April 24, 2023
Greetings & Thoughts
No “Know Before You Grown, but there are options
As the readers here are hopefully already aware, the Wednesday Know Before You Grow forum has been canceled due to family health issues among the KBYG leadership. However, we now have two or three potential KBYG forums planned and ready to proceed, with the next forum on May 10.
In the absence of Wednesday’s KBYG forum, which would’ve been on an approach to traffic calming that greatly intrigues me, there are other options this week for urbanist participation.
On Thursday, the Public Art Committee will hear a presentation about possible collaboration with traffic calming. This topic allows me to share a favorite story.
Bend, Oregon where I lived for many years, was a leader in the adoption of roundabouts. I don’t have an exact count, but the town will likely reach a hundred roundabouts in the next few years. From my experience, the roundabouts are well-designed and local drivers have learned to use them effectively. But the public was slow to embrace roundabouts, pushing back for several years.
Bend was aggressive at placing public art in the roundabouts. A long-time friend and former co-worker, who is a transportation planner, told me that the sign for her that the public had finally accepted roundabouts was when they began complaining about the quality of the public art rather than the roundabouts.
Hopefully, Petaluma can step into the future with less rancor.
Beyond the possible combination of public art and traffic calming, there will be an Urban Chat lunch on Thursday and the grand opening of the downtown chess boards on Saturday. Both will be great opportunities to talk about walkability, vibrant retail, etc.
Questions or comments? Let me know. – Dave Alden 707-338-8388
P.S. New folks can be added to this conversation here.
Calendar Notes
See our new monthly calendar here!
Upcoming Meetings
All events are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to participate in person or online.
Tuesday, April 25 (Tomorrow!) – Petaluma Planning Commission
The Planning Commission will conduct a hearing on the proposed vacation of an alley near Petaluma High School. It’s my neighborhood and I often look at the remnants of the alley while walking.
Alleys are a fine element of walkable urban life, creating good settings for ADUs and reducing the driveways that make sidewalks less pedestrian-friendly. However, this alley has been ignored and encroached upon for so many years that there’s no obvious path to resuscitating it. Thus, as much as I bemoan it, I can’t argue against the vacation.
The meeting will begin at 7:00pm. Further information is provided on the Urban Chat calendar.
Wednesday, April 26 (not this week) – Know Before You Grow
Due to the family health issues among much of the Know Before You Grow leadership team, this forum has been cancelled. The presentation on traffic calming will be deferred to a later date.
Thursday, April 27 (This week) – Petaluma Urban Chat
The monthly meeting of Urban Chat is almost always agenda-free, allowing an enjoyable and enlightening conversation to wander freely over the urbanist landscape. The most recent meeting was well-attended and full of spirited conversation.
The exchange of ideas will commence at noon. Other information is provided on the Urban Chat calendar.
Thursday, April 27 (This week) – Petaluma Public Art Committee
The Public Art Committee will receive a presentation from Public Works on possible collaborations between public art and traffic calming.
The meeting will convene at 6:00pm. Other meeting information is on the Urban Chat calendar.
Saturday, April 29 (This week) – Petaluma Age Friendly
Age Friendly will host a grand opening for the newly installed chess tables near the east end of the Balshaw Bridge. In addition to chess instruction, the organizers are planning several complementary activities.
The event will commence at 11:00am. Further details are provided on the Urban Chat calendar.
Monday, May 1 – Petaluma City Council
The agenda includes an agreement with SMART for the upcoming Corona station and a workshop on City commissions/committees.
The public portion of the meeting will convene at 6:30pm. Other meeting information is on the Urban Chat calendar.
Thursday, May 4 – Petaluma Historic Library and Museum
The Petaluma Museum will host a presentation by local historian and author Katherine J. Rinehart on how the architectural character of Petaluma’s downtown National Register Historic District has evolved over the last 50-plus years.
The relationship between urbanism and historic preservation can be complex. On one hand, urbanists love town cores that retain the forms from before car-dependence and provide a template to which we should return. On the other hand, we fear putting town cores under bell jars would prevent us from making the changes necessary for post-car-dependent economic vitality.
It's a difficult and subjective balance. Education is essential to finding the best solution, so I expect to be in attendance on May 4.
More information on the event can be found here. Tickets, which will cost $10, can be purchased here.
Wednesday, May 10 – Know Before You Grow
We’re waiting to learn if our preferred presentation, on a proposed Petaluma housing project, will work on this date. If not, the other option is a presentation on an alternative route to traffic calming. Details will follow as soon as possible.
The forum will begin at 7:00pm. Further information will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar when known.
Thursday, May 11 – Petaluma Transit Advisory Committee
The Transit Committee is expected to have a workshop on goals for 2023/24 as Petaluma Transit looks to play its role in the move to carbon neutrality.
The meeting is expected to convene at 4:00pm. Other meeting information will be on the Urban Chat calendar when published by the City.
Thursday, May 18 – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
This is the standing time for the monthly GPAC meetings. However, it’s likely this meeting will be moved to Saturday, May 20, at a time to be determined. The expected discussion will be on sea level rise and flooding risk.
Information on the rescheduled meeting will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar when published by the City.
Saturday, May 20 – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
See the calendar item above about the possible rescheduling of the GPAC meeting to this date.
Information on the rescheduled meeting will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar when published by the City.
