05 Guidelines Publicrealm 2007

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V Public Realm Elements

The public realm is the most important aspect of any urban environment; it is

what shapes the physical and visual experience of the place. Priority has been

given to the design of the public realm at the Promenade sites so that it is more

accessible, more usable and more integrated into the city. The following pages

define and explain the public realm elements which are key to the success of

making the Promenade sites an amenity to the entire city of Memphis.

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The Public Realm Plan

There are four key elements in the

public realm at the Promenade

sites: the upper promenade, the

lower promenade, the east-west

connections, and Front Street.

The public realm area constitutes

a little more than six acres, or

more than 60% of the total site

area.

The integration of these four ele-

ments ensure the continuity of the

public open space system in this

neighborhood which then con-

nects to a much larger system of

the city including the riverfront

parks to the west and Main Street

to the east. The implementation

of the public realm should be guid-

ed by this set guidelines to ensure

the appropriate spatial dimensions

and the highest quality of urban

space and experience.

Lower Promenade

Front Street

East-West Connections

Upper Promenade

Public Realm Boundary

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Development Parcels

Private development, constrained

by city code and design guidelines

is one way to initiate the plan and

help fund the cost of public open

spaces. The Promenade sites

offer a highly desirable real-estate

location, easily developable lay-

out, and already-in- place infras-

tructure which should attract pri-

vate investment that in turn can

pay for the public benefits. The

development parcels in this con-

cept plan constitute 4.15 acres, or

just under 40% of the total site

area. The implementation of the

private parcels should be guided

by this set of guidelines and fur-

ther public input to ensure the

highest quality architecture.

Development Parcels

Block C

Block B

Block A

ConfederatePark

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The Upper Promenade

The upper promenade will be

directly accessible from the side-

walk of Front Street and remain at

the same level throughout. In

doing so, the right-of-way and the

view corridors of Union, Monroe

and Court Avenues will be effec-

tively widened.

Connecting to Confederate Park

at the north and Union Avenue at

the south, at 25ft above Riverside

Drive, the upper promenade will

be a continuous broad walkway

along the riverfront, providing a

place to linger, rest, and enjoy the

view of the river and the land

beyond. At the northern end, a

pedestrian can linger in the park

or take the grand stairway down to

Riverside Drive which then leads

to the Visitors Center and

Jefferson Davis Park on the river.

Crossing Court and Monroe

Avenues, the promenade will be

connected by pedestrian bridges.

At the corner of Union Avenue and

Riverside Drive is another oppor-

tunity to connect to Riverside

Drive in a grand and civic manner.

A civic node and connectionto the lower promenade

A civic node and connectionto the park

Bridge

Bridge

JEFFERSON

COURT

MADISON

MONROE

UNION

ADAMS

FRONTST.

RIVERSIDE

DR.

The continuous walking sur-face of the upper promenade

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Active use such as retail orrestaurants


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The Upper Promenade

View north to the Hernando De

Soto Bridge from the Upper

Promenade

Existing view north to the

Hernando De Soto Bridge at the

Customs House

Section of the upper and lower

promenade: When completed, it

will add a 30 wide pedestrian

activity zone to Riverside Drive

where there is not a sidewalk

today and 30 wide upper prome-

nade where there is mostly park-

ing today.

Lower promenadeat Riverside Drive level

Upper promenadeat Front Street level

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The Upper Promenade

View south to Harahan Bridge

from the upper promenade

Existing conditions at the upper

promenade

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The Upper Promenade

View to the river from the north

side of the Customs House

Existing condition at the north side

of the Customs House

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The Lower Promenade

The treatment of the eastern edge

of Riverside Drive can greatly

change the perception of the river-

front in this area and improve the

pedestrian connections to the

Jefferson Davis Park, the Visitors

Center, the Cobblestone Walkway

and the Cobblestones. New

buildings should be setback a

great distance from the trolley line

to allow for a broad pedestrian

walkway where the ground plane

is specially paved to make a civic

gesture such as Main Street.

Additional trolley stops should be

added at each block to better

serve the larger downtown area.

The new buildings should have

active uses such as shops, gal-

leries, and artists live and work

spaces to activate the street

scene. Cafes and restaurants will

spill onto the broad sidewalk. At

Confederate Park and Union

Avenue, the lower promenade

connects to the upper promenade

and ties into the pedestrian sys-

tem at the Front Street level.

These changes to the lower prom-

enade are critical the cohesive

public realm that is already start-

ing to take place in downtown

Memphis.

Connection toUpper Promenade andConfederate Park

Connection toUpper Promenade

JEFFERSON

COURT

MADISON

MONROE

UNION

ADAMS

FRONTST.

RIVERSIDE

DR.

The specially paved areaof lower promenade

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Active use such asretail or restaurants

Proposed LowerPromenade

Active use such as retail orrestaurants


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The Lower Promenade

View south towards Harahan Bridg

from the Lower Promenade

Existing condition at Riverside Driv

Section of lower and upper prome

nade and Riverside Drive

Upper promenadeRiverside Drive Lower promenade

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The new and improved Riverside Drive and upper promenade

Existing Riverside Drive


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View north of Lower and Upper

Promenade connection from

Gayoso Street

Existing condition Gayoso Street

The Lower Promenade


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The East-West Streets

While the upper promenade brings

the city to the edge of the bluff,

the east-west streets physically

connect the city to the riverfront.

Sloping down towards the river,

they are part of the citys network

of streets that connect to

Riverside Drive.

Union, Monroe, Court, Jefferson,

and Adams Avenues can all be

improved to provide better pedes-

trian sidewalks. Landscape is

especially important on Court

Avenue to make the connection

from Court Square on Main Street

to the riverfront parks. Parking

entrances can be on these streets

to provide access to the garage

levels below the upper prome-

nade. The bridges of the upper

promenade at the end of the

streets are portals announcing the

arrival at the river. Properly land-

scaped, paved, and lit with street

lights, these pedestrian-friendly

streets are the unifying elements

of the public realm.

JEFFERSON

COURT

MADISON

MONROE

UNION

ADAMS

FRONTST.

RIVERSIDEDR.

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20-50 ft UpperPromenade

Proposed condition at Union Avenue

Existing condition at Union Avenue,

note the very narrow sidewalk on

the north side of the street.

Union Avenue

The east-west avenues, such as

Union and Monroe, with the set-

back to allow for the upper prome-

nade, not only provide the easy

access to the riverfront from Front

Street, but also broaden the view

to the river as is shown in the sec-

tion to the right. With the proper

streetscape and sidewalk improve-

ments, the pedestrian environment

will change dramatically from the

existing conditions.

12 ft

Existing Union Ave.

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Existing Union Avenue Sidewalk at the northside of the street is barely 3 wide

New and improved Union Avenue

Upper Promenade


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Union Avenue

View of the upper promenade from

the intersection of Union and Fron

View of existing conditions at

Union Avenue and Front Street

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Monroe Avenue

Monroe Avenue will also be

widened by 20ft on either side

from its existing width to allow for

the upper promenade to connect

to the riverfront. At the end of the

view corridor, one will be able to

see the bridge, connecting the

upper promenade in its full length

to Confederate Park.

Section of Monroe Avenue

Existing condition of Monroe Avenue

Upper Promenade

Existing Monroe Avenue

New and improved Monroe Avenue

Bridge connectingupper promenade

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Existing Monroe Avenue sidewalk on the southside of the street is barely 4 wide

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Monroe Avenue

Existing view west of Monroe

Avenue from Front Street

View towards the river from Front

Street

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Court Avenue

Court Avenue is an important con-

nector from Main Street and Court

Square to the riverfront. Here it is

proposed that the on-street park-

ing be removed to allow for wide

sidewalks with double rows of

street trees between Front Street

and Riverside Drive. Adjacent to

the Customs House, the 25 ft wide

upper promenade provides anoth-

er pedestrian connection to the

riverfront.

Section of Court Avenue

Existing condition of Court Avenue

Customs House Confederate Park

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New and improved Court Avenue

Bridge connecting upper promenadeand Confederate Park

50 25 25

Existing Court Avenue


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Front Street

Front Street is the gateway to the

riverfront and an important

address for the Promenade sites.

Improvements can be done by the

following:

Mandate a sidewalk setback

for buildings between Union

Avenue and the Customs

House to align with the front

facade of the Customs House

to allow for additional street

trees and a landscaped area

Change the character of the

streetwall to be more consis-

tent with the east side of the

street

Improve the pedestrian

environment by new sidewalks

and street trees and lights

JEFFERSON

COURT

MADISON

MONROE

UNION

ADAMS

FRONTST.

RIVERSIDE

DR.

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Front Street Setback Line


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Front Street

View of setback, broad sidewalk,

and street trees on Front Street

View of existing sidewalk on Front

Street

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Front Street

View south toward Union Avenue

on Front Street

Existing Condition on Front Street

Section of Front Street

Typical Front Street Width

Front Street Width at Customs House

25 ft. LandscapedSetback

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Documents

05 Guidelines Publicrealm 2007