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<br />A.P.A. National Planning Conference <br />San Diego, California <br />JUDY THOMPSON <br /> <br />I would like to express my appreciation to the City of Elk River <br />for providing me with the opportunity to attend the 1997 National <br /> <br />San Diego, I <br />to share my <br /> <br />A.P.A. Planning Conference in San Diego. While in <br />attended the following sessions and would like <br />experience with you. <br />1) City Orientation Tour <br />2) Safe Place Design <br />3) Walkable Communities <br />4) Road Design and Rural Character <br />5) A Coordinated Approach to Code Enforcement <br />6) From Traffic Calming to Circulation Planning <br />7) Accessible Sidewalks <br />8) Zoning the Big Box <br />9) Protecting wildlife Habitat as Cities Grow <br /> <br />CITY ORIENTATION TOUR <br />I really enjoyed this tour. It was a chance to see how San Diego <br />addressed its planning issues in a mobile tour setting. The <br />following are items covered on my tour: <br /> <br />PARKS: San Diego offers a wide range of cultural and <br />recreational services to benefit both residents and visitors. <br />with mild temperatures year around, the city's many beaches, <br />parks, tennis courts and golf courses are in constant use. <br />However, the main point of interest for me was their "linear <br />parks". They used the long thin areas along city streets and <br />highways, and along the light rail transit tracks, as parks. <br />They believe you don' t have to have an expansive area to <br />create a park. Simply providing amenities like landscaping, <br />park benches and water fountains can change a potential eye <br />sore area into a linear park. <br /> <br />PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT: San Diego believes we need to try to <br />avoid being totally automobile oriented. One example of their <br />attempt to accommodate pedestrian movement, was noted in their <br />long walkway along the water front. The developers all along <br />the water front area each contributed to the cost of the <br />walkway. No public funds were involved. <br /> <br />LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT: San Diego offers a high speed inter-city <br />"trolley" . The original trolley was buil t on the railroad <br />right of way and was very inexpensive to implement. <br /> <br />CITY STREETS: San Diego has taken a step backward in time in <br />their street planning. They have decided that the old "grid <br />system" of streets is a better traffic calming tool than a <br />system of major and minor street systems. It distributes the <br />traffic evenly and has a general calming effect. <br />