Subj : Re: 3.5 weeks to being la
To   : Vk3jed
From : boraxman
Date : Sat Aug 13 2022 00:05:39

 Vk> Yep, that seems to be the norm for major shopping malls.
 Vk> 
 Vk>  bo> I compare this to the old Moonee Ponds Market, which fronted a street
 Vk>  bo> and the carpark was on the other side of the main road.  There were
 Vk>  bo> more accessways to it.  The place wasn't an island in the middle of a
 Vk>  bo> car park and it was integrated with the surrounding urban area.  The
 Vk>  bo> new one near my place is in the middle of nowhere.  There is nothing
 Vk>  bo> across the road, nothing nearby, detached from everything else.
 Vk> 
 Vk> Strip centres in general are better, some parking in the street, and the
 Vk> major car parks tend to be behind the shops with either rear access or
 Vk> walk along the street.  Pedestrians simply walk along the street (maybe
 Vk> after getting off public transport) and into the shop of their choice.
 Vk> 

They do work better, as do "malls" between two roads or streets, though neither of these are really places for people to linger.  Ballarat has a nice mall, I can't remember the name, but its near Bakery Hill.  Wide, no cars, quiet, parking nearby.

 Vk> I have seen places like that, or if there is a road, it's only for
 Vk> emergency and essential service vehicles, not general traffic.
 Vk> 

I used to live on a block where the middle of the block (it was a large block) was a relatively large piece of grassland with a kids park in the middle.  A few blocks in this suburb was like this.  I always though that instead of having the houses face the streets, they should face the interior of the block, the grassland, with the street being at the "back" of the house.  That way, everyones front yard opens on to this grassland.  Every house then faces  a courtyard of sorts, but the streets you use to access them aren't a pointless cul-de-sac.  It was a nice idea, to have these open areas, but having at the back of the houses, and not having them well maintained meant it was a lost opportunity.

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