Paramount Theatre
Austin Visions
RECEIVED Wed., June 2, 2010
Dear Editor,
My vision for Austin: We need multiuse buildings: retail/restaurants on first/second floor, offices on third/fourth, residences on fifth/sixth, but in a less claustrophobic step pattern, not a straight vertical face from street level. Space for alfresco dining at sidewalk/second floor level; elevated bikeways on major streets for safety, speed, and comfort; elevated rail on major streets; creeks become greenbelts with bikeways; a bike-friendly Longhorn Dam; I-35 improved and widened; 360, 71, and 290 become freeways without stoplights; all roads need more right-hand turn lanes; all new construction must be superinsulated and have solar and rain collection systems; incentives for traditional Texas architecture elements: tall ceilings and windows, shiplap, limestone, porches, and bungalow decoration; Fredericksburg-style sidewalks; East Riverside turned into a San Antonio-style River Walk; bus stops recessed so stopped buses don't stop traffic; more rail and bus service, afterschool programs, pools, community gardens, and Stacey Park-like runoff controls; a cypress tree planting program where water collects; a 2,000-acre lake for wind craft called Lake Stevie Ray east of 183 on the Colorado; funding from taxes on corporate banks and gas stations in Travis County.
My vision for Austin: We need multiuse buildings: retail/restaurants on first/second floor, offices on third/fourth, residences on fifth/sixth, but in a less claustrophobic step pattern, not a straight vertical face from street level. Space for alfresco dining at sidewalk/second floor level; elevated bikeways on major streets for safety, speed, and comfort; elevated rail on major streets; creeks become greenbelts with bikeways; a bike-friendly Longhorn Dam; I-35 improved and widened; 360, 71, and 290 become freeways without stoplights; all roads need more right-hand turn lanes; all new construction must be superinsulated and have solar and rain collection systems; incentives for traditional Texas architecture elements: tall ceilings and windows, shiplap, limestone, porches, and bungalow decoration; Fredericksburg-style sidewalks; East Riverside turned into a San Antonio-style River Walk; bus stops recessed so stopped buses don't stop traffic; more rail and bus service, afterschool programs, pools, community gardens, and Stacey Park-like runoff controls; a cypress tree planting program where water collects; a 2,000-acre lake for wind craft called Lake Stevie Ray east of 183 on the Colorado; funding from taxes on corporate banks and gas stations in Travis County.
Gianmarco Conegliano