State Street Mall and Library Mall continue to be a major bicycle thoroughfare as well as a pedestrian mall. During a 2013 traffic count, the design team clocked 1000 bicyclists entering the project area in one day. Of those 1000, more than 900 disregarded the posted prohibition of riding on the mall. This number suggests […]
Read more about "State Street Mall Great Placemaking Idea #4: Tasteful Use of Artistic Bike Racks to Help Brand the Space"
For great Placemaking idea #3 we’ll take a walk. To walk through the Library and State Street Malls is to experience history. As the primary nexus of activity on the east end of campus and the gateway between the university and Madison’s downtown, this area is rife with historical significance. Renovations and updates to such […]
Read more about "State Street Mall Great Placemaking Idea #3: Redesign the Fountain as an Interactive Water Feature"
Currently, the Library Mall lacks suitable shade structures or comfortable seating (see image below, top), even when it is not under construction. The 700 and 800 blocks of State Street currently offer seating, but it is fixed, made of concrete, and awkwardly arranged in the middle of a pedestrian through-way around a 70s-era speaker podium […]
Read more about "State Street Mall Great Placemaking Idea #2: Flexible shade and seating"
One of the most important aspects of proper placemaking, according to the Project for Public Spaces, is this: “The Community is the Expert.” When the State Street Mall design team asked the public for their suggestions and ideas of how to improve one of Madison’s iconic public spaces, a frequently recurring comment was that Library […]
Read more about "Idea 1 of 8 Great Placemaking Ideas For The State Street Mall Renovation"
We are quite familiar with data from across the country which shows that people are driving less, taking public transit more and choosing to live in places which allow them to walk and bike to work. Studies are showing that these changes are likely to persist – with fewer Americans opting for a car-dependent lifestyle […]
Read more about "Transportation Trends – Why Wisconsin is no exception"
Introduction While current students may not remember a time when Library Mall was not under construction, the space is as central to the identity of the University of Wisconsin as the Memorial Union is and has an even longer history. The 700 – 800 blocks of State Street are the primary gateway between the UW-Madison […]
Read more about "8 Great Placemaking Ideas for the State Street Mall Renovation – Introduction to the Series"