The Sebastopol Ped Line and Placemaking
Cittaslow Sebastopol is exploring a method of encouraging people to walk to various destinations around town in order to ‘reduce traffic and help make Sebastopol a more walk-friendly community.’ Dubbed ‘The Sebastopol Ped Line‘ they have designed 3 different walks that begin and end at the downtown plaza and loop you through the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Blue Line to Ives Park
The Blue Line takes you to Ives Park, Sebastopol’s ‘Central Park’. Ives Park has a public pool, playgrounds, baseball field and picnic areas. It is in need of a serious facelift which the city has recognized in the adoption of a master plan for the renovation of the park, but it functions well enough for an urban park. The park is used for a variety of festivals throughout the year including the Apple Blossom Festival, Roma Festival and this weekends Renaissance Faire to benefit the public school district.
The Florence Avenue Art Walk
The Red Line takes you to Florence Avenue, home of sculptures by local artists and Florence Ave. residents Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent, passing city hall and the library on the way. The most common question I get from visitors to Sebastopol is ‘How do I get to Florence Ave./the street with the sculptures? Now instead of describing the route I can tell them to follow the signs of the Red Line.
Florence Avenue Art Walk Sidewalk Stencil
The Green Line takes you from the plaza, through The Barlow and to the community center which sits in a park on the edge of the Laguna de Santa Rosa. In summer months there is a floating bridge that takes you across the laguna to trails on the opposite bank. On the way back to the plaza the route passes the skate park, community garden and police station.
The project is currently in its trial period. There are temporary signs attached to light posts, street signs, etc. and sidewalk stencils providing directions along the route. Cittaslow Sebastopol is soliciting input on the project through a survey. The plan is to apply for funding to make the signage more permanent and support an online application.
In general I think it’s a great way to make residents and visitors alike more aware of how easy it is to get around town. One comment I plan on making is that I think it would be helpful to have distances in minutes to get to various destinations. I know that each destination is no more than 10 minutes from the plaza, but visitors, and some residents, wouldn’t necessarily know this from looking at the maps. The concept is similar to Walk Your City and I hope it will encourage people to get out of their cars, get some exercise and explore our community on foot.
Green Line to the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Sebastopol Village Building Convergence Announcement
This photo is a good segue to another placemaking event that begins in Sebastopol today and runs through September 21. The Sebastopol Village Building Convergence will bring a variety of placemaking events to Sebastopol including the creation of street murals, community gardening projects and other community building events. The full schedule is here.
