Image: JamisonThis shot is of a bus stop bulbout in Barcelona, Spain. Their solution to the potentially expensive prospect of uprooting utility lines and redesigning gutters and storm drains? Just drop a free-standing slab of concrete in top of the asphalt. Viola, instant bulbout!
I had a similar idea for bicycle parking, one that would allow DPT to add bike parking where it was needed quickly and cheaply. My artistically amazing sketch of that idea after the jump.
San Francisco is so sorely in need of bike parking that City Attorney Dennis Herrera went to court seeking an exemption to the bike plan injunction in order to install some new racks (he was denied). And the city is full of narrow sidewalks clogged with patient Muni riders waiting for the bus - sidewalks that need to be expanded.If opponents argue that the cost of street redesign is prohibitive to implementing such simple complete streets features as bike parking and sidewalk extensions, let's remove that obstacle.
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2 comments:
Oakland's sidewalk bulbs on Grand Avenue were built this same way, with a grate on top instead of utility relocation, although there the concrete was formed in place instead of prefabricated. It must have been a lot cheaper than moving the sewers would have been.
Great catch! Indeed there are several examples like that in the city (45 stop on 3rd btw Brannan and Townsend; 27 stop on O'Farrell btw Jones and Taylor). It's a great solution.
One extra advantage to having some free-floating ones is the possibility of adding them temporarily a la Pavement to Parks. Get some empirical evidence to help the bulbout through the EIR process!
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