Oly Alley Project

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Oly Alley Project

Submitted by enpen on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 2:30pm.

Last night (03/12/2008) I attended an "Oly Alley Project" presentation conducted by Ruth Snyder, a Code Enforcement Officer for Olympia, and Amy Stull, Olympia Police Department Senior Program Specialist. The purpose of the presentation was to bring together members of the ODA to further develop civic-business partnerships around the city's desires and plans for improving downtown alleyways.

Conceived as an offshoot of CPTED philosophies the goals presented were:

To develop a natural surveillance through lighting improvements and increased foot traffic as a way to discourage illegal activities.
To improve the aesthetics and usability of the alleys through the consolidation of garbage collection.
To engage local building and businesses in this process by making the benefits apparent.
To facilitate maintenance of private properties through the development of comprehensive resource lists.
More active code enforcement in order to jump-start any deferred maintenance.

Two facts about downtown Olympia were highlighted: 1) State Avenue is the second most heavily traveled street (by car) in Thurston County 2) Most North-South alleyways in downtown Olympia are no longer large enough for emergency vehicle access. As this presentation was geared toward downtown business owners the audience was asked to imagine what potential customers see as they drive through on State Avenue and several slides were shown to exhibit the high visibility of our alleys. Among those slides were examples of local businesses who have already taken steps to improve the aesthetics of their alleys.

Improvements were broken down into the "3 Steps to Beautification" and were presented along with methods of attaining each step.

Step 1: Cleanliness. Weeds, debris, graffiti, deferred maintenance and either loose or unconsolidated garbage were all presented as current problems with the cleanliness of alleyways in downtown Olympia. Current efforts to maintain a clean downtown include the use of "The Green Machine" (a sidewalk sweeper) and two work crews, one of which is comprised of parolees while the other is people serving community service sentences. All business owners present agreed that these efforts have unmistakably improved the cleanliness of downtown Olympia and one person noted that every time she volunteers to clean up downtown the job gets easier.

Step 2: Safety. Criminal behavior, unlit areas, standing water, rodent infestation, maintaining emergency access and deferred maintenance were the primary sources of safety issues presented. Thanks to a grant the city will be installing alleyway lighting in alley between The Mint and the Eastside Club Tavern as well as in the Free Wall alley over the next few weeks. The lighting will be metal halide and is supposed to be more efficient than past varieties. As well the lighting is to be dark sky lighting meant to minimize the effects of light pollution while maximizing ground level visibility. The theory behind adding the alleyway lighting is that people do not like to partake in criminal behaviors where they can be seen thus addressing not only environmental safety hazards due to darkness but the issue of crime in the alleys as well. Regarding current issues of standing water in the alleyways Meta Hogan was present and has been working with Amy Stull on a proposal of creating rainwater gardens in these alleys that would address both current aesthetic and standing water problems. Rodent infestation is currently being worked on by Ruth Snyder in cooperation with local businesses.

Step 3: Beautification. Murals, walkable pathways and historical preservation were presented as three primary modes of beautification and results of the highly successful Philadelphia Mural Arts program were shown. At this point my bias found its voice and I pointed out that the Philadelphia program has in large part been successful because of its concentration on finding and developing local artists to create these murals. Almost everyone spoke up to concur on the general feeling that Olympia has an incredible amount of talented local artists and that any mural project should go through them.

Edit: I edited the date of the event as I had written the wrong one.

enpen's blog
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Thanks for the summary Jason

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 2:42pm.

Was this meeting announced on Olyblog and I just missed it or can I just blame it all on my overall laziness and ignorance about what's happening?

not announced

Submitted by enpen on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 2:47pm.

And I found out about it relatively late. I'm hoping that they'll have another presentation for the DNA at the very least. If nothing else putting this up on OlyBlog may bring some more attention to the matter and get it more public and involved.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

olympian article?

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 3:32pm.

It appears, based on a quick summary glance of the headlines, that you scooped The Olympian with this article. Great content and information. Well Done! It looks good too, very professional.

Aldo Leopold: "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

It's an alley for christ's sake!!!!!

Submitted by Laurian on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:09pm.

What next? Gift wrapped garbage? Aromatherapy dumpsters? I for one like the dingy, industrial, transgressive aesthetic of a good alley. I for one appreciate a darkened corner to smoke a fatty with friends before popping into a club. "...develop a natural surveillance..." A bit Orwellian don't you think? I've staggered home many a night through Olympia's alley and unlike the streets I've never been threatened or hassled in Olympia's private corridors. This is more creating problems for the city to fix. The handful of active people in the ODA are so preoccupied with the superficial and fear of the "criminal element" that the organization does not acknowledge let alone address the underlying economic challenges facing small businesses.

I was just about to post a comment about

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:28pm.

how cool it is to have a thread people aren't arguing about. This caught me quite off guard. Are there no up sides to looking to our alleys as an opportunity to improve the quality of pedestrian access around town and and to mitigate some of our stormwater problems? Certainly, we can still preserve enough darkened corners to satisfy our fatty connoisseurs.

word

Submitted by chad360 on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:33pm.

we used the "c" word at the same time...

~ how odd ~

I'd rather...

Submitted by chad360 on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:31pm.

...walk by flowers & art than skid through feces, but I to be honest, I was trying to think of positive things to say...

...I'm just a bit burnt-out by civic processes that are a one-way street, so I'd thought to look on the bright side, but then again I'm way less proficient in the "dark arts" than a savvy alley connoisseur such as yourself >grin<

...ya never know, "they" might do something right...

>but I'm SO hoping that there is no garbage "beautification" elements<

Smoke proud!

not really Orwellian

Submitted by enpen on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 9:29pm.

Natural surveillance is not about asking neighbors to turn each other in, rather it's based upon the assumption that most people are less likely to commit a crime while others may be watching. And while the notion of crime prevention was addressed far more time was spent on the idea of creating an attraction for people to come to Olympia (and drop off some cash).

As far as losing the alleys, the scope of the project is almost entirely North-South alleys so not all traditional alleyway aesthetic would be lost. Maybe we can start pushing for something akin to Madison's marijuana decriminalization municipal ordinance as a protective measure for preserving Oly tradition. Or just continue to rely on the fact(?) that few people in Olympia seem to think bud is a bad thing.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

This is what's so cooooool

Submitted by Meta Hogan on Sun, 04/13/2008 - 6:19pm.

This is what's so cooooool about "natural surveillance". Ninety-nine percent of your fellow citizens don't care if you want to smoke a fatty in an alley. They're not going to call the cops on you, or probably even "tsk" you. It's not like cameras, or additional walking patrols, or alleyway-face-recognition-graffiti-paint-nanobots. I actually feel safer walking through an alley where someone is lurking selfishly and innocently than walking through an empty alley. I'm hoping that this project will provide infrastructure for subculture, whatever that ends up looking like. If 4th and State and their cross-streets get all gentrified or homogenized (or whatever it is that we're afraid of when things get nice), it'll be comforting to know that the alleys have been turned into casual pedestrian spaces where we're responsible for each other, rather than getting cracked down on as dens of iniquity or paved over or filled in as wasted high-dollar real estate. I agree that this project could go in a number of directions at this point (some of them not so palatable), but part of the mission statement of the local CPTED workgroup is "building a sense of community ownership". That means you, you, and you. If you let "them" do it alone, they will do it how they want to do it.

CJ at Cherry St.

Submitted by chad360 on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:09pm.

Alley-Cats on the prowl!

>grin<

While frequenting the Cherry St Cafe (pictured above on left (the right store), opposite Peppers (mmm, yum!), I have come to an understanding that there is an historical undercurrent of renewal stretching back over 3 years & centered on these alley spaces~

~these "pearls of wisdom" were passed to me by one known as a member of a "clandestine" group "the Alley Cats"...

...I know at least one or two of these critters "lives" at the coffee roaster, so I'm hoping maybe we will all hear more from them soon =)

The dialog could become a dynamic "two-way street", and I hope this presentation was the first in a series of great changes in the real use of our shared built environment.

Olympia Coffee Roasting Company

Submitted by enpen on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 9:30pm.

Was present and accounted for.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

>chuckle<

Submitted by chad360 on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 3:08pm.

There is so much goodness in that fact =)

Inspiring

Submitted by Sarah on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 6:30am.

Thanks for reporting on this.

I'm all for more murals! :)

Submitted by Chia on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 9:01am.

I'm all for more murals! :) The sea-life mural you included is one of my favorites.

---------
Nonviolence Includes Animals:
audio
"PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's address to the International Nonviolence Conference in Bethlehem"

agreed

Submitted by enpen on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 1:02pm.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if we concentrated on getting our local artists some walls for murals or permanent installations downtown before steps I & II, that the process would actually work better as a way of bringing outsiders into downtown Olympia than going 1,2,3. I found it really interesting that they concentrated so much on the success of the mural projects in Philadelphia because that's how it worked there...first the murals...then people started taking more pride in their city...then people starting visiting the city just to see the public art...then the city had more money/incentive to make everything else look nice.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

Don't hate me for saying

Submitted by Chia on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 1:39pm.

Don't hate me for saying this but one of the reasons I like to walk at the mall in winter is because of the colors and entertaining things to browse. I also like museums. Murals would provide the same effect outside and downtown. Walking there would be interesting and fun.

---------
Nonviolence Includes Animals:
audio
"PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's address to the International Nonviolence Conference in Bethlehem"

heh

Submitted by enpen on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 1:46pm.

I like to walk at the mall in winter is because of the colors and entertaining things to browse.

That is almost word-for-word why I initially started looking at graffiti as art. Game changer it was in terms of changing my perception. Hilarious.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

I was blown away last year

Submitted by oysterpreserve on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 2:12pm.

I was blown away last year while visiting a friend in Philly. The murals were amazing and huge! To do something that big with our talented artists here in town would be...WOW!

Yeah thanks Enpen...

Submitted by oldtimeydave on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 2:53pm.

That was an awesome example of citizen journalism. it looks like the negative posts in response was limited to only one, which is rather good news in a way.

For me anything that brings the community togther to make it a more beautiful and positive place is a good thing. I love the ideas of alley art and murals, I like the idea of the downtown and surrounding community helping to decide some on some of the subject for the pieces too.

I'm pretty excited to see what comes of all of this but it is a huge positive step in the right direction...

PS just ignore the "buzz kill" folks and lets keep this a quality thread and a positive movement.

Dave White - "Old Timey Dave"
Oldtime Design & Beverage Blog

I agree

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 03/15/2008 - 12:06am.

And some of the more simple solutions like rain gardens and lighting at night would go a long way toward encouraging people to randomly come together and interact as community.

And here's a video of people interacting with street art:

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

hey, chill-out willya? =)

Submitted by chad360 on Sat, 03/15/2008 - 9:07am.

Hommies! >chill<

...the comment was pretty good, OK? talking aesthetics is cool, gotta give a person their say, OK~

...and I have to admit, that I agree with the "fear-uncertainty-doubt" POV expressed in the comment, so all I'm saying is that there is some great content in that post and I think that we could focus on that...

The colorful language is OK in my opinion as long as hurtful intent isn't conveyed, and I sure didn't feel like the person posting the comment was really all that offensive...

I'd like to engage on the elements raised in addition to a the opinion expressed...

ODA focus, city response...

...feedback from "biz-folk" & "down-towners" ...how "spot-on" is the current agenda flowing out of the social networks of the ODA & PBIA? ...and for that matter the City of Olympia?

I'm certainly not trying to call anyone out here, nor be confrontational...

...I just wanted to express a small bit of acceptance and tolerance, and also to comment that I did find this thread stimulating, and really respect the CJ that precipitated these comments

No "buzz-kill" on my part, and trying to be positive~

Chance to Educate

Submitted by Ehver Green on Sat, 03/15/2008 - 10:47am.

A chance to get people informed. Having folks against an idea in general is healthy. It fosters discussion and gives folks like Jason a chance to speak about it. Any time Jason gets to talk about his project we all learn.

lighting is going up

Submitted by enpen on Sun, 04/13/2008 - 9:24am.

The Free Wall alleyway is now lit (both E-W & N-S).

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

very exciting

Submitted by Katherine on Mon, 04/14/2008 - 9:30am.

I hope this means no more poop.

And I believe a neighboring business is footing the very small electrical bill associated with the lights. Even better, they are dark-sky, high efficiency fixtures. This was the result of collaboration of Code Enforcement (Ruth Snyder), the DNA and of course the building owners. Kudos to public/private collaboration! Long live the free wall!!!

another update

Submitted by enpen on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 10:09am.

This is the alleyway next to the Fish Tail brewery.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

I think there should be a

Submitted by Ehver Green on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 10:43am.

I think there should be a picture of fish, playing go fish, sitting around drinking Fish Tail beer. The light fixture could be incorporated as the actual card table light illuminating the card game.

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