John Olson

Urbanism Landscape Architecture Colorado Springs. GBR!

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

@aaron_lubeck @DurmBull I suspect that this will be a national trend. I think that there are a lot of republicans and former republicans (pre-Trump) that are disgusted with Trump’s control. But these individuals still have their beliefs at the core.

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

Yesterday was a monumental day for the Lowell Neighborhood and southeast downtown Colorado Springs. The zone change for the next phase of Draper Commons and Lowell Commons was approved unanimously by City Council.
On a personal note, Lowell was one of the first places I visited when moving to COS in Jan. 2006 as it was planned by @DPZCoDESIGN -a new urbanist firm I’ve admired since college.
I’m excited to see the plan taking its next step!

[Aaron Lubeck @aaron_lubeck]

Tulsa has a pre-approved stock house program.

You do not have to pay a license fee.
You do not have to pay a review fee.
You only have to pay a permit fee.

https://t.co/DMFQgtJkWw

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

Some notes from a Chuck Marohn (@StrongTowns) talk a couple of years ago about cities having a factor of safety mindset and the unintended costs (1 of 5).

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

Why are we willing to require bollards that stop vehicles from electric transformers and waste receptacles but place flex posts between cyclists/pedestrians and fast moving vehicles?
Are waste receptacles more important than human lives?

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

Bigger may be better for safety for some things (drainage culverts, structural beams), but
1) With Traffic, bigger means faster and more dangerous;
2) With Parking, bigger means more parking and wasted economic opportunity or low viability.

[Aaron Lubeck @aaron_lubeck]

"Large minimum lot sizes are one of the most effective economic exclusion tools in a zoning toolkit. It directly limits who can afford a house based upon the amount of land required. We didn't used to do this historically.
Small, legal lots were the norm."
----#EricKronberg, #Atlanta #Architect

[Mark R. Brown, AICP, CNU @Car_Free_USA]

A meme is worth a million words.

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

@molzer There’s no place like Nebraska! And there’s nothing like the Tunnel Walk at the start of the season, if it was unbearably hot!

[Lee Kuan Yimby @LeeKuanYimby]

They are fighting for a parking lot across the street from a parking garage in a city with a housing shortage. Very very liberal of course.

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

@Boenau We did something similar in Gunnison. The wide ROWs are perfect, front-loaded driveways are a problem though.

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

@OlsonAD She was a champ. I didn’t see anything about a bear, but wouldn’t surprise me. We’ve had a bear in the hood off and on for the last month.

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

@chris_stritzel A KC woonerf! Would love to see it a little tighter, but good start!

[Shelley Jensen @shellsjensen]

What does it cost to live in Colorado Springs these days?
The National Low Income Housing Coalition's latest Out of Reach report puts some pretty staggering numbers behind a question many of us are already feeling.
In Colorado, a minimum wage worker would need to work 80 hours a week to afford a modest one bedroom rental at Fair Market Rent. The hourly “housing wage” for that same apartment is $30.47.
We don't just want to talk about the housing problem; we want to build part of the solution!nistrative staff and other essential members of our workforce are feeling the growing gap between what it costs to live here and what people earn.

Read the full Colorado data from NLIHC → https://t.co/RW4zzmR6J0
This is exactly why we created the Noble Division at We Fortify.
Our goal is to build beautiful, dignified communities that provide workforce housing for the people who make our communities work.

Our first project in this division is Wendy's Village, a workforce housing community we're developing in partnership with Harrison School District 2 specifically for District 2 staff members.
Harrison D2 has provided the land. Now we're working to fund the construction and bring this community to life.
We don't just want to talk about the housing problem, we want to build part of the solution!
Wendy's Village is the beginning of that work, and we're looking for the people who want to help us make it happen.
If you're interested in helping bring Wendy's Village to life, I'd love to connect.

[John Olson @JO_Urbanist]

@aaron_lubeck @Car_Free_USA We’re already seeing that in Colorado. The (relatively) new aerial apparatus trucks require 26 whether it’s an alley or a parking lot drive aisle. The other kicker to that is the requirement that that drive aisle needs to be between 15’ and 30’ from the roof access point.

[LeoDaVinciWave @LeoDaVinciWave]

A small cut in the curb can turn a street into a mini water system. 🌧️🌳

Curb-cut rain basins guide runoff into planted areas, where soil, trees and vegetation help absorb and filter the water instead of sending it straight into storm drains.

Simple idea, but a smart way to reduce flooding and give urban trees a free supply of rainwater.

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

One year without multifamily parking minimums in Salem. Developers are still building parking where necessary, while infill, transit-oriented housing is being unlocked where mandates had made housing infeasible.

Parking reform doesn’t eliminate parking.

It right-sizes it.