Seed: Where The Sidewalk Ends

Seed Magazine is an online magazine that combines science with culture. The result is a truly original and unique view of the world.

A planning blueprint for Davis Festival Street in Portland. Credit: Lloyd D. Lindley

Imagine a street with no sidewalk. Cars stroll at a leisurely pace alongside pedestrians moseying among the palm trees and granite columns. No white lane dividers, no bland asphalt. Sound like the future? At an intersection in Portland's Chinatown, it's already reality. This is truly contemporary design's victory over the modern problems.

"The idea of this street is that it's designed like a public square but it's open to traffic," said Ellen Vanderslice, a project manager for the Portland Department of Transportation. "We were very consciously trying to create a body language of the street that tells people something different is going on here."

The approach appears to be working, she said. "Pedestrians tend to just mosey across the street every which way," Vanderslice said. "And drivers slow down and pay attention."

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Image/credit: Seed Magazine