Grant Boulevard and the Heart of the Northside: Part Two - Butternut Circle

Butternut Circle is not only the central focus of this business district but also a sort of dividing line. To the north is a fairly stable middle class neighborhood, to the south is one of the poorer areas in Syracuse. Both converge at this point, making it vitally important to the well being of the neighborhood as a whole.

The circle is surrounded by mainstay businesses; Peppino's Pizza, Liehs and Steigerwald, a flower shop, dry cleaner, Rite Aid, Blueberry Market (a convenience store that replaced Byrne Dairy), a dentist office, and a barber shop. Amongst these businesses lingers a large vacant building that once housed an arcade and other small businesses. It is one of the most visible buildings on the circle, hanging a dark cloud over what many would consider a successful business district.

In order for the neighborhood to grow and move into the future, I believe its important to make sure this circle is filled with life. 

Butternut Circle present day

Proposed Gym/ Market

This building presents a lot of opportunities with its central location, but something that has been missing from this neighborhood as long as I have lived here is a gym and wellness center. This may seem like an odd fit for a working class neighborhood, but in reality it can fit if done in the right way.

This would not be a high end gym with every amenity you can think of. Instead it would be more in line with another local gym, Flex House of Fitness in Eastwood. A neighborhood gym where you come to know everyone there, where you walk to it from your home down the street. It becomes a community within itself. We can find ways to get donated or lightly used equipment. It might not be brand new but who really needs brand new weights? They're just going to get banged up anyways.

With finding reduced price equipment we can keep prices affordable for the community, and avoid requiring the long term commitment policies of chain gyms. Pay by the day or pay by the month, no need to commit to a year with a "maintenance fee." 

In addition to the gym I believe there should be a wellness center that sells fresh foods and provides weekly classes on cooking healthy meals. Although there are convenience stores and delis around the circle, there is not a place to get fresh produce. You can walk further and get to a Tops grocery store, but for many older folks and people with disabilities it is difficult to get around on the hills. This convenient location would also encourage those using the gym to grab fresh food on their way home.

Providing cooking classes weekly would also provide opportunities in the community that are not readily available. Many people overlook the health differences between those in higher and lower income brackets, so this center would help level that playing field and give those in the neighborhood a new skill set. 

Although the main focus here is this structure, we must also work to reconnect this circle for pedestrians. A few years ago the city took down the traffic lights and replaced them with stop signs and a new traffic flow. This was a huge first step in making this circle more navigable for pedestrians, but there is still room for improvement. The next step must include raised pedestrian islands where paint currently sits. This would help slow down drivers through the circle and provide a safer spot for pedestrians to linger as they wait for traffic to halt or clear. 

The sidewalks in the area must also be expanded, or in some places added. In front of Blueberry Market there is no separation between pedestrians and vehicles, especially as some cars try to cut the corner coming from the west down Grant Blvd.  Curbs must be replaced and crosswalks need more defined entrances. All of this would also help create a more welcoming feel in the central green area of the circle. As the green space sits right now there is little appeal to pedestrians to linger amongst the trees and flowers. With traffic slowed and walking made easier, it may become a more peaceful place to spend a little time. I would remove the current standard parks sign and replace it with a more welcoming piece that focuses on its place at the center of the Northside. 

Grant Boulevard and the Heart of the Northside: Part One - The Northsider

Growing up on the Northside of Syracuse, Grant Blvd. was the gateway to the city for my friends and I. We rode bikes down to the cemetery or over to an ice cream shop, went out to eat at the Corner House or went down to a Chiefs game. Everything we needed was somewhere down Grant.

Slowly some of those businesses went away. The Corner House closed up shop after years of service, the old arcade (which I never personally experienced) had been vacant for decades, shops changed hands and went in-and-out of business, but the street remains a focal point on the Northside.

This is why my mind continually comes back to ways to improve this street, which will be the focus of these posts. Taking back the abandoned buildings, restructuring the street, and making a neighborhood you never want to leave.

The Northsider

When I think of my neighborhood the first thing I think of is the Corner House, a family friendly restaurant that thrived for decades. Families walked down to eat on the weekends, the smell of food would fill the air, it was the heart of the neighborhood in a lot of ways. 

Now its abandoned frame stands there with broken windows and a shoddy paint job covering up graffiti. It doesn't always feel safe to walk through its parking lot knowing you're blocked from the street light. An upscale restaurant tried to set up there a couple years after the Corner House closed up, but it was never the right fit for the area; its faded curtains still hanging in the front windows and its sign spray painted over.

That building is a defining piece of the neighborhood that needs to be revived. And that's where the idea for the Northsider has sprung up from.

As I contemplated what would be an ideal fit for the neighborhood, I started to look at what was already offered just west down the street. Peppino's offers up some of the best pizza in the city, Change of Pace is a neighborhood bar with wings and fried food that people love, and you've got Leihs and Steigerwald as one of the best deli's in the area. These institutions already anchor this street and compliment each other. The new Corner House should build on these successes.

The Corner House present day

The Northsider with side patio

The Northsider, as I've come to call the idea, would be a bar and sandwich shop, infusing the different flavors from the cultures that populate the Northside. As a neighborhood, the Northside has experienced a tremendous amount of immigration; from the Germans and Italians over a hundred years ago to the Burmese and Sudanese families currently filling the community. All of these cultures have distinct flavors and dishes that would be remixed together to create a unique cuisine of its own. As the only sandwich shop, New York Roast, closed down years ago, there's been a want to fill that casual dining experience, but in a way that hasn't been done before in this area.

Along with the sandwiches would be a unique beer selection to the area. The bars along Grant Blvd. have always been focused on staple beers like Budweiser, Coors, and Blue Moon. Not that I wouldn't want those beers available, I think it'd be smart to focus on more locally produced beer and some drinks from the countries represented in the neighborhood. This would allow the Northsider to distinguish itself from the other neighborhood bars as well as compliment them. Like Tipperary Hill and Downtown Syracuse, you need a variety of bar atmospheres for people to bounce between to create a social scene.

Another important aspect of this would be to open it up to the community. Currently the Corner House has a small parking lot wrapping around its exterior. In order to truly reinvent the space and draw the community in I would look to remove the half of the parking lot that is closest to Grant Blvd.. In its place would be a courtyard feature that the restaurant would open up to, much like what was down at Now & Later on Tipperary Hill. This would allow the sounds and smells of the restaurant to waft through the neighborhood and draw people in. Fun murals could be painted on the exterior cinderblock wall, adding to the vibrancy of the place.

Corner House present day

An added patio area with historical mural along the side of the building

One of the critiques of the current zoning laws in Syracuse, and the newly proposed changes, that I have is parking minimums. Requiring businesses to have off-street parking not only increases costs for the business, but also deprives neighborhoods from developing walkable business districts that people are drawn to. If the City Council speaks up enough and removes these parking requirements, it would allow for a space like this courtyard to exist. 

This is just one idea for that space, but its an idea that invites the involvement of the neighborhood. There's vibrancy in the community and there needs to be more spaces for neighbors to come together. The Northsider, or something like it, could be that place. The future of the Northside begins at the Corner House.

A Streetcar named Salina

"Streetcar Suburb" is a term I've come across a few different times over the years. The idea is as streetcars expanded outside of traditional downtown areas, dense business and residential areas sprouted up directly along the route. In older cities you still see remnants of these neighborhoods, usually in the form of local business districts where small cafes and restaurants still exist. They tend to be the most walkable parts of the immediate neighborhoods as well as their major thoroughfare. 

In Syracuse these areas are extremely prevalent, from James Street to South Ave. Out of all of the former streetcar routes, the length of North and South Salina Street help create what functions as Syracuse's Main St. This route stretches the length of the city, through the heart of Downtown, with businesses and dense residential neighborhoods the entire way.

When I started to search for a bit of Syracuse's streetcar history, I came across a blog post from 2011, calling for a reinvestment in and rebuilding of the Salina St. streetcar:

As I read through his arguments, I could only think of how much things have changed in the years since its writing. In 2011, Downtown was just starting to rebuild and businesses were only just starting to migrate back into the city. In the years since this growth has only quickened and we're now looking at ways to bring that growth into the areas immediately north and south of Downtown.

I've previously written about how and why OnTrack failed and ways in which we could improve the system along that route. This streetcar proposal solves many of those issues, the biggest one being stops in residential areas. OnTrack failed as a commuting option because it only stopped at destinations, and only a handful at that. This streetcar has the right mix of residential and commercial stops, allowing for commuters to take full advantage of it.

Proposed Syracuse Streetcar along Salina Street.

It would also benefit from many of the new developments occurring along its route. Hotel Syracuse is back up and running creating an anchor institution in the south end of Downtown, Red House Theatre has now moved just down the block from the Landmark Theatre creating a more centralized theatre district, a new food hall will be constructed starting next year, the old Post Standard building is being reinvented as a mixed use facility, and the continued growth of Destiny USA and the development at the Inner Harbor. All of these help create density and attractions that will require ease of access.

In order to make this work, the streetcar must be built in the right way. Tracks need a right of way that is separated by a barrier from auto traffic. Without this barrier the streetcar would be little better than our current bus system. They should also run directly down the middle of the street as they had in the past, with street center loading and unloading. By placing this system in the center of the road shows its priority and its permanence. 

The street, as is, holds 4 lanes of auto traffic along with street parking. With the streetcar we would remove the center two lanes of traffic for the tracks and barrier. We would also want to remove the street parking for the length of Salina and replace them with a protected bike path. This would certainly get pushback, but this would allow the street to truly be complete. Our main street should be built for people, not for cars. Focusing Salina on a streetcar with additional bike paths would allow it to be the most accessible street in the city. These improvements put the emphasis on people.

The city of Syracuse needs to take inspiration from the past when planning for the future. Our city was originally built in ways that promoted dense growth and as we look to grow again it should be along our deep streetcar roots. 

I won't reiterate all of the points made in the original post, as I feel its worth reading in its entirety, but I wanted to also draw attention to the placement of the train storage on the South Side. This is an incredible opportunity to create well paying maintenance and operation jobs in a neighborhood of the city in need of that sort of investment. With the available space and the need for jobs, it would be a boon for the community and the city as a whole. 

Overcoming the Shortcomings of Clinton Square

The heart of the City of Syracuse has always been Clinton Square. The Erie Canal brought life and industry to this small village and helped build it into a city. Its central point along the canal allowed the area to thrive, resulting in an absolutely beautiful downtown built on the edges of the water. In the winter, when the water froze over, ice skaters flocked downtown creating a festive environment that embraced the harsh weather.

In 1925 the city decided to fill in the canal and create a boulevard, deciding that the future was to be built around the automobile. This may have been one of the most shortsighted decisions in the city's history. The boulevard became a thoroughfare instead of a destination. Over the years the square lost its life, not only due to the boulevard cutting through it but also the bland, inward facing buildings built around it. The Atrium and the old Post Standard offices removed street facing businesses, closing off the sides of the square, robbing it of street activity. Parking lots were built in place of older buildings. Slowly pedestrians vanished, effectively killing the square.

Perhaps recognizing the mistakes of the past, the City of Syracuse decided to close off part of Erie Blvd. in 2001, building a reflecting pool in its place. The reflecting pool and fountain are meant to conjure up images of the Erie Canal and bring the square back to life. Although this change is in the right direction, the square often sits empty even today. The ice skating rink in the winter attracts patrons well enough, but the square only truly comes alive during the festivals planned during the summer months.

This may seem obvious; of course people come when you schedule a big event like Taste of Syracuse or the Irish Fest. But its important to look at what those events bring to the square that attract so many people - they bring food and shopping back to the street. Pop up shops and restaurants during these festivals help pack the streets, creating tight paths with visually interesting changes every few feet. This is what a walkable, welcoming destination requires. You can look even just a block away at Hanover Square to see this same principal at work all year round.

Hanover Square in Syracuse, NY

The much smaller square is what planners will refer to as "human size." The idea is that people feel more comfortable in places that feel protected. Wide open spaces like the current Clinton Square are off-putting. There isn't enough visual interest to keep you occupied and too much space between destinations to make it welcoming. In contrast, Hanover Square benefits from having much of its original architecture, tight streets, and a small park, allowing for congregating in various settings. 

Clinton Square has the potential to create those same feelings and is already working to create them. Two major changes are already underway along the edges of the square; the newly finished addition to the Amos building and the ongoing renovation of the old Post Standard. The addition on the Amos not only brings new residents to the square, but also creates retail space facing the square, drawing in pedestrians and helps close in an open space. The Post Standard renovation will not have the same benefit of retail space on the ground floor, at least not at the outset, but with the plan to add a couple floors of residential development not only brings in people but also helps create that "human size" comfort. The added height will allow the space to feel more enclosed, creating a more intimate experience.

These are good first steps, but I believe there's more the city and property owners around the square can do to create a constantly thriving environment. One simple improvement would be to create congregation spots. As people we have a natural inclination to cluster together. You might notice this when you're walking down the street or through the mall and you find yourself funneling through a few different groups of people close together. Often times these clusters appear close to benches and trash cans, but the trick is to create combinations of objects that attract people. You can do that easily in Clinton Square; rearrange benches and trash cans, add planters with small trees and flowers along with evergreen trees to maintain color in winter. Adding one of two small pavilions would also add anchor points for social interactions. These pavilions could be tiny cafes selling coffee and hot chocolate, or sweet treats. These are natural focal points that take up minimal space but provide additional life to the area.

Addition of a coffee kiosk to create a gathering space

Another easy addition to the square would be artistic bike racks and an extension to the Cuse Cycle network. The bike racks would add architectural interest to the plaza while serving as a congregation point. With Cuse Cycle you give Syracuse's only bike share program a real shot at being a commuting service. With its limited reach along the Onondaga Lake Parkway it acts as little more than a leisure option. If we work with the network to add a rack in Clinton Square, along with racks along the Creek Walk, it will give people a new option when it comes to commuting to downtown. The hope would be to make Clinton Square an alternative transit hub with bike lanes reaching out from it in every direction.

A final step to truly reworking the square would be to completely close off the side street/parking area next to the Atrium. This space deadens the area and adds to the over openness of the square. Instead the city should allow the Atrium to add onto its facade, possibly creating a cafe that can open itself up during nicer weather. 

An added restaurant space to bring interest to the square, along with a large bike lane and bike rack to encourage a more active use of space.

Many of these ideas are easy and inexpensive to act upon but require people to rethink how our open spaces should function. If we work with the neighboring properties we can find ways to break up the dead space while funneling people cluster points. There's no reason this square has to live and die by festivals. It should be able to thrive on its own on your average weekday, while being enhanced during festivals.

Keeping the Snow Belt Moving

Stuck in a snow bank while driving home from the gym, my thoughts immediately went to an idea that I've been bouncing around for quite some time; there has to be a better way to get around during the winter.

Waking up extra early to shovel and clean off cars, hoping the plows have come by but at the same time hoping the end of the driveway isn't covered in the heavy snow they leave behind. Why do we see driving as such a convenience in this weather? This has been a question I've asked myself for years and have yet to come up with a satisfying answer. I routinely come back around to the solution: We need to invest more in public transit.

This may be counter intuitive to most people. Why would I want to add time to my commute when I can just drive myself? Why would you want to wait for a bus in the cold and snow? Public transit doesn't bring me to my exact destination, why would I take it?  These are valid questions to ask and there are answers to each of them:

• Invest in bus rapid transit (BRT) to improve service times and cut down on time between buses (10-15 minutes max), helping compete with commuting individually.

• Create transit maps that are easy to understand, color coding lines.

• Institute monthly transit passes, encouraging riders to use the system often without worry of paying more.

• Bus shelters with heating systems can help make the wait easier, along with digital countdowns to the next bus.

• Partner with autonomous vehicle companies in creating a micro-transit system between bus lines to deliver passengers to their final destinations.

I have previously written about using the I-81 decision in Syracuse as a chance to reevaluate our public transit systems, and that must start with a blank slate. Centro should take a fresh look at population and job centers throughout the city and come up with a plan that serves the most amount of people in the most efficient manner. This should lead to simplifying routes and focusing on providing excellent service along those corridors. The current wheel and spoke service style radiating out of Downtown is insufficient. A more grid-like structure may serve the community better as it would provide more transfer points, cutting down commute times.

While evaluating routes, Centro should focus on creating BRT routes through the city. Past studies have identified two corridors that would benefit most from a BRT system (Eastwood to OCC, Destiny USA to the Syracuse University hill), but they may find a couple more that could be beneficial.

These BRT routes should have designated bus lanes, possibly separated by a median, allowing for buses to travel removed from traffic, along with censors controlling street lights. This would create a system more similar to light rail, providing efficient service for a fraction of the cost. To speed up loading and unloading, fares should be collected before entering a separate covered boarding area (much like subway systems work). All of these investments will allow BRT to create an efficient system.

The key to the success of these routes in winter will come down to policy. For this we can take cues from Copenhagen. During the winter months, the city prioritizes clearing bike paths and bus lanes first before they touch the rest of the city streets. They prioritize transportation methods that move the most amount of people most efficiently. In Syracuse this would mean plowing these newly created bus lanes before the rest of the streets.

All of this efficiency would be wasted if the system is not easy and comfortable to use, especially in winter. There are a few simple solutions to these problems. First is the importance of ease of use. Bus maps should make use of color coding, much like subway systems do. With the simplified bus lines, the map should be easy to identify transfer points. These maps should be posted at every bus stop, which should all have enclosures.

In the long run there should be fewer bus stops, but every bus stop should have an enclosure with a heating system. This would allow passengers to wait in the warmth away from dangerous winds. While going to school at the Rochester Institute of Technology, our main bus stops all had simple heating systems that could be turned on by any passenger waiting. It would last for about 5 minutes before turning off automatically. Such a system could be applied to bus stops throughout the city, especially along the BRT routes. 

At each of these stops, there should be countdown clocks for the next bus. The hardest part of waiting for any form of public transit is not knowing for sure when they are arriving. Without a countdown, even 5 minutes feels like an eternity. 

All of these work together to help make using public transit easier and more pleasant, but the last suggestion is the easiest to implement; monthly Centro cards. For one flat rate, passengers should be able to use the system as often as they wish. This would encourage people to use transit often because they would want to get the best deal they can. It allows people to budget their transit as well. With one flat rate, you can add that to your monthly finances just as you would rent or a mortgage, and have the peace of mind that you don't need to worry about having enough cash on you for a ride home at night.

If all of this is invested in and is successful, it still does not solve the problem of not delivering you from door-to-door. This is where some real innovation comes in. In recent weeks companies like Toyota have given us previews of autonomous minibuses with the idea that they could be used for ride hailing purposes. Instead, they should be incorporated into public transit systems to solve the door-to-door issue. 

The system could work like this: Using a newly created Centro app, you put in a destination much like you would on Uber and Lyft, but instead the autonomous minibus comes to pick you up. It is assigned to your nearest transit station, so anyone within that zone will be delivered along with you to the stop. You jump on BRT and travel most of the way to your destination. When you arrive, minibuses are waiting to deliver you and the other passengers to your final destination.

Now this last part may be a years away before its viable, but we should be planning for the future and how to incorporate these new technologies. Public transit should be taking cues from ride hailing apps and make itself easier to use and more appealing.

All of these solutions circle back to the original problem of how to make the winter easier to overcome. One issue that plows have in winter is attempting to avoid cars parked on the streets, narrowing their paths. At the same time, those cars get buried beneath the snow being plowed, making them harder to move in the end. Its a vicious cycle that results in streets not being cleared, cars getting stranded and making commutes more dangerous for everyone. That's one reason we see such an increase in accidents and injuries on the roadways during the winter, along with incidents with pedestrians who are forced into the streets. 

With an improved mass transit system that competes with private car ownership in convenience, and bests it in cost, you can begin to convince people to give up their cars. With fewer cars on the streets, they can be cleared much faster, while also allowing people to avoid the less than ideal task of clearing off cars and digging them out. It would keep people safer.

If we begin to plan and implement bold ideas on transit, businesses and workers will notice. The type of workers cities want to attract are pouring into cities that have invested in public transit and are forward thinking about development. Businesses want to locate in these cities because they see a commitment to their citizens and their needs. The economic corridors along the transit lines would attract investment as they see a stability in these centers, resulting in density and walkability.  This creates a positive cycle that leads to more investment.

Its time to plan big and overcome the frozen state of our city.