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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004 04 12 Regular 507 041204_ COMM _Regular _507 Jence _Design _ Markel_Square _Park COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM 507 Consent Information Public Hearin Re ular x MGR.fL- /Dept. April 12, 2004 Meeting REQUEST: City Manager requesting the Commission to review alternative fence designs to Market Square Park. PURPOSE: This agenda item is needed for the Commission to determine if the original fence design of Market Square Park facing S,R, 434 should be modified. CONSIDERATIONS: The fence in Market Square Park facing S.R. 434 was purposely designed with heavy columns to eliminate the possibility of vehicles actually penetrating Market Square Park and causing damage and human casualties, and to give park users a feeling of safety and separation from S.R. 434. During construction questions were raised regarding the design of the face. There was a concern that the height and the mass of the column obscured the view of the fountain. When consulted, the architect suggested that the park be completed before any discussions were made so that those persons concerned could see what the finished product looked like before finalizing their feelings about a need for change. Now that the park is finished we need to decide if any changes are still felt to be needed. Three alternative sketches are provided on Attachment "A", A computer altered photo of the fence reflecting what the fence would look like if Option 2 were chosen is also provided. Staff and the City's Consultants prefer the fence be left alone in order to maximize protection from vehicles penetrating the wall and to maximize the feelings of persons using the park that this is a safe and comfortable place to enjoy. Staff also believes that safety and people's willingness to use the park takes precedence over visibility into the park from S.R. 434, However, if the Commission continues to believe that a change is necessary; staff and the consultant agree that Option 2 would be the best alternative. FUNDING: The cost for reducing the height of the column III Alternative II would be approximately $10,000, RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends that the original design of the fence should be maintained. However, if the Commission believes that more visibility of the fountain is important, staff would recommend Option 2. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment "A" - Street Sense Comments Attachment "B" - Black and White Fence Sketches Attachment "C" - Color Pictures of Current and Alternative Fence. COMMISSION ACTION: 2 ATTACHMENT "A" Street Sense Comments ......~ fOlf ~ ~TRffT~f~Sf February 18, 2004 Ronald McLemore City of Winter Springs 1126 East State Road 434 Winter Springs, Florida 37208 RE: Response to Retail Design Inquires Building 2, Market Square sidewalks, entrance piers Dear Ron: We have carefully considered your questions regarding the following three issues at Winter Springs Town Center, Please review our comments and feel free to contact us with any questions, Design Review of Building 2. We have the following recommendations to enhance the retail potential for the preliminary design of this building: . To encourage pedestrian traffic along Main Street, we are recommending public vias (or walkways) to connect the parking field with Main Street's sidewalks at regular intervals, We strongly recommend that the walkway in Building 2's drawings be opened as a public walkway at the ground floor, To further improve the quality of this via, we also recommend that this ground floor opening should be heightened to the bottom of the second floor structure. We are happy to provide a sketch for more clarification, if needed, · The first design provided for Building 2 (dated December 8, 2003) is considerably more appropriate for Town Center. Its articulation, fenestration patterns and overall design more closely matches the character and quality of Town Center's existing buildings. · The rear elevation of Building 2 should be treated as the alley side of the retail spaces that will front Main Street with minimum window openings, Although it will be rear of this building, the west elevation should receive careful design consideration, as it will be a prominent elevation, clearly visible from the parking field, We recommend consideration of rear retail elevations that face parking fields at Celebration's Market Street. We are happy to provide photographs of this condition, if needed. To summarize, we recommend continued study of the first design option for Building 2, the inclusion of a pedestrian via at the ground level, and careful design of the rear fa9ade of the building while it should still clearly read as the rear elevation. Sidewalks, Parking and Street Area Facing Market Square. The retail space at Market Square is among the most significant of the project. The character of this space will "set the stage" for Main Street, serving as an entrance cap for this retail district. For this reason, we are searching for ways to bring "the sense of retail" at this location as far into the Market Square as possible, 7 6 I 0 0 I d (,;. (~. G r ~;1 (~ t (} '..v (! Roo ci I P l 0 2 (; L e ': f: !, Bet (1 e s d (I . iv1 D ? 0 8 1 ;1 r~; 301,t;52,()020 fj 301.65?.~,)i()6 Vi 'N VJ . ~ t I' t:~ ':'1 I' ~) G n $ fa . C () rYl The best potential retail uses for these Market Square spaces will be restaurants, We believe that restaurants along Market Square will be best served with substantive outdoor dining space facing Main Street. Additionally, we contend that any efforts to draw the retail identity of these restaurants as close as possible to the Main Street will make these spaces more detectable to passing traffic, Also, visible outdoor dining at the entrance to a town center area has several benefits, First, the activity level associated with outdoor dining conveys a sense of "something happening" and can act as a magnet to passing customers, Even empty outdoor dining space suggests "something about to happen." Active outdoor dining projects a public space with activity that is open and welcome to everyone, To this end, we recommend that the six parallel parking spaces at Market Square be replaced with outdoor dining space. Eventually, the fountain square should have the potential to host people waiting for tables, or perhaps even additional seating for take-away food retail (such as coffee or ice cream). As with many piazzas in public spaces around Europe and even the United States, seated patrons should be protected from the drive alley by planters, ballards or something similar, Especially at this location in the project, pedestrians will be prominent and vehicles will be slowed by the narrow drive alley and surroundings, Traffic engineers should confirm that no additional elements will be required to achieve proper vehicular management between Market Square and the retailers. ~-_..'----' . . ."..,---.--.--.,-.--...-.....--.,....-.....,.-....-,.. .,....,..,..... .......,_..,....,-----._._--~ ,Piers at the Corner of State Road 434 and Main Street. We understand that removing the pi~.3 'at this location has been discussed, We must advise against removing these piers vehementlyf I -_"'~_"_, ~ ,.First, these piers contribute to the overall Town Center identity. As vehicular traffic enters thi~ Intersection, there is an immediate sense of something different at this location, This i~ bommunicated through a variety of means (the buildings themselves) but also through simpl~ design elements such as the piers, which appeI9TJQJ9.rD.J_9Q.~ntr~og.~_w~y~._yv~__~!EQQ9J~ approve of this technique over a sign, for example., ~= Second, these piers provide a vital barrier between'ttlepedestrfan.'ga-th-ering spaces'at Marke, ,Square and turning westbound S,R. 434 traffic, Without this psychological and physical, ,barrier, Market Square will be ,underutilized by pedestrians who will feel unprotected at this; ,location, An ~QEY!?Q~g&9l!are ~lib,outQQQr dinin9.QP-Rortunitie~~!U_~on!rl!?_'!t~.tQJhe~~ns~..Qf, lively square. '\j.fe realize that the.pierslimiT vIS1bHHy-6r1heT6un'taina-ncCthe'6utdoor'seatlngfor--northboun~ /Tuskawilla Road traffic; however, the solution that has been constructed does allow reasonabl~ ~ight lines, contributes to-Lh..ELQy_eJ~ll_I'~y..rn~QC_Qt!b.e. t9.YV~, c~nter,,~nd ()ff~r~ .a,~itaLRIQ~~~y~ p~EEier for M~r~~t$g~9Le.,~ Thank you for the opportunity to comment on these issues, Sincerely, Heather Knouse Arnold Principal :.? " n '.:. ~~ + i' f". ~ ~ '" ~'i ~'<: .;. J... 'J .c.. rJ ')I.. '_).1: ': 7l. C ~ W i~ ~! > .: i<~ .... ..." ": C~. :! (} ~. ] .: ).1 :2::',?,. 6> .;.:: tf Ll;) ;;; ~l :rO? .,::( ~'~:):' ~; t ' t.i J' ~. f,' . i ;, ~ ; to' I ~ ; I t.;... lit ATTACHMENT "B" Black and White Fence Sketches . Option 1- Original Design +T n .-' Option 1 - Reduce Height of Center Column Option 2 - Reduce Height of Fence and Columns Option .3 - Remove Center Column and Add 6" Diameter Steel Posts wI Concrete Market Square Fence Study . . $ ~ . ATTACHMENT "c" Color Pictures of Current and Alternative Fence .w. ~.~ ,.