(2.21.17) Picture this: Coming together on a Tuesday – late afternoon are a police captain, a landscape architect, an urban designer, an urban planner, a foundation “dude”, a librarian, a coordinator for Safe Routes to School, and six youths from Making Our Own Space. The setting is the Rice Library—a hub of neighborhood activity.
The meeting was being facilitated by Indigo Bishop of ioby, the organization’s local action hero. What brought us together? The answer is Ms. Lucille White, a local crossing guard whose concern for kids and love of place is as deep as Lake Erie.
The purpose of the meeting discuss options and strategies to calm traffic on a very busy street as part of an ioby-sponsored project. We brainstormed ideas and tactics – from a force field to speed bumps, to more police enforcement, to decoys, signage and more. Having representatives from government on hand helped us understand which interventions are illegal and which are semi-legal. Having the youth in the room helped us think beyond our default solutions. After spirited dialogue, we did decide on some first steps. Step-one is to spend a little more time observing and measuring. My homework assignment is to look into force fields.
Stay tuned as the story unfolds.
By: Nelson Beckford
Senior Program Officer, A Strong Neighborhood
Saint Luke’s Foundation