.C. to Spice Up Its Vending Variety," subtitled "Survey Finds a City Crying Out for On-the-Go Options." The problem with the points made in that article is that most places in the city don't have the pedestrian traffic necessary to make innovative vending financially viable.

But by the layering of attractions in the 7th Street corridor, this could change.

Note that a revitalized Martin Luther King Library at its current location would be another key attraction.

In fact, G Street NW between 7th and 9th Streets could become a combination Sports, Museums, and Library Plaza.

(I have already suggested that the Arts on Foot event, held for one day on the south side of the Reynolds Center, be shifted to the north side, and up 8th Street, across H Street, and on I Street between 7th and 9th, so that the event could be held for more than one day and be repositioned into DC's version of Artscape.)

Plus, this is a reason to strengthen and expand the YWCA at the location across the street (they are talking about closing their pool, the only deep water swimming pool in the core of the center city, but they don't market their facilities very well, and with all the new residents in the area, the recreation facilities at the Y could be a gold mine if properly marketed, and a great downtown amenity).

Index Keywords: urban-design-placemaking