Leaving all that oil behind

From Grist :

10 ways cities and towns can kick the offshore-oil habit

No suprises here - these solutions have been known for quite a while. Build densely and in ways that fully accomodate a wide range of transportation choices. In other words, build places that are walkable, bikeable, and transit oriented.

When we create places that can only be accessed and traversed by private automobile, surprise! - we become desperately car (and thus oil)-dependent.

Demand a more livable future, not only for your own neighborhood, but for the thousands of people, and other creatures, that your daily decisions and errands impact.

Downtown parking deck

"The Athens-Clarke Commission is on track to pick a developer to work with on a $20 million downtown Athens parking deck, " reports the Banner-Herald.

Atlanta-based Batson-Cook Development is the frontrunner to design, build and fund part of a long-planned mixed-use parking deck in a surface lot near the Georgia Theatre.

The public-private partnership would be a first for Athens, although they're common in other cities, such as Greenville, S.C., and Savannah.

The preliminary plan consists of a six-story structure that looks like a building, not a parking deck. It includes 520 parking spaces, 12,000 square feet of ground-level retail space along West Clayton and Washington streets, 23,000 square feet of high-end office space on the top floor and a rooftop garden.

ABH provides this artist rendering of the deck as well:

Could any of the parking go below street level?

Bike racks and/or lockers, scooter parking, and an Athens Transit bus stop would be nice as well.

The roof-top garden and mixed-use aspects sound very cool, and it's a relief that the architects are trying to avoid the grim aesthetics of a parking deck.