The end of a blog and paths forward

Looking west from County Kerry, Ireland. By Stefan Tarzan.

A local issues blog like this one is, at its best, a reflection of things current, an agitator and encourager for things better, and a celebration of those better ideas made elsewhere concrete, all brought together with zeal and synergy by the blogger as he recruits fellow believers in the one quality humanity should never hoard or put a price on - hope. My initial hopes for this particular blog were to get other friends excited by the possibilities for better quality of life, economic development, and civic pride by having a more aesthetic and artistic design in the re-building of the Business 40 interstate corridor through Winston-Salem. This interstate idea had been bandied about among the dozen or two folks who made up the Public Art and Design committee of our local Arts Council; but as we lacked funds and interested partners in the public arena to champion the idea in 2008, I suggested that we could at least post some news on a blog and keep people informed.

Thirty months later, after public education meetings and slide shows by committee members; after a contest run by two art administration students to showcase "what-if" ideas; after public speakers and artists and architects were brought to town by local cultural institutions; after residents sent me and others stories and pictures of their holiday travels; after internet visitors from every continent with highways visited this site (occasionally with words of support and inquiries of our efforts); after a separate "Bridges" group was formed last summer by representatives of the Arts Council and the local Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Partnership, the City Appearance Commission and state and local transportation officials; and after representatives of fifty-plus business and community organizations endorsed the idea of requesting better, more aesthetic, more memorable design in a meeting in November with three State Cabinet secretaries (Commerce, Transportation, and Cultural Resources), the announcement of a new non-profit "Creative Corridors Coalition" is at hand. Thanks to a gift of funds by Winston-Salem Foundation award-winner and PA&DC member Doug Lewis, the Coalition even has seed money for its work. The task for which this blog was established, to grow friends for an idea and pass it on, is now complete. A thank you, heartily and happily, for all who have helped in that goal.

Frank Gehry's BP Bridge, Millennium Park, Chicago. From iamhydrogen on Flickr.

Now I am well aware that the tasks of getting attention and of getting results are two different things. After so many words here, it may help to remind all of the result that this particular writer wants out of a Business 40 re-build for our city: a top-quality functional roadway (I drive the route often, in traffic), made architecturally and artistically distinct (I'd like my visitors to want a poster of it), economically inviting (I'd like it to say "can do" in a way that invites business folks to move here and help us grow our economy), and - since I think I pay enough taxes - I'd like for this to be done at no additional cost to the taxpayer. I'd like the design team to figure out how "better" and "prettier" and "cooler" can be done cheaper. After surveying through this blog the experience of so many around the country and world, I am convinced that the only way to get all of that is to bring in "fresh design eyes" - outside design and artistic advice - for the whole corridor at the beginning of the design project.

NCDOT Business 40 presentation in winter 2010. By your blogger, before this.

But because it hasn't happened here before, there are dangers on the pathway to "creative corridors" (an idea which, if modeled in implementation along Business 40, might travel well around the city). The biggest danger may be in shortchanging our possibilities from the outset. We don't dream big enough, long enough. Tonight was to be the next meeting of a NCDOT working group on the Business 40 project. There was same day public notice of this meeting in the paper, and though there is a brief notice on the project's website, that site has not been seriously updated since 2008. Unofficial word from one DOT representative said that tonight would be a discussion of “concepts” for the Business 40 bridges project that, due to time constraints, would discuss which bridges “we’ll do and which ones we will not.” Now amongst the four major groups making up last summer's discussion of the highway work, there was some discussion of limiting which of the bridges to be replaced in the project might get extra attention. But that is the exact wrong approach at this stage of planning. It is a remnant of the typical contracting process for building roadways - assigning a portion of a project or a bridge at a time (on the current stretch of Business 40 moons ago, each bridge was done by a different contractor). The goal of our PA&DC original proposal was not to add new "art and design sprinkles" to an existing construction cupcake, but to challenge our road-builders and our community to come up with new ways of expressing something about our place with its highways while ensuring the task of our safe travel.

New tasks require new thinking. And not just from transportation officials and potential subcontractors. Politicians, who locally have shown innovation and political risk-taking on other largely private investments - the baseball stadium's multi-million dollar loan and today's news of another $200,000 grant to the downtown biotech park - have yet to champion in their official capacities this effort or have the city establish a needed community-wide citizens' commission to give advice on the planning, purchase, and maintenance of public art projects. A $200,000 grant would have surely helped us secure top-flight national or international design advice - but the taxpayer in me would be happy if our city and county leaders just formally resolved that this issue was important, and organized a government body for ongoing public art and design issues. Winston-Salem has been blessed with a few special individual benefactors to guide our cultural investments. But given that our local economy is no longer as centralized as it once was, citizens shouldn't have to depend solely on private largesse for enhancements to our economic and cultural investment in the arts. The Corridors Coalition presents business and philanthropic leaders with a new kind of project (hiring of expert design advice) - one which may not offer its benefactors any direct perks of privilege, and which may in fact only succeed as more community stakeholders without financial investment are invited to share thoughts on design and its impact with the design team. Finally, average citizens have to think anew about what is wisdom in how we spend scarce tax dollars - a creative thinking, that doesn't reactively shy-away from all spending but demands of needed investments that they be done better and with a goal of multiple impacts.

Those who support these ideas for better transportation design, be vigilant of distractions, but be encouraged. Those who question their feasibility or wisdom, engage with your neighbors in a debate about your questions and ways to make our place better for all, realizing we can use both the talents that are unique to this place and talents of others that are uniquely skilled in place-making. There is a faith quote that says when the Spirit is on the people, the old shall dream dreams and the young shall see visions. And, as the Cardinal once said, "Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true." Winston-Salem, "ars urbi serviat." Let art serve your city.

-J. Eric Elliott, 18 May 2010