New version of Toledo Talk

New Urbanism meeting recap - About 40 people attended Tuesday's meeting at Downtown Latte, which has been hosting the meetings on the last Tuesday of each month for about a year now. At the meeting were Bill Carroll, Keith Wilkowski, Frank Szollisi, Ford Weber, business owners, members of special interest groups, people affiliated with Toledo GROWS, and curious residents from different parts of Toledo.

Here's the gist of Tuesday's meeting, bullet-point style. Nothing fancy.

Bill Carroll was the main speaker. The organizers try to have a special guest or two for each meeting. Bill said the downtown is attractive to retiring Baby Boomers and 20-somethings.

The price tag for cleaning up the power plant on the east bank is expected to be $19 million.

The old salt pile on the west bank along Summit Street is being moved to make room for development in that area.

There have been recent talks about more development in the Swan Creek/Erie St. Market area.

Bill talked a little about the arena. He justified the need for this most recent feasibility study by saying, "Don't want to make a $100 million mistake."

No site selected for the west side if that's where the arena goes. The price of land acquisition on the west side is a major issue.

Bill said there will be a meeting this week about the Madison Building and talks are beginning again with the owner of the fiberglass building.

Monroe Avenue for the Arts is being used to try to attract musicians and other artists downtown. City conducted a study about Monroe. City will meet with all building owners on Monroe to see what can be done to attract artists.

Environmental concerns were brought up: trash along the river and under the high level bridge and after downtown events, runoff, not enough recycling since bars throw away their glass bottles.

Toledo received a Smart Growth Grant. 1000 vacant lots in Toledo. City has hired a consultant from Chicago to help Toledo make use of these lots. Consultant said he wished they had acquired vacant lots in Chicago for green space 20 years ago when land was cheaper. Could turn some of Toledo's vacant lots into parks and community gardens.

Bill said P-burg and Maumee are losing population to Monclova and Michigan. Next week, Lucas County and Toledo should be under one economic and development umbrella.

Some businesses in Maumee's Arrowhead Park are asking about moving to downtown Toledo. I think Bill said Mayor Ford is working on space availability. Apparently, Arrowhead is too congested. Supposedly there are plans for a new exit ramp for Arrowhead Park that's to be constructed within 10 years.

There was a suggestion that all of downtown Toledo offer free wireless Internet access. Attractive to news businesses and young people.

It was said that one of our greatest assets is the University of Toledo. It's landlocked. Need to find a way to connect UT with downtown Toledo. Get more students downtown like in Ann Arbor and Bowling Green.

It was suggested that the UT Law School be moved downtown, and have UT play their sports in a downtown arena. If UT trustees aren't interested, then get new trustees. It's a public university. UT receives taxpayer dollars. UT should be more open to being a part of Toledo's downtown growth.

One at the meeting spoke with a trustee or trustees, and he believes UT has a suburban attitude and desires to keep its world on campus.

There was some mention about the Technology Corridor. I think Bill said something about a new hire that will push the project forward, blah blah blah.

The arts and UT. Apparently, UT would like more studio space concentrated in an area such as Monroe St downtown.

Light rail mentioned as a possible form of public transportation like what's used in Dublin. It would be a way to connect UT to downtown. Also suggested that TARTA do more.

Idea suggested: A Swan Creek walking path from the Erie Street Market to Swan Creek Metropark.

Bill was asked about the Erie Street Market. Bill said, "I think it needs some professional help." It needs someone with experience in developing markets like ESM. He said there have been some discussions about its future. Don't want to make it a flea market. Bill said there is no plan right now for ESM.

A restaurant owner brought up the problem with the high cost of utilities in Toledo. It's an obstacle for attracting business to the city. No way to answer the utility cost problem at the meeting. Bill said, "At the end of the day, utilities are tough to deal with."

Bill spoke and took questions for an hour. We took a 10-minute break and then resumed. Some people left during the break.

After the break, a planner/developer mentioned the idea he's pitching to the city to make Toledo a major destination attraction for extreme sports by building an indoor event center and more that could house stunt biking, skateboarding, snowboarding, and many other activities.

Indoor ski slopes exist in Madrid and somewhere in England. The planner said more young people are involved in extreme sports than in so-called traditional sports like baseball, basketball, and hockey. Major sponsors are attracted to extreme sports.

The culture that surrounds extreme sports would also need to be developed by combining technology and entertainment.

There was talk about the downtown amphitheater and park project that McCloskey is opposed to and Szollisi supports.

Szollisi is a regular at the New Urbanism meetings.

The meeting lasted two hours. It was interesting to hear all the ideas. A lot of people are obviously positive about Toledo.
posted by jr to business at 11:35 P.M. EST     (27 Comments)

Comments ...

Oops, it's "Szollosi" not "Szollisi."
posted by jr at 12:04 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

> It was suggested that the UT Law School be moved downtown ....

Ha! If the law school were moved anywhere, it should be moved out to Maumee or Perrysburg or, maybe, even Bowling Green!

Just bacause it says "Toledo" on it, doesn't mean it's property of the city of Toledo.

Granted it's a state school, but that means it gets money from all over the state, not just Toledo. In other words, it's not The City of Toledo College/University anymore.

If anything, residents of other NW Ohio communities should see some of the benefits of their state tax dollars as well. So why not move the College of Law to Maumee or Perrysburg?

swd
posted by swd at 02:10 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Bill Carroll is a straight shooter. I hope that the next mayor, whoever that is, keeps Carroll on board.

He is the ex-COO of Dana, and is working in a thankless job at city hall because he gives a s**t about Toledo. Ford made a good pick to get this man on board last September.

Is he a savior? No. Does he bring real-world experience to an administration heavy on bureaucrats and Ford pals? Yes.

Will he get chewed up by the process? Let's hope not.

Szollosi, on the other hand, is from a family of bureaucrats and wonks, including a grandfather who was a Lucas County Commissioner and parents who were on the Oregon City Council. Brother Matthew Szollosi also sits on the Oregon City Council. I have heard nothing from him that sounds like anything but typical pol-speak. He's newer, so I'll give him some time before writing him off, but I nod off listening to him.
posted by historymike at 02:41 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Go to Szollosi's blog and you'll see how political he is. It's linked on toledobloggers.com.
posted by HeyHey at 03:37 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Yes. Yuck.

http://szollositoledo.blogspot.com/

Just a snippet of the drivel that passes for analysis at Frank's site:

"These are all sound, worthy ideas that would make Toledo a better place. When I get the report from the planning session Saturday I'll share it here. And tomorrow morning I'll put down the trowel and mortar at home and get back to work downtown."

Good to know, Frank, that you possess skills beyond shilling for the party. The "trowel and mortar" line sounds like a lame attempt to build some sort of solidarity with manual laborers.

Hopefully the workers reading this rhetorical pap are all bright enough to see through Frank's transparent sycophancy.
posted by historymike at 04:33 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Wish I could've been there...thanks for the "meeting minutes".

I doesn't seem what was discussed had much to do with "new urbanism" as it did with getting the communities input on planning issues. To understand new urbanism better, I highly recommend checking out the book "Suburban Nation - The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream" by Andres Duany. Andres Duany is sort of the founder of new urbanism and he discusses at length how things should be laid out and has evidence and figures to back up what he is discussing. A very good read.

I would like to also comment on the rail proposal. With gas prices going up and our dependence on foreign oil, I think this should be something discussed on a national level. If a city Toledo's size could get something built it would be a real forward looking step. I think that the whole state of Ohio should be connected with some kind of rail system. In the long run this would be much cheaper than trying to maintain and add on to our freeway systems. It could also be used to limit suburban sprawl, which is a real big issue, leading to many of the budget and oil dependence problems, that no one is talking about. I hope Toledo is serious about building some kind of light rail system.
posted by Kevin at 07:19 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

We have to get over our love affair with the auto first.

TARTA is inadequate, so people in Toledo have been trained to expect that mass transit, in general, is a bad idea.

I have enjoyed my forays into places like DC, New York, and Boston with intelligent mass transit systems. While none are perfect, they are light years ahead of Toledo.

I once, for grins, tried to figure out how to take TARTA from West Toledo to Arrowhead. The best route: Franklin Park down Monroe to downtown, then catch the Arrowhead "Express" down the Trail, through Maumee, and out to Dussel Drive. Total time: 75 minutes.

The North-South down Secor and Byrne would get me to Maumee in about an hour, but I had two choices: wait 1/2 hour for the Arrowhead Express, or walk the last 2 miles.

Plus, the Arrowhead express only runs twice in the morning and twice in the evening rush. God forbid you need to get there during business hours.
posted by historymike at 08:44 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Living in the township even within walking distance to McCord and Bancroft trying to get to Arrowhead was an exercise in futility. Getting to a Mudhen's game is easy but that's about the only way we can use Tarta.

I don't like many politicians, but I think Frank is okay. He responds which is more than I can say for some of them.

I agree with the give him time and see what he does on his own theory.
posted by psyche777 at 09:32 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Keith Wilkowski announced his plans for downtown Toledo.

"Democrat Keith Wilkowski says it's time to end the arena location debate and build it downtown next to the ballpark and the convention center, and also get the county involved in the project. Wilkowski's running to replace Toledo Mayor Jack Ford, and he has unveiled his "Turn Toledo Around" plan. Part one involves downtown revitalization, and besides the arena, Wilkowski's plan includes a call to relocate UT's Law School downtown, tax incentives for people living downtown, and making a strong commitments to the Marina District and the Erie Street Market."

The county, eh? Maybe that's why Pete Gerken was at last Saturday's Marina District meeting. Pete pointed out, and rightly so in my opinion, that there's no room in the Marina District for an arena based upon the map of the east bank we had on the wall, outlining initial ideas for development. The only possible place on the east side for an arena would be by the new I-280 bridge. George Sarantou was also in our group meeting last Saturday, but Bob McCloskey was long gone by the time we broke up into groups.

Carty will announce his run for mayor on Thursday, and the "word" is he also favors the west side of the river for a new arena. Carty believes the Marina District project needs to get moving, but the arena should not be part of the east side plan.

Here's CH 13's sparse coverage of Wilkowski's announcement today. Hopefully, the Blade has more info on Thursday.

"Keith Wilkowski, Democratic candidate for Toledo mayor, held a press conference today to outline his vision for the city. He is convinced that bringing jobs to Toledo and especially to downtown is of the utmost importance in the city's development."

Well, who doesn't believe bringing jobs to Toledo is important?

"He believes the city should build on the success of Fifth Third Field and advocates building the much-discussed new sports arena near the ballpark. East side residents oppose this view. He says that, among other things, building the arena on the east side is environmentally irresponsible because it would cover riverfront property with asphalt."

Ahh yes, the asphalt conundrum. I too had been someone who didn't like the idea of asphalt being laid down everywhere, but my mind was changed last Saturday at the Marina District meeting.

Simple rule of development: Asphalt is a fact of life. Get rid of your hang up with it. Without parking, you have nothing.

The architect hired by Pizzuti said that if you looked at an aerial photo of these new malls or "lifestyle centers" like Levis Commons in Perrysburg, you would be shocked at the amount of area that is dedicated to asphalt for parking. He said the key design issue is how the asphalt is laid out with the building development. Another developer told me that Toledo officials have a definite aversion with asphalt that could hinder the success of development projects. It's an issue. It's a necessary evil.

At the beginning of our group meeting last Saturday, Don Monroe, executive director of the River East Economic Revitalization Corp, told us that the most common development in the Marina District project will be asphalt. And we needed to come to grips with that fact.

A $60 million parking garage will probably prevent the east side from getting the arena. But I don't think anymore that surface parking is a reason not to put the arena on the east side. It probably doesn't have to be one 30 acre lot. A clever designer could come up with a way to lay those spaces out in a manner that is more pleasing to the area. There will be other developments in the Marina District, so there's no reason why some of that required parking couldn't be shared by an arena that's only used 120 days a year.

Here's the thing, the grand opening for a new sports arena anywhere in downtown Toledo is probably at least five years away. It won't happen during the next term of whoever is mayor. But the Marina District project will move forward and so will continued development on the west side of the river. I don't believe an arena is critical for Toledo's growth. If it happens, fine. It's a bonus. But people should and will move forward with the idea that it won't happen.

I doubt an east side/west side decision for the arena location will be made this year, although Ford might make a decision, so that it appears he's doing something on the issue. If it's on the west side, how long will it take to determine a site, acquire the land, prepare the land for development, and then build the arena? Three to five years from today? What about UT? Having the arena on the west side would make it easier to connect UT with downtown. These decisions won't happen quickly.

Unfortunately, the arena will probably be a campaign issue, although it shouldn't be. In my opinion, there are too many other ideas out there that will bring people downtown with much greater frequency than an arena will. Two or three of these other projects will bring more economic value to Toledo than one arena.
posted by jr at 09:43 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

Some info about Dublin's light rail system.





A story about Madrid's indoor ski slope.

"An indoor ski slope is making the winter sport available year-round in Madrid. The 17-storey Parque de Nieve, or Snow Park, is the centrepiece of the Madrid Xanadu, an enormous new shopping and leisure centre. The 250-metre-long slope is the largest indoor snow-sports facility in Europe."

"The Xanadu is open every day of the year. It is also home to 220 stores, restaurants and entertainment outlets, including nightclubs, movie theatres, go-carts and bowling."
posted by jr at 10:06 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

"... although Ford might make a decision, so that it appears he's doing something on the issue."

Correction, I believe it's City Council who decides on the arena location. It's not the Mayor's decision alone. Toledo must first decide if they want to commission Pizzuti/CSL to do the second phase of the arena study, which would look at site locations, costs, and financing. The city will probably have this second phase study done, which will delay the arena location decision until 2006.
posted by jr at 11:43 P.M. EST on Wed Jun 29, 2005     #

psyche777 writes: "I don't like many politicians, but I think Frank is okay. He responds which is more than I can say for some of them."

Just for context, how many politicians have you contacted and who were they?

jr writes: "Unfortunately, the arena will probably be a campaign issue, although it shouldn't be. In my opinion, there are too many other ideas out there that will bring people downtown with much greater frequency than an arena will. Two or three of these other projects will bring more economic value to Toledo than one arena."

Amen!
posted by intrepid at 03:13 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 30, 2005     #

The question would be more accurately who haven't I contacted. On a state, county and local level I have contacted numerous politicians same on a federal level. So to save time the list of those who have bothered to respond are as follows (I don't count an immediate form email thanking me for my comment as a response) I will also only list those currently in office now rather than in the past except to say my first response ever from a politician was President Carter.....

So here's who has responded:

Frank Szollosi
Marcy Kaptur
George Voinivich
Hillary Clinton
Mark Dann

I am involved in alot of different issues and I make it a point to give both negative and positive feedback to elected officials.

The person who ranks highest on my list of never having responded?

Governor Taft....
posted by psyche777 at 08:08 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 30, 2005     #

psyche777 - what about Ludeman, Betty Shultz, George Sarantou, Larry Kazcala, Maggie Thurber, Tina Wozniak and Pete Gerken (as commissioner or as councilman for both)?

I'm just curious...

I'm also not surprised about Taft...
posted by intrepid at 09:30 A.M. EST on Fri Jul 01, 2005     #

I have not contacted Thurber or Sarantou...the rest? When were contacted did not respond.

Not even a "thank you for your response".

Hillary Clinton (one of her staffers not her directly) has returned the best response so far which included three phone calls back on the issue I contacted her about. I made it clear I was an Ohio resident.

Nor did I pretend I was a fan of Hillary either, It's hard to do this and be fair because most of them involved different specific issues/questions/statements.
posted by psyche777 at 04:47 P.M. EST on Fri Jul 01, 2005     #

I've always been impressed with Thurber - she actually answers her own phone - which is why I asked. My friend always calls Betty Shultz and gets results. Thanks!

I, too, have contacted Voinovich and Dewine. It took three days for an automated response from Dewine, then the basic "thank you for sharing your thoughts - I'm always working for you" letter.
posted by intrepid at 05:03 P.M. EST on Fri Jul 01, 2005     #

You know who never returns my calls?

The one, the only - Duchess Karyn McConnell-Hancock. Without fail. Three times called, three times no return.

Also House Speaker Husted. He should have no excuse, with a staff of about 5 or 6 people. 4 calls, 4 no returns. I had the hardest time getting even a written response from his office.

No surprise, huh? What is worse is that many of my calls are as a writer. You would think that they would at least put on a show for the media, even peons like me.

What's worse with - K M-H: she had the goofiness to write to the editor of the paper in which it ran and criticize a piece I wrote; the irony is that she did not return my call for an interview (it was about legislation she sponsored).

You know who always calls back? Louis Escobar, Maggie Thurber, Peter Ujvagi. Each of the above has returned calls or emails promptly.

Need anything official from the city? Call Mary Chris Skeldon. Always returns calls, and forwards you to the right person. In every big organization, there are always a handful of people who know how to get things done. MCS is that person in Toledo.
posted by historymike at 05:38 P.M. EST on Fri Jul 01, 2005     #

Harry Barlos was really good about returning contact information, and so was Lynn Olman but I knew them both personally so it wouldn't be fair to count them.

That's why I give Frank high marks because I don't know him personally yet he always responds. Part of that is of course the whole blogosphere, I've commented on his and he's commented on mine. But even before then he responded to emails and quickly compared to most of the others.

I've been waiting for almost five days from the one lucas county dem sites the "A" team one for a request for information. So far not even a form email reply.....

Thanks for that tip historymike, as I do have questions from time to time. Calling them is more effective than email and thanks for your info too intrepid, I had pretty much given up on any responses from the County now that Harry is gone.
posted by psyche777 at 12:55 A.M. EST on Sat Jul 02, 2005     #

> Harry Barlos was really good about returning contact information ....

Yes, and what happened to him ...?

swd
posted by swd at 12:28 P.M. EST on Mon Jul 04, 2005     #

Harry Barlos: loyal party politician who was thrown to the wolves when Gerken was annointed heir unapparent by the UAW and Lloyd Mahaffey.

I did not always agree with Harry, but he was a principled man, and seemed to have a quality - honesty - rare among local politicos.

Good quote about Barlos from Lynn Olman, a Republican:
"Three words come to mind when I think of Harry Barlos: Thoughtful, deliberate, and honest... I count Harry Barlos among a very select group of public officials that I consider the hardest working, most dedicated, and greatest bargains for the taxpayers."
posted by historymike at 12:40 P.M. EST on Mon Jul 04, 2005     #

Just to keep track.........I have had occasion to contact Maggie Thurber, Bob McCloskey, Rob Ludeman, Marcy Kaptur and Peter Ujvagi. ALL of them have returned my calls promptly, and when necessary/requested, met with me to discuss issues relating to Toledo and Lucas County.

The one that I contacted repeatedly for 17 MONTHS to schedule a 5-minute meeting was Jack Ford. After 17 months I managed to corner him at a public meeting and his response was to stare past me like I wasn't there.

I never met Harry Barlos, but have always heard he is a stand-up guy. I wish him well.

I can tell you that the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease! hahahahaha
posted by DoknowDocare at 10:20 P.M. EST on Mon Jul 04, 2005     #

> Harry Barlos: loyal party politician who was thrown to the wolves when Gerken was annointed heir unapparent by the UAW and Lloyd Mahaffey.

Yes ... imho, it says a lot, a lot not very good, about Lucas county (aka Toledo) voters when they didn't re-elect him out of sheer bloody-mindedness.

swd
posted by swd at 05:26 P.M. EST on Tue Jul 05, 2005     #

New Urbanism projects near Indianapolis.

"Duke Realty Corp. and Republic Development Corp. are building the type of massive, master-planned projects that have thrived in the Sunbelt but are nearly unknown in Central Indiana. "There's a leap of faith," said Rick Arnos, president of Toledo, Ohio-based Republic."

"Both projects employ a design concept called "new urbanism" to create a Mayberry feel. They will add 3,700 housing units to the metro area and millions of square feet of commercial space. They will be under construction for 15 years. Nestled in the middle of Saxony will be Simon Property Group's Hamilton Town Center, a 97-acre, $100 million open-air mall that will include offices and homes."

"That style and philosophy of development abhors the patterns of modern suburbia: people living in subdivisions that are separate from the strip mall centers where they shop and from the offices where they work. New urbanism tries to gather homes, shops and offices around a town center. It preaches smaller house lots, garages on alleys and front porches -- all to promote neighborliness. It tries to limit the need for cars and make a community "walkable." "
posted by jr at 10:27 P.M. EST on Sun Jul 10, 2005     #

Re: Attracting UT Students to Downtown Toledo
(notes for the New Urbanists)

Bringing UT basketball downtown is a great idea but at this point the suggestion is not being taken even a little bit seriously by anyone at UT. If the city really wants the Rockets to play downtown, they need to convince city taxpayers to in large part subsidize a new arena. The University has great infrastructure needs and very limited resources. A subsidy/incentives package might be attractive to them. But appealing to their civic pride will get us nowhere. Presently the idea has zero appeal to the administration or trustees and the students hate it.

Free or reduced fare on TARTA would help get more students downtown. TARTA could seek levy funds for a subsidized "student rate" and perhaps ask the university to match it through the Student General Fee.

The proposed nightclub district is also a major step in the right direction. Music venues need to be encouraged to welcome (rather than scorn) patrons 18-21. A trolly or late night TARTA service busing students back to the campus area would also be very appealing.

The Monroe Street "Avenue of the Arts" could (as suggested) be developed as a location for student art studios and live/work spaces.

In response to some of the comments from the minutes, I want to emphasize that the University is focused more or less exclusively on the Bancroft campus and the surrounding area. With the number of commuter students dropping each year (and with UT decisionmakers wishing they'd disappear completely), the school sees itself less and less connected to (and therefor invested in) the community. The city has limited leverage in dealing with UT and so far most of city politicians' energies have been focused on vilifying UT students living in off-campus neighborhoods.

We need greater engagement between the city and university on a broad array of issues related to urban revitalization and quality of student life. The university has to be shown the tangible benefits of investing in the broader community.
posted by BenToledo at 09:47 A.M. EST on Mon Jul 11, 2005     #

I attended tonight's New Urbanism meeting at the Downtown Latte. The meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month, and they start at 5:30. The emphasis is for me, since I thought it started at 6:30. I missed the first 45 minutes, which meant I also missed the presentation on the proposed Uptown Arts and Entertainment Village, planned for the Adams Street area.

From last week's Blade:

"Members of the Uptown District Association, a collection of business owners, appeared before council's economic development committee with a proposed ordinance establishing an entertainment district in the area. The 230-acre district would extend from Michigan Street to Collingwood Boulevard, and roughly from Jackson Street to Washington Street, including the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, but stopping just short of the Toledo Museum of Art."

"While most of the council committee members' statements, particularly those of Chairman Frank Szollosi, were supportive, some voiced concern. Councilman Michael Ashford wondered about the size of the district and whether limiting the area to 15 liquor permits might be less advantageous than if multiple districts were established in the same area."

I didn't notice any mayoral candidates or council people at tonight's meeting. The arts village presentation was given to roughly 30 people at the Latte. I got to see a blank screen. The conversation, however, continued for another hour or so, covering topics such as market rate housing, security, activities for the youth, renting versus owning, and liquor licenses.

Speaking of liquor licenses, the Downtown Latte now sells bottled beer and wine by the glass.

At tonight's meeting, I learned of a plan to build a new courthouse in downtown Toledo, with the current one becoming the new home for UT's law school. Fact or fiction?

I also learned that $150,000 worth of art has been purchased or will be purchased and will be displayed along the Monroe Avenue for the Arts from the Maumee River to the Art Museum. The art is a mix of murals, sculptures, and something else.

Someone mentioned Lake Erie West in a positive light as a way to market the area, recommending that all references to northwest Ohio be changed to Lake Erie West.

And I don't know any more. I missed the main part. I guess some kind "charette" for the Uptown A&E Village is planned for a future date.
posted by jr at 07:44 P.M. EST on Tue Jul 26, 2005     #

Wilkowski has been the one most visibly touting the relocation of UT's Law School downtown (scroll about halfway down):

http://www.nordiconusa.com/communications2.html

I am not sure if Wilkowski came up with this one, or picked up the ball and ran with it, but it is a decent idea. The courts and most major law offices are downtown, and it would be a good way to give a small burst of activity that might help jump start the area.
posted by historymike at 08:28 P.M. EST on Tue Jul 26, 2005     #

I stumbled across this study about sprawl. The report was produced by Smart Growth America back in 2002. 83 urban metro areas were studied.

The top 5 worse areas for sprawl:

1. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.
2. Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.
3. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
4. Atlanta
5. Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.


The least sprawling areas (bottom five on the ranking)

79. Honolulu
80. San Francisco
81. Providence-Pawtucket-Woonsocket, R.I.
82. Jersey City, N.J.
83. New York


Toledo ranked 53rd out of 83. Complete ranking.

Toledo: "Overall Sprawl Index Score: 107.19
ranking it 53rd most sprawling of 83 metro areas measured. A lower score on the index indicates a greater degree of sprawl. The average score for all metros ranked is 100. A lower score indicates below average conditions among these 83 US metro areas: for example, less compact housing, a poorer mix of homes and jobs, poor street connectivity, or weaker than average town centers. A score above 100 indicates above average performance, when compared to the other metro areas ranked. Most metro areas score between 50 and 150 on the scale."


According to the 2000 census, the Toledo area has a population of 618,203. A couple of stats for Toledo:

Daily Miles Driven per person (DVMT): 23.7
Fatal accidents per 100,000 persons: 14.07
Percent of commuters using Transit: 1.45 %
Percent commuters walking to work: 2.44 %

And finally, the one stat we're familiar with ...

Average Commute Time, in minutes: 20.47
posted by jr at 07:58 A.M. EST on Thu Jul 28, 2005     #

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