Right Now Downtown

GEARED UP

It’s time to gear up in every possible sense of the word.  Bike to Work Week starts May 4, so check your bike gears (plus brakes, bolts n’ chains) and all the other essential gear for the daily commute.

The yearly gear-check isn’t difficult.  It’s like riding a bike, once you learn how… Oh!  You’ve heard that one?

HEAD GEAR
Biking is more than physical activity; it’s social and intellectual too.  Learn the lingo (insiders call the event “B2WW”) and more information about savvy biking at considerbiking.org.

PARTY GEAR
Mayor Coleman himself is due to arrive around 8:30 am on May 11 at the big bike party on downtown’s Statehouse Lawn.  Snacks, coffee and live music await the Mayor and fellow bikers.  He’ll also share some great news about the expanding future of biking in Columbus.

COMPETITION GEAR
Capital Crossroads SID is teaming up with Consider Biking to rate downtown businesses to determine which has THE most bike-friendly workplace; keep an eye out for the results on downtowncolumbus.com.  PLUS, considerbiking.org  is hosting a competition to reward businesses that log the most bike-miles and replace the most auto-commutes.

GEAR SHIFT
Matt Warholic made the shift to biking about a year ago, and has mostly raves: “It has been the least stressful.  No traffic to deal with, no parking issues…  The bike is also handy to have during the day as it expands my options for where I can travel for lunch, and gives me a chance to experience the outdoors in a fun way on a nice day.”

The downside?  Warholic warns, “Don’t try carrying a coffee and sandwich.”

Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty to eat downtown – and it still beats grinding those car gears amidst this season’s road construction projects.

Nothing beats sitting in a baseball park on a warm day, particularly when the backdrop is the downtown skyline and the team is part of the Cleveland Indians.  Downtown gained another huge amenity on April 18, when Huntington Park opened.

Huntington Park’s downtown location has many advantages.  It is accessible by public transit, with nine local COTA bus lines within three blocks.  The new ball park has more than a dozen restaurants within walking distance that can capture business from the park.

Those neighboring restaurants have a good chance to capture baseball traffic because the limited parking at Huntington Park requires that most people walk several blocks past eating and watering holes.  Its proximity to Nationwide Arena further bolsters dining and retail development in the area, because baseball is counter-cyclical to hockey.

Huntington Park is a smart addition to a well designed neighborhood.  I cannot imagine how it could have been better designed or sited.

SMOKIN’ HOT

Stop, drop and roll your eyes.  When the fire alarms sound, that’s the normal human response.  Isn’t it always some hoax?  It’s a distraction where hoards of good people end up in the cold or rain without purse, keys or iPod.

Those who exited the Atlas Building earlier this month weren’t being pranked.   There was real smoke and a serious electrical fire.  Stuff happens.  Do you know what to do if it happens to you?

William Hall knows what to do.  He’s the President of the Central Ohio Fire Museum, and he’s also a firefighter.  At the downtown museum, it’s his business to educate people of all ages about fire safety.  Keep in mind these two things…

1.  Know Your Escape Route.
He says that every building must have escape routes posted.  In fact, he points out an interesting new architectural trend:  “In modern buildings, you’ll often see exit signs posted near the floor… that’s so people can see them if they’re crawling.”

2.  Don’t Take the Elevator.
But why?  Because elevators can malfunction in horrific ways.  The keypads can interpret the fire’s heat as a floor summons.  Any elevator could deliver riders right to the center of the flames.

Beyond that, firefighters can override those malfunctions and use the elevator for transport… if it’s available.

While fires are frightening things, the Central Ohio Fire Museum is lovely.  It’s filled to the hilt with the magnetic glory and heroism of firefighting.  You can learn more at the museum’s Web site: centralohiofiremuseum.com.

I just returned from a trip to Toronto.  Toronto offers a great public realm.  Public transit, parks, free-standing stores on public sidewalks, and other public amenities make this city civilized and livable.  Toronto prides itself on being the most ethnically mixed city in the world, yet I saw no racial tension.  Sharing communal space seems to improve its social health.

The trip made me think of a Columbus experience I had several years ago when I took my kids to the Ohio State Fair on COTA.  COTA’s #8 line had a reputation for being its “baddest” bus.  As I boarded with my three kids, one of whom was in a stroller, the two older kids ran to the back of the bus.  I followed.

On the back bench were five black teenage boys.  They wore baggy pants and slouched on their seats.  I immediately braced myself for profanity and trouble.

After the bus traveled a couple of blocks, I noticed my toddler making funny faces.  I followed her eyes to the back bench.  There, the boys were playing peek-a-boo.  I felt ashamed.  I’ll never forget that ride on COTA.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE HOT DOG STAND

The big debut of Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace (248 S. Fourth Street) is right around the corner.  No, seriously this time.  Everything that could possibly go amuck has already gotten mucked up.  Think it’s easy to open a restaurant?  Tell that to industry veteran, Liz Lessner.

Cuz it takes more than duct table.
As it turns out, Dirty Frank’s reasonable-looking address was in need of an extra makeover.  Liz details the horrifying process of discovery, “We thought the space needed a fresh coat of paint, but it was, in fact, out-of-code in just about every aspect imaginable.”  Her story ends in this magical phrase: gutted to the studs.

Cuz it’s about the money, honey.
More specifically, it’s about the entire meltdown of the mortgage industry.  Think it’s hard to get a home loan?  Try securing a commercial loan on a new business venture.

Cuz you gotta speak in code.
Even when you’ve finally got the money (honey), the economy can still throw major curves.  Said Liz, “The City of Columbus laid off most of its Building Services Department the week we needed to file for permits.  We were promised a twenty-day turnaround… it took nearly sixty days to get our permits.”

And does Lessner still love it all?  You betcha.  That’s what makes her a champ (and not a chump).  At the end of the day, she still says, “When setting up shop, there was no place I wanted to be but downtown.”

BUCK UP BUTTERCUP

Where did this panic come from?  Who, exactly, said that there would be no kickball on the Statehouse lawn?  The sky is not falling.  There will be kickball, and it is still welcome on the Statehouse lawn…

One night a week.

Which might not be all bad.  Even if the League has to schedule all its games on one night.  We’ve got a proud downtown kickball history to celebrate:

We Brought It to Columbus
Okay, kickball was allegedly invented during WWII by American GI’s, but downtown Columbus made it cool.  What started as an urban phenomenon has now spread to Grandview, Clintonville, the Short North, Gahanna, and beyond.

It’s Infectious
Players don’t need to be all-star athletes, just good sports.  In fact, over the years, we’ve grown to host 32 spirited teams.

It’s Brainy
There’s a good dose of creativity at work too.  Last year’s team names included the punny Kickin’ Some Hine and some downright bawdy names.  And we are ever hopeful that the New Kicks on the Block perform better than their musical counterpart.

So let’s keep the momentum, let’s keep the ball rollin’.  Real world kickball is way better than Wii, any day!

For more kickball info, click here.

I keep reading about the development of “green” buildings on the outerbelt.  Can a building really be “green” if it is part of an environmental catastrophe?  Low-density sprawl consumes a huge amount of energy and land.  Any environmental benefit from waterless toilets must surely be offset by the acres of SUVs parked outside the bathroom.

My favorite “green” company is Wal-Mart.  The company that destroys walkable retails districts, fuels auto dependency, and probably belches more carbon into the atmosphere than any entity in the world from its shipping operations, now sells square milk cartons and concentrated detergent as part of its “green” initiative.  Thanks, Wal-Mart!

In my mind, “green” is more than a few building or inventory modifications.  “Green” is a lifestyle that involves owning less stuff, buying local, living in smaller houses and lots, and using public transit, bicycles and sidewalks.  It is living close to work and within walking distance of retail services.  It is recycling neighborhoods, including retail space, rather than building new.

“Green” takes some effort.  A “green” Wal-Mart is an oxymoron.

Sights like these are a welcomed sign that spring is upon us and that winter may finally be behind us. Workers were diligently planting flowers Wednesday in the planters in front of the Huntington Building on High Street.