Cov city centre (3 Viewers)

[napolimp]

A bike lane isn't a viable replacement for cars though.

Like I said if we had decent trams and public transport it would be well worth the short term pain while it was being built.

When you have people saying "use a bike" just shows they clearly aren't in the real world for most scenarios.

It's not for everyone, but it will be suitable for some people. And if it doesn't exist, people can't use it.

 

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[Nick]

It's not for everyone, but it will be suitable for some people. And if it doesn't exist, people can't use it.

I'm sure some people would find a horse and carriage lane suitable too.

 

[shmmeee]

Yes, making the infrastructure smaller increases it more.

It's really not hard to grasp.

No the amount of traffic remains the same. Offering alternatives to driving reduces it. More roads = more cars is a fairly well established fact: How Does Roadway Expansion Cause More Traffic? | Blog | Science Museum of Virginia.

 

[Nick]

No the amount of traffic remains the same. Offering alternatives to driving reduces it. More roads = more cars is a fairly well established fact: How Does Roadway Expansion Cause More Traffic? | Blog | Science Museum of Virginia.

I'm still not sure you get it, if you decrease the infrastructure and cause a bottleneck. It causes more traffic.

The only way it will reduce it is if everybody suddenly decides to use a bike and again, it's not really viable for a lot of people.

If the council and whoever want more people in the city centre then they have to decide how they want them to get there. If they want everybody on bikes, fine. What are those people going to do in town once they arrive on their bike? Where are they going to put it so that it isn't stolen?

If there was better public transport, people could leave their cars at home. They aren't all going to suddenly get a bike.

 

[chiefdave]

I'm sure some people would find a horse and carriage lane suitable too.

Get them built!

 

[chiefdave]

Whats this all about? Something planned for the weekend?

We have introduced special powers in Coventry city centre this morning (Fri) following reports of organised antisocial behaviour.

 

[shmmeee]

Whats this all about? Something planned for the weekend?

Well I was going to do some organised antisocial behaviour but now that’s out the window!

 

[CCfC2023]

Yesterday i noticed to plain clothes officers in a unmarked car at high speed down Longfellow Road . A few hours later i was in the precinct by HMV and they where both walking around . It did seem strange at the time . And sometime you just get a feel for plain clothes cops by there gear . I think there is a lot of selling of hard drugs in the city centre at the moment .

 

[Nick]

Weird, schools emailing about it too although nobody mentions what the planned violence is?

 

[shmmeee]

Yesterday i noticed to plain clothes officers in a unmarked car at high speed down Longfellow Road . A few hours later i was in the precinct by HMV and they were both walking around . It did seem strange at the time . And sometime you just get a feel for plain clothes cops by there gear . I think there is a lot of selling of hard drugs in the city centre at the moment .

Isn’t that always illegal? This whole “we’ve got special powers just in the city centre just this weekend” is a bit weird.

 

[mmttww]

Well I was going to do some organised antisocial behaviour but now that’s out the window!

Unlicenced music events, Covid lockdown style?

 

[fernandopartridge]

People are pointing out that it's causing much more traffic than relieving.

The only thing that causes traffic is drivers nick

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

 

[andy86]

Bistro Pierre closing in town. Another empty until at Cathedral Lanes.

 

[mmttww]

Interesting clip going into detail re: the City Centre South work with a lot of visuals. Only thing that looks a bit sh*t is the Pavillion thing in Bull Yard which looks like a crap Boxpark. Just leave it as a square FFS!

 

[chiefdave]

Interesting clip going into detail re: the City Centre South work with a lot of visuals. Only thing that looks a bit sh*t is the Pavillion thing in Bull Yard which looks like a crap Boxpark. Just leave it as a square FFS!

Hate the pavilion thing. I don't understand the logic of knocking stuff down, with the justification of opening up the space, to then build something to block it off again. Especially with how many empty buildings there are.

Just leave it open and if at some point in the future there's a need for it then build it.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Hate the pavilion thing. I don't understand the logic of knocking stuff down, with the justification of opening up the space, to then build something to block it off again. Especially with how many empty buildings there are.

Just leave it open and if at some point in the future there's a need for it then build it.

I hate it too.

Probably there for viability so they can add on the rent/rates for the building.

 

[shmmeee]

If it’s like a small scale Rotterdam market hall I could dig it. Lots of food and drink stands market style.

 

[mmttww]

If it’s like a small scale Rotterdam market hall I could dig it. Lots of food and drink stands market style.

It's where it is that's daft. It basically contradicts their whole brief - open up spaces, make routes visible etc. It's been plonked right in the middle of what looks like it was originally going to be an open space.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Interesting clip going into detail re: the City Centre South work with a lot of visuals. Only thing that looks a bit sh*t is the Pavillion thing in Bull Yard which looks like a crap Boxpark. Just leave it as a square FFS!

That's the old design, it's been changed since then so the buildings around it are generally taller. We don't need any more wind swept squares, if the pavilion is active frontages all around it it'll be good.

 

[shmmeee]

We’ve got the cathedral square, broad gate, the precinct fountain, Belgrade plaza, outside the transport museum, its not like we’re lacking in squares, more things to bring life to them.

 

[Grendel]

What I don’t get is why it’s so empty. The notion people don’t shop in centres is a myth if you go to other cities

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

What I don’t get is why it’s so empty. The notion people don’t shop in centres is a myth if you go to other cities

I think ours suffers more for a few reasons.

1. We have a lot of out of town retail parks on old industrial sites that take a lot of business away.
2. We don't have a huge amount of other sort of workers, like office workers, in the city centre. Even a lot of council stuff is moving a bit further out.
3. The ring road has made the journey from close lying suburbs a quite unpleasant one, with subways etc. so a lot of people from those areas that would normally use the city centre don't.
4. There are certain services that are not available in the city centre that would increase usage. Hospital is one
5. We have Birmingham so a lot of businesses open there and with the extra choice Coventrians shop there. Snobby people would probably prefer places like Warwick and Leamington because they're perceived to be classier.

These all then help lead to the fact that less shops etc open in our city centre, pushing more people away and so the vicious cycle continues.

 

[Captain Dart]

I think ours suffers more for a few reasons.

1. We have a lot of out of town retail parks on old industrial sites that take a lot of business away.
2. We don't have a huge amount of other sort of workers, like office workers, in the city centre. Even a lot of council stuff is moving a bit further out.
3. The ring road has made the journey from close lying suburbs a quite unpleasant one, with subways etc. so a lot of people from those areas that would normally use the city centre don't.
4. There are certain services that are not available in the city centre that would increase usage. Hospital is one
5. We have Birmingham so a lot of businesses open there and with the extra choice Coventrians shop there. Snobby people would probably prefer places like Warwick and Leamington because they're perceived to be classier.

These all then help lead to the fact that less shops etc open in our city centre, pushing more people away and so the vicious cycle continues.

I wonder if the Ikea building might be a decent location to deliver some NHS services, I suspect a cultural centre will go down like a lead balloon in Coventry.

There are a few services at the old Coventry & Warwick site that could probably be relocated.

 

[cowboy1850]

With the very high cost of property in the city centre, who is buying all of these new apartments?

I think people who can or want to pay £1000+ per month for apartment living are in the minority.

 

[chiefdave]

What I don’t get is why it’s so empty. The notion people don’t shop in centres is a myth if you go to other cities

I bang this drum over and over again. Those in charge are let off far too easily with the 'it's the same everywhere' attitude when it really isn't.

You go to other city centres and they're bustling with activity day and night. People only visit our city centre if they have a specific reason and they get in and out as quickly as possible.

 

[shmmeee]

With the very high cost of property in the city centre, who is buying all of these new apartments?

I think people who can or want to pay £1000+ per month for apartment living are in the minority.

This is why we have a housing market.

 

[Gynnsthetonic]

Why are the buildings so tall, it's just going to create shade and no aspect of space. You go to Nottingham, Oxford, Leicester there is hardly anything over 3 storeys. They feel open and airy.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Why are the buildings so tall, it's just going to create shade and no aspect of space. You go to Nottingham, Oxford, Leicester there is hardly anything over 3 storeys. They feel open and airy.

The obvious answer is economics. More floors = more rentable space = more viable proposal (supposedly).

Also modern cities have taller buildings. Without them the places feel more like a quaint little town than a major city. Wouldn't want them to be everywhere, but a few strategically placed is fine. And in architecture circles these wouldn't be considered particularly tall.

 

[shmmeee]

The obvious answer is economics. More floors = more rentable space = more viable proposal (supposedly).

Also modern cities have taller buildings. Without them the places feel more like a quaint little town than a major city. Wouldn't want them to be everywhere, but a few strategically placed is fine. And in architecture circles these wouldn't be considered particularly tall.

Would be nice to have a five storey limit and denser blocks tbh, more frontage, people closer to the street.

 

[wingy]

Would be nice to have a five storey limit and denser blocks tbh, more frontage, people closer to the street.

To what traffic?

 

[shmmeee]

To what traffic?

foot traffic for a start.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Would be nice to have a five storey limit and denser blocks tbh, more frontage, people closer to the street.

In some places sure. In others I'm fine with higher than that. As long as they leave sightlines to some interesting/old stuff.

Agree with more frontages - Cov does seem to specialise in dead street level fronts.

As with the squares, I like built up areas to have open spaces (preferably including some greenery) but I think there are a few too many and some are placed in slightly odd places rather than at nodes or meeting points of major routes.

 

[shmmeee]

In some places sure. In others I'm fine with higher than that. As long as they leave sightlines to some interesting/old stuff.

Agree with more frontages - Cov does seem to specialise in dead street level fronts.

As with the squares, I like built up areas to have open spaces (preferably including some greenery) but I think there are a few too many and some are placed in slightly odd places rather than at nodes or meeting points of major routes.

Im not against height. But it seems like Coventry needs density more in the middle. Just feel a student village with lower blocks would be much more vibrant than everyone stuck in a tower block.

 

[CCfC2023]

In some places sure. In others I'm fine with higher than that. As long as they leave sightlines to some interesting/old stuff.

Agree with more frontages - Cov does seem to specialise in dead street level fronts.

As with the squares, I like built up areas to have open spaces (preferably including some greenery) but I think there are a few too many and some are placed in slightly odd places rather than at nodes or meeting points of major routes.

Greenery has ongoing costs with upkeep that's why you see less of it and more bricks and concrete . Just look at old photos of Coventry center and parks from the 60s 70s 80s to see the changes .

 

[Gynnsthetonic]

There are too many pedestrianised areas, some light traffic on a one way road would give it a sense of busyness. Corporation St and The Burges as an example