Pearl Street - Ellensburg, Washington
Sidewalks & Paving
 

      
 This sidewalk
      commemorates the Ellensburg project, with the date "1989"
      outlined in interlocking pavers. Though colorful -- and likely
      an improvement on the concrete patchwork it likely replaced --
      the design is actually inverse of what most successful designers
      would build. The irregular paver surface should be used on the
      margins, to demark areas that are outside the pedestrian travelway,
      with the smooth concrete used where people walk. 


      
In this particular
      example, the pavers also conflict with street tree wells, which
      has the effect of guiding pedestrians to unexpected bottlenecks
      where the edge of the colored pavers abruptly ends at each tree
      well. A better design would have been a marked travelway adjacent
      to the inside edge of the sidewalk, with more space along the
      curb line devoted to street trees, planters, benches and other
      furniture.

      
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 All images
      are ©Tom Kloster, 1999, and may only be used by permission