Category Archives: Planning

Own The Sidewalk

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

This post, written by Joe Nickol, co-founder of StreetSense.Org, stands on its own (we don’t normally post an ENTIRE piece by some else) as to the critical role that working sidewalks serve in municipalities of ALL sizes. As we complete the build-out of Round … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Children, Community, Economics, Planning, Seniors, Walkability | Leave a comment

Density Done Well

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

One reason so many people have been attracted to (the idea of) the suburbs is to “get away from the crowds” in the cities. The American Dream came in a lot of flavors, and most of them included the idea of … Continue reading →

Posted in Planning, Walkability | Leave a comment

Bicycle Tourism I

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

What’s the potential for Round Lake Beach to capture a piece of the “Bicycle Tourism”  action once both of the following are finished: – the Rollins Road & Rt. 83 interchange work – Millenium Trail (and connectors) It’s not too early to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Economics, Planning | Leave a comment

Can RLB become a “Great Place”?

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

Does your dream of “doing something” with Round Lake Beach end almost as soon as it starts, with the realization that we just don’t have the budget to do very much? There is a critical part near the beginning of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Planning, Walkability | Leave a comment

STROADS

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

(Chuck Mahron of Strong Towns has a great perspective on one of our biggest infrastructure challenges. We begin with his definition of a common feature in American municipalities, examine how that effects us locally, and finish with his video presentation … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Economics, Planning, Transit | Leave a comment

Low-value neighborhoods by design: Parks I

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

Steve Mouzon (head of Mouzon Design, an architecture and urban design firm) makes it pretty clear why our newer subdivisions have such a lousy relationship to the open spaces (mostly parks) contained within. This leads to these parks and spaces being greatly under-utilized and having … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Parks, Planning, Walkability | Leave a comment

Farmers Markets & Low-Income Communities

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

“Will we ever get a Farmers’ Market here in the Round Lake area?” We hear that question a lot, and will continue to explore that over several posts like this one, which deals with a common mis-perception about the cost … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Farmers' Markets, Local Food Production, Planning | Leave a comment

Snowy cul-de-sacs cost more in city services

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

Now that the snow has finally arrived, this article [.pdf] in “Milwaukee Magazine” might be of interest for those of us living in the newer part of town on the north side. At some point we have all experienced the effects of traveling through a neighborhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction / Maintenance, Economics, Planning | Leave a comment

“As land use planning changes, ‘zoning’ is no longer appropriate”

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

If you’ve read anything in this blog yet, you’ve quickly discovered that we’re not big fans of “Zoning”, legislating land use based on function or use, and then only single-use at that. Fortunately, there is a rapidly-spreading awareness of everything we’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Economics, Planning, Transit, Walkability | Leave a comment

“Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” Works!

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Ed Fuhrmann

Here’s another example of what can happen when the people actually living and working in a place get to decide what to do with it! The Department of Transportation (DOT) approved the Fulton Area Business (FAB) Alliance’s application to make the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Planning | Leave a comment