Yay! Feedback!
I got a lot of positive responses to last week’s post about the potential of Ferry Street. Thanks for sharing your reactions and thoughts! Here are a few notes I got (keeping anonymous as I didn’t ask to share publicly):
- Great ideas! The only people I ever see parked on the north side of Ferry Street are people who could just as easily park in the ferry lot. They do need to make a pathway through the shrubbery/mulched area in between. Not sure of the alley he talks about but I’d like to see some picnic tables and benches in that park at the beginning of the bike path. They took away the broken ones but haven’t replaced them.
- It’s a fun place to be in the evening and I can only imagine it will improve with the restaurants opening. They would need more benches to accommodate those waiting for tables as used to happen when Margaret’s was open.
- I said this very thing 3 weeks ago! Cool opportunity for the town to support these businesses and create a destination
- There is even more going on right around the corner from Ferry St at the Art Loft at 7 Water Street. Fairhaven artist Tena Collyer has gathered a vibrant collection of art materials and also offers classes for kids and adults. And the Euro Ship Store is a good source of clothes
Weird! Robots
Inspired by Better Streets AI, I attempted to create more of a visual for what it could look like. Dall-E can be both magical and super weird. Most of my results were of the eerie variety, but here are a couple that might work if you squint.
I’m no planner or designer, but you get the basic idea. Most people I talk to about this block immediately get it. After all, the type of place I’m talking about— a pedestrian-friendly street where commerce, recreation, and social activity take place— is the most tried and true version of a street in human history.
So how can we make something like this happen?
In this case, it makes sense for the owners of these businesses and properties to initiate the conversation with the town. While we currently are without a town planner, I’m sure the businesses could approach the planning department and have a conversation about what’s possible. My hope would be that this conversation would focus on the following:
What can we all do tomorrow to better accommodate the people who are increasingly coming to this block?
What’s the smallest, cheapest thing that we can try? Preferably something that doesn’t involve lengthy meetings, political battles, or special grants. Outdoor furniture? Paint to mimic an extended curb and make pedestrians more welcome in the street? Decorative lights across the street? Move a couple of jersey barriers from behind the old Elisabeth’s to the front of the block?
Let’s Walk Before We… Engage Multiple Stakeholders and Use Lots of Post-It Notes
In recent talks with planning officials and longtime bike advocates, I’ve heard of the beautifully designed bike lanes and other proposed fixes to this block and beyond that are saved in digital folders somewhere. These plans were made years ago and discussed with funders and regional planning officials. Somewhere along the line, personnel changed over, funders lost interest, and energy moved on to other places. The plans have gathered dust and Ferry Street remains as it was, an overlooked gem.
Before we start talking plans again, I’m proposing we move straight to action. Not big, permanent, expensive scary action. Small, reversible, cheap, and safe action. Nudge, observe, tweak. What USAF Colonel John Boyd named the OODA Loop. With a little time and tinkering, I bet we could get even more people out here (particularly with the new restaurants opening in the coming months). This noticeable change will create natural momentum and a larger constituency for future plans as they become more viable. And even if the larger plans, projects, and grants fall through, we’ll still have progress!
Calling All Humans of Fairhaven
In our next Bikeways Committees meeting (hit me up if you want to join us!), we’ll be discussing how we can apply this kind of approach to streets throughout town. We’re inviting BPW leaders to join this discussion. Ultimately, we’re hoping we can create an action-oriented team whose work is driven by the current needs of people out on our streets every day. This is big tent work! Here are some of our valued constituents:
People walking their pups
Kids tasting the freedom that comes with biking to their friends’ houses or to school
Elders walking their neighborhood streets
Disabled folks using the bike path to get to Stop N Shop
Workers commuting to and from New Bedford
Neighbors kept up by the speedway outside of their door
Drivers who don’t want a trip to the store to include the calculus of kill or be killed.
And of course, MAMIL’s (Middle-Aged Men in Lycra)!
We all deserve safe, thriving, livable streets that build wealth for Fairhaven over the long term. This kind of street costs the same (or sometimes less) to create and way less to maintain than poorly designed ones. This old town has great bones. We just need to build some more muscle. Let’s start with some easy lifting and get our reps in.