Sitting-friendly does not mean the same thing as "Joy Priority, Expressed with Convivial Design".
Join me on G Street…
I'm not discussing here the fight to make it happen, the politicians who voted against it, the free car parking entitlement, and the process to get us to this point…
I visited early on Saturday afternoon, January 25th, 2 days before the ribbon cutting..
Please see photos with captions.
It's incomplete and it's not clear why they are doing an opening event at this time. But I will say that the only clear positive thing about it is that it's much quieter than the rest of Downtown at that time of day. At the time I compared it to the corner of 2nd St and E St, where one could barely hear the sound of a violin over all the engine noise. Nearly all of Downtown is like that, vibration pollution squashing any notion of genius loci.
Unfortunately, a significant proportion or perhaps the majority of people will drive to get here. The title of what I'm writing at you now refers to "bicycle-friendly", our City's delusional compliment about itself: It's designed for cars, but bikes are accepted in some places.
Comments:
The varied types of seating seem to be well used, though demand is very low right now.
There's only two intentional ADA compliant seating spaces, in the typical 3/4 configuration, but it's not clear if people will be able to move to a free table if a space is needed and there's no space for a couple using wheelchairs, which may also be a oversight of ADA, but it reflects an ugly assumption.
The bicycle parking is reduced compared to the prior configuration and it's nearly all full now, which is a problem since there's hardly anybody here… Most of the bike parking is at the south end. There's nothing specifically for larger bikes such as cargo bikes or bikes with trailers.
As I understand it, restaurants here will be able to rent spaces on the platforms and displace existing furniture and spots to sit in… If I have this correct, it means a lot less general public seating. This will create conflicts if the exclusive seating is empty and the public seating is full.
The total number of proper seats at tables is well less than the number of Commissioners which were eliminated in the recent Purge led by the mayor.
Tables, for example, in Central Park allow groups of perhaps eight people to sit together. The tables here only allow four.
The wood and cube formed feeding block things encourage climbing, which means that they'll be filthy very quickly and not very conducive to seating for many. Certainly, kids should not be discouraged from climbing, but there's not any climbing specific equipment here.
There's no food available at windows on the sidewalks. There's a coffee shop and a tea place, but it's not clear if they or the restaurants etc. will platform-ize.
There's a provision for sun shades only on the tables and it's not clear who will put these up and take them down everyday, or if they will be locked in place overnight during the summer… The other seating has no shading at all
It's not clear to me how the unshaded seating will perform when it's in the sun for hours during the summer. The platform material will likely create an issue.
The existing street surface is incredibly ugly and actually forms a centerpiece for the whole thing. One of the videos at the link is 180° shot of the street street. From the perspective one of those yellow two-person one-sided tables. It's all ugly, asphalt and parked cars.
The white colored pavers or whatever on the platforms show dirt really easily and will look like crap immediately.
Bright headlights from cars coming north from 2nd Street and turning left or right from southbound G Street at 3rd Street will all pierce the eyeballs of everyone sitting at both ends or actually most of the street. I had actually made a specific point about this to city staff months ago but got no reaction.
There's an absurdly insufficient number of trash and recycling receptacles.
The vertical poles holding up the string lights are dark and may have insufficient contrast from the street etc. Especially at night. This might be an ADA oversight. Some high curbs were eliminated, which is positive.
What's happening with the two empty store fronts?
Thanks for reading!
Davisite 
Leave a reply to Roberta L. Millstein Cancel reply