more with the lanes

Tonight I walked through the centre of the city after work from waymouth across to the excellent bicycle express store on halifax to buy some new handlebar tape for my bike. I had forgotten just how big (geographically) the cbd here actually is and how a few streets is actually quite a long way. I also can't believe still, how much the city just dies after hours. Even on a Friday with late night shopping the people just vanish once you get beyond the immediate vicinity of Rundle Mall. Its actually quite scary when you get off the main roads.

Having said that, I was most excited to be able to walk much of the way through some of the very urban looking side lanes that join the major streets and I have to admit to even walking past a couple of nice looking pubs I didn't know existed. I couldn't stop thinking about how we could/should/must make these lanes a more integral and accessible part of the urban fabric. Not to want to become a replica Melbourne, but you do have to acknowledge that it is a city that has embraced the human scaled and inviting aspects of the laneways that we simply haven't done here. Adelaide just isn't pedestrian friendly and its certainly not a city that you would say is just waiting to be 'discovered' on foot. There is no invitation to wander. It's a city for walking in straight lines and getting from A to B during office hours before the 5:30 exodus.

What makes really appealing cities in my view, is an environment built to human scale and with limited vehicular traffic. Think the Covent Garden, Soho, Leicester Square areas of London. Lots of activity in a dense and compact area all accessible on foot and begging to be walked through. Think 3-4 storey buildings with minimal setbacks on narrow lanes. There is nothing like being lost in a city and then just walking around until you find yourself.

So what should we do? well, how about improving pedestrian access on some of the cool north/south running lanes throughout the city and promoting small shops, cafes, offices and apartments to open on to them. Maybe start with a small precinct like the ones near the central markets and get a whole network linked together so that you can actually walk more than a hundred metres without having to cross six lanes of traffic! How about getting some people living and working in buildings that interact with the street rather than just turning a cold shoulder.

more on that to come.