Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Cobblestones Under Glass
Posted by John Branston on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 4:56 PM
I'm no fan of the Riverfront Development Corporation, but I think just about anything would be an improvement to the current neglect of the cobblestones, and it's long overdue.
A few observations about Tuesday night's presentation by the RDC, Corps of Engineers, and Tennessee Department of Transportation.
1. Preservation is a white thing. I saw only a few black faces in the crowd including Greg Duckett, who is on the board of the RDC, and Dorchelle Spence, who is on the RDC staff. I don't think it's for lack of trying, either on the part of the RDC or Friends. It's simply the way it is, at least on the riverfront. The two often opposed groups are, in my opinion, more alike than different in the big picture. They care about the riverfront enough to go to meetings, and they put a higher priority on it than most Memphians who are worried more about, say, school bus routes or losing their jobs. The much-criticized Memphis City Council is more diverse and has to make tougher calls. The RDC and Friends should work it out.
2. Bob Corker stopped by our office for an interview Tuesday. The former businessman and mayor of Chattanooga raised several million dollars in private funds for Chattanooga's celebrated $120 million riverfront, according to reporters at the Chattanooga Times Free Press that I spoke with in preparation for the interview. I'm not aware of any sizable private donations to the Memphis riverfront. It's a government-funded, tax-sucking project.
3. Everyday use by Memphians remains an afterthought in the RDC's plans. Lendermon said there could be some kayak and canoe access at the north end of the cobblestones landing. But the centerpiece will be a plaza with a fountain and some steps leading to some historical markers and the cobblestones with their mooring rings. Very boring. The RDC should harness the energy of Joe Royer, the force behind the canoe race and the cycling event on the Greenbelt. Under the leadership of Mayor Karl Dean, Nashville's riverfront plan costs less and is much more animated and user friendly.
4. Those Memphis Queen Line boats sure are getting a workout. First they had to be plugged into the gaping hole at Beale Street Landing to justify that project after the overnight riverboats went out of business. Now we hear that the cobblestones are being improved with $6.8 million so that guess who can dock at them.
5. The plain fact, as RDC critic and the riverfront's institutional memory Michael Cromer and others have noted, is that "development" is the RDC's middle name. Without a big project, there is little need for a quasi-public agency to beautify and maintain the riverfront parks and build a roundabout on Mud Island. The RDC's original big table had four legs: founder Kristi Jernigan, the master plan featuring the aborted land bridge, Beale Street Landing, and Mayor Willie Herenton and his buddies. Three of those are gone. But thanks to Beale Street Landing and the cobblestones, the RDC can probably hang on for a few more years.
Comments (17)
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I had to read this twice just to convince myself that these words were not typed randomly. Let me see.......tax dollars for cobblestones.......? Who gives a rats rear end? $6.8 million???? What is that......$200 bucks per brick??? Desolve the RDC and save a few bucks.
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If this is an article, it's a poorly written one because it doesn't really report much. If it's a column, then it just criticizes and offers no real alternative solutions. I can't tell, and it's poorly done either way.
I dont care, if they bring pea gravel in to make it look better down there. It needs something. Ya can't even walk down there.
For 150 years the (historic) cobblestones have functioned as a free and public boat landing... you know, boat landings? places where boats go from being on the water to being on the land (and vice versa).
Funding was given for this boat landing to continue. The plan presented at the public hearing (a plan brought to us by a well paid RDC) fails its primary objective which is to restore the cobblestone landing as a great public landing. Back to the drawing boards! This time, the plan needs to be done simply and done correctly. No cheap-o shortcuts. And it needs to work.
We need the cobblestones for pulling up and throwing during a good, old Europe riot and revolution. That's why the city fathers put them there - to keep government honest.
This article was poorly written with little to no attention given over to background research. I guess the Flyer's standards have to be low to come up with this excuse for journalism. Comparing the Nashville riverfront plan to the cobblestone restoration makes absolutely no sense. Nashville's plan does not involve restoring a cobblestone landing on its riverfront. Instead it involves almost all new construction. I can't tell if the author is suggesting we remove the cobblestones to follow a similar use or if he is ranting about some other part of the RDC plan. Are you suggesting we hold cycling races over the cobblestones? I suggest the author be the first to make an attempt. Seeing as the local cruise line does not seem to justify any improvements or new construction in the eyes of the author, are we supposed to eliminate the cobblestones, stop construction on the landing, both or neither? In the end, Branston seems to be at peace with the idea of simply leaving the riverfront as it is with no further expenditure of any kind. Well, maybe except for his brilliant idea he refuses to share with the rest of us by becoming a reporter (and I use the term loosely) instead of an urban planner.
Also, if the author was truly concerned and was worth his ink, he would have attended and participated in the other public meetings hosted by the RDC. In every public survey conducted to date, the overwhelming majority of citizens have expressed their desire to have improvements funded as much through private development as possible. Nashville's riverfront plan includes little if any commercial development, leaving the taxpayer with the bill. So the question to the author, the Friends for our Riverfront (who have not come up with one realistic funding mechanism for their proposals besides drawing from taxpayers) and for the RDC is: Do you want to create a great riverfront or not? While many say yes, almost everyone seems completely unwilling to pay for it.
In response to sailorjerry's confusion about whether this is an article or a column, I submit that it's neither....It's simply a hodge-podge of personal "observations" and opinions from John Branston, presumably offered to us under the assumption that we'll be enlightened by reading Branston's thoughts...Nothing new here. Branston has produced this style of "journalism" for years...Every now and then, he makes an observation that might be worth investigating. But much more often than not, his observations and opinions are of little real value.
It's called a "blog" post, folks. Yes, it is "personal observations and opinions." Duh.
That does not justify random comments and opinions, especially when he is officially employed and writing as a "journalist" with a "newspaper" reporting on a news story. It’s funny considering how many times this publication has commented on the general state of the misinformed public in the city and nation. Try researching journalism and professional practice. Duh.
I like the part where urbanut tried to make it look like Branston wanted bicycle races on the cobblestone. My main problem with the article is Branston,s obvious attempts to recommend it become an adult entertainment district.
John Branston needs no defending from me, urbanut, but you have an essential misunderstanding of the difference between an opinion column or blog that, in this case, is simply, as you put it, "personal observations and opinions," and a "news" article. John does both, but in this case, his BLOG, he is doing the former. You don't like it, that's fine. That's your personal opinion, which John is also entitled to.
Concerning Branston's opinion-noted, I will not make use of Branston as a source of news in the future. It is disappointing that we cannot seem to get real reporting on an actual news item and event. Instead we get opinions of opinions. It's like Fox News.
Concerning the bicycle races- it was a purposeful comparison. I am pointing out that the uses described by the author seem to be inconsistent with the stated purpose of cobblestone restoration. Once again a little research on the topic would have gone a long way. My understanding (through actually going through the RDC and Friends proposals) is the the RDC hopes to incorporate more active recreational uses through a redesign of Mud Island and the entire riverfront is to be linked via trails and walkways, many of which already exist.
The main point of my original statement was that the author, like many in this city, want it both ways. Restoration and preservation with hip new activities. A beautiful, thriving and active riverfront without the willingness to pay one dime towards it themselves.
If you've lived any time here in Memphis you should be aware that residents are oh-so-weary of yet another project to revitalize downtown and the riverfront. We seen dozens come and go, sank how many millions of dollars into them, and for what? We're still talking about finding ways to bring people downtown.
To paraphrase Atrios, who bangs this drum regularly, you can't have a revitalized downtown without density of population, walkable neighborhoods, lots of street-level retail, and efficient public transporation. Our city is just too scattered and suburban in nature to make downtown the vital hub everybody seems to want it to be. Yet another "attraction" isn't going to be the magic bullet that pulls people downtown.
Is it just me or does UrbanNUT have the most wonderfully descriptive screenname? Nut indeed. The RDC Retired Directors Club is not worth all the $$$ that goes to it. And the fact is we have a crappy riverfornt compared to Chattanooga and Nashville.
AWCULV- Wow, a nut, really? How clever you must feel. I might be considered a nut compared to the local population seeing that as an architect and urban planner I left Memphis for my career in New York (among a few a few other cities) where I learned the how one build a great cities with great public spaces. From that perspective, any indication of being mentally disturbed would be my desire to return to this city in the hopes that I might be able to make a difference.
Organizations similar to the RDC have helped create and/or reinvent numerous great public spaces around this nation. The fact that our riverfront is in such disrepair is due to the lack of investment and maintenance by the city over an extended stretch of time. To compensate for this almost complete disregard by the public takes time and a significant investment- money people such as you are unwilling put forth. If such an organization fails here where it has succeeded elsewhere in creating vibrant public spaces, one will only be able to question the quality of the local leadership and the citizens of the community.
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