The Dutch city of Den Bosch has about the same population density as Cottonwood Heights (around 3,600 people per square mile). It is impressive what a city can accomplish when investing in quality public infrastructure rather than speculating in commercial real estate.
A Saturday view at the entrance to SuperCoop, a supermarket located at Rompertsebaan, Den Bosch, NL
Making better use of space
The public right of way of both these streets is similar. ~ 80 to 85 feet.
How the same space is used can make all the difference.
Source: Google Maps
Den Bosch's version of Ft. Union Blvd is a 2.5-mile road called Rompertsebaan. How is it possible that Dutch traffic engineers can manage to provide protected bike lanes on both sides while carrying a similar load of cars as Ft. Union Blvd and, on top of that, their road also hosts 4 regular bus routes? The secret is a design speed of 30mph (50kph), avoid repeated hard stops from frequent stop lights & signs and get rid of the useless median and provide the necessary buffer space to yield while turning only at intersections. This Dutch Street is also a goldmine of tax revenue for the municipality, with commercial and housing assets willing to pay a premium to be there; getting ample money to pay for the maintenance of the road rather than subsidizing development.
Because both these roads traverse the length of their respective city, a person can experience the different transects that make up their respective ecosystem. Their diverse housing options; from apartments to single family neighborhoods, schools, shops, post office, supermarkets, cafes, parks, etc. However the Dutch example accomplishes to do this at a lesser cost and higher quality without the need to add any more space for cars compared to Ft. Union.
Quality of Life
Safety, noise reduction, and a sense of place are the benefits that a good planned city offers to its residents. Comparing these two approaches to city design, we can easily see which one offers a higher quality of life. However, for city officials the benefits don't stop there. The productivity per acre (tax revenues) of the Dutch example is much higher than that of Ft. Union's and the amount of asphalt required for maintenence is almost half. More revenue and less expenses = a better city budget.
That's the formula for becoming a truly sustainable city.
Last, a properly planned city is naturally a bad place for billboards. So, an additional benefit of good planning is getting rid of the endless stream of signs polluting the beautiful views of our city. Doesn't it make better sense to build good places that naturally repel billboards rather than just erratically trying to ban them?
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Ft. Union Blvd. with its poor design, is an attractive place for billboards of all sizes.
Source: Facebook
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