Normal Uptown Thanksgiving

Hhhmmm, maybe a song says it best...


Said the Pantagraph to the local folk,
Do you see what I see?
In the town of Normal, local folk,
Do you see what I see?
Uptown, Uptown, not to be outdone,
With a Circle that’s ranked Number 1.
With a Circle that’s ranked Number 1.


Said the local folk to the nearby towns,
Do you hear what I hear?
Every day, listen nearby towns,
Do you hear what I hear?
A boom, some clangs, coming down like rain
With a noise as loud as a train.
With a noise as loud as a train.


Said the nearby towns to the Governor,
Do you know what I know?
In your Springfield home, Governor,
Do you know what I know?
Uptown, Uptown, rising like the sun
Come and visit, join in the fun!
Come and visit, join in the fun!


Said the Governor in a press release,
“Listen to what I say!
Come to Normal, people, if you please.
Listen to what I say!
Uptown, Uptown, it’s becoming great
It will bring new life to this state!
It will bring new life to this state!”

Let us give thanks for our community.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Normal: Repurposing Old Buildings

Here's a nice idea for repurposing old buildings: turning old elementary schools into apartments. What a nice alternative to tearing them down or closing and abandoning them! How many local unused buildings are there? Maybe developers need to be more creative in coming up with ideas for using for old buildings in new ways.

Normal Masonic Lodge

As the Normal Masonic Lodge is torn down, it would be interesting to know more about its history. One site describes a box (time capsule) located under the cornerstone. It was placed there when the building was built in 1925 but was opened in 1971, added to, and then replaced. Lodge members hope to find a new home for the box. Seeing old buildings demolished and replaced by new buildings makes me feel like an old-timer, even though I didn't grow up in Normal. Some day, I'll tell people about how I used to park in front of that Lodge when I needed to stop at the Post Office, which used to have a very nice old church next to it. Speaking of old churches, there used to be another one in that area . . .

Normal Circle Wins Top Public Space!

Planetizen has announced the "winners" of their "Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S. and Canada" campaign.  Normal's Uptown Circle won the top place!  It's interesting that the authors of the article make a point of stating that the findings are not "objective."  If Central Park had won the top spot, would they have made that same point?  Isn't it true that all online surveys/campaigns are not objective? They certainly don't use random sampling.

It's good to have some recognition and appreciation, even if winning the top spot was the result of local "passion" for the Circle. It's our Circle and we like it.

Normal Uptown Station Building Progress

Normal Civic Involvement

It looks like voting for the "Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S." has closed. The Circle in Uptown had a commanding lead the last time I checked, so it should come out on top. That's great! Of course, it's just one of those internet popularity contests but it does show that there is a lot of enthusiastic support from area residents. Showing support for your community is great, but what about actual civic involvement?

What does it take for you to do something for your community? Does it take a disaster like hurricane Katrina or the Joplin tornado? Do local elections motivate you to participate in discussions of issues? Or are you more proactive in your civic involvement: initiating neighborhood projects, volunteering to serve on local commissions, joining clean-up efforts, etc.?

From a quick internet search, it looks like there was a National Civic Engagement Week in 2003. Maybe that needs to be revived. It would be nice to encourage everyone to get involved in their community any time, instead of just encouraging people to vote when it's election time (which is also important). Everyone, get involved for Normal! Or should it be Normall?

Normal: Vote for the Circle!

There is a campaign for the "Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S." and someone has written a very nice nomination for the Uptown Normal (Traffic) Circle.  It's actually in the "Hot 90" nominations at this point!

All you need to do to vote is register (email address and password), respond to the verification email that you will receive right after registering, and vote by giving "The Circle: Uptown Normal, Illinois" your chips.

It's a great way to share this wonderful space with the world! Please vote by October 20 15!

Update (10/11): The Circle moved up to first and now, second in the list. The voting goes until Oct. 15, so please encourage everyone to vote!

Normal Subdivision Farming

Now, you can have your vinyl-sided house, three-car garage, deck, and your own home-grown produce without messing up your manicured lawn!

Some subdivisions are being built around farms or are including a community green space for farming/gardening.  This is an idea worth considering!  Forget the space for kids to play or for people to walk their dogs. Now, we want space to grow our own produce! (I guess kids could play there in the winter.  Or it could be used for a community snow sculpture display, perhaps.)

If there are vacant lots in newer subdivisions, maybe developers would be open to this idea (if only for short-term use). A community garden/farm area might fit the green space requirement for subdivision development. Start digging! 

Normal: New Urbanism Needed

This is an article about how to keep developing urban areas without losing valuable farmland or conservation areas.  The "new urbanism," as I understand it, proposes densely populated areas that combine residences with schools, stores, and other amenities in areas that are not favorable for farming or conservation. Keeping everything close together is supposed to encourage residents to walk or bike to their destinations. And the areas are near small, family farms, which could provide locally grown foods to the residents. It's a win-win-win situation for residents, farmers, and the environment! 

It sounds ideal but is probably a zoning nightmare. And you would have to have all of the developers, businesses, and local school districts on-board before ground could be broken. That's no small accomplishment!  But it does give us something to consider if we want to preserve the nearby farms while still allowing Normal to grow.

Normal's Walkscore

According to the Walkscore website, Normal has a score of 48. That's only slightly better than the largest cities in Illinois, which have an average score of 46. A score of 48 is considered "car-dependent" (although it is close to the next category, "somewhat walkable").  The score is calculated using an algorithm that gives points for amenities within one mile (I guess that's how far they think someone is willing to walk to an amenity). So I guess the only way to improve the score is to build more amenities. Aren't we supposed to be encouraging people to walk more by making streets more pedestrian-friendly?

Normal Coops? (No, not for chickens!)

This is an article about local cooperatives (coops) designed to provide goods and services to local businesses, thus reducing the impact on the environment that comes from transportation across long distances.  One example in the article is a Cleveland coop formed to provide laundry services to area hospitals.

Normal cooperatives would be successful if they provided goods and services that local businesses need.  One way to determine these needs is to find out what goods and services local businesses are currently purchasing from non-local providers. Then, the people who are interested in starting a particular coop would find out how to get started by researching other coops (Cleveland's Evergreen Cooperatives, for example).

Depending on the resources needed, forming cooperatives might also help unemployed people start a new career.

Normal: Local Farmers Market Glut?

Farmers markets have been increasing across the country, resulting in fewer profits for the sellers in some locations.  I don't know if anyone keeps track of how well sellers are doing at the local farmers markets. It seems that with at least three markets -- downtown Bloomington on Saturdays, Uptown Normal on Tuesdays, and College Ave. on Saturdays -- we don't yet have too many markets. The local demand for fresh produce has probably kept up with if not outpaced the local farmers markets, which should keep the growers happy. In my opinion, if people are willing to go to those markets in some of the extreme weather conditions that we have around here, there must be a strong commitment to buying locally!

Normal Corn

It's not as high as an elephant's eye, but I think the corn in Normal is looking pretty good!

Normal Electric Cars for Microtransit

The idea of using electric cars for microtransit -- short trips -- would work well around Normal. Of course, off-campus ISU students might like to use it to get to classes from their apartment and back again, and Heartland students might be willing to use it to get from distant parking lots to their classroom building (mainly on days with lousy weather). But what about other uses? Perhaps older residents would appreciate a quick trip to the mall or to a restaurant. Yes, there are taxi services in town, but e-rides could probably be offered at a lower cost because the cost of gas would not have to be included in the fare. (Slow-moving electric vehicles would not be able to travel on most town streets so would not work for around-town trips.)

Restrictions on the distance traveled per ride could eliminate the e-rides as competition for the local bus system. And many people who do not want to ride a bus for whatever reason but who only want to travel relatively short distances are a potential source of customers.

Something to consider.

Normal Needs Some Transfer Accelerators

I like this idea: a slide (called a "transfer accelerator") next to a stairway at a train station.  Something that's fun as well as useful. We could use fun ideas like this for transitioning the Constitution Trail over roads (or maybe railroad tracks?): a cool, tube-like structure that slopes gently up from one side of the road and down the other side. Walkways and stairs don't have to be boring and standardized. We are so restricted from creating fun alternatives because of the possibility of people taking unnecessary risks and suing others when those risks result in injuries. That's a shame.

Normal: Ads Underfoot?

New York City has decided to ban ads on sidewalks.  Not only is it illegal to stick decal ads on sidewalks, businesses are not allowed to project their logo onto the sidewalk at night!

Maybe Normal could make some money by allowing ads on sidewalks in the business district. And, if it could bring in even more money, there could be ads on the Constitution Trail [insert moaning or rage here]. The ads could be stickers designed to last no more than one season (automatically worn off by weather), so residents would not have to see the same ads for very long (and the town would get more money for new ads).

Is the commercialism worth it? Would businesses benefit? Does anyone really look down much while walking?

Normal: We Need a Video!

There are wonderfully creative videos of daily life in various cities. This video of Berlin is amazing! Maybe someone could videotape life in Normal in a similar way. What kind of background music would be appropriate for such a video?

Normal PRTS: If only . . .

Imagine an elevated track with smallish cars (each holding 20 people) that zip from point to point without stopping. Now, imagine that track up and around Normal (and Bloomington, if they say "please"), moving people easily from place to place. There is actually such a system at West Virginia University: the only U.S. personal rapid transit system.  It was developed and built by Boeing with federal money and is still being used.

Ok, so this area isn't quite so sprawling and rural (not as rural as it used to be, anyway). But it would still be a great way to transport people (not just ISU students) without using streets. The West Virginia system has a way to keep the cars moving in ice and snow, so that's no problem. But it's probably too late to integrate an elevated track around here because of all the buildings in the way (not that we have many tall ones).

It's odd that we've come back to thinking about rails again after concentrating on streets for so long. I guess everyone has given up on those flying cars of the "future."

Normal: A Happy Community?

The Declaration of Independence states that we have the right to pursue happiness. An article about how communities make us happy discusses different ways of measuring how our communities make us happy: through architectural beauty, environmental sustainability, education, good government, healthy food, transportation, etc.

On this 4th of July it is interesting to reflect on whether or not our local community has facilitated our pursuit (and capture?) of happiness.  Is Normal a happy community?

Happy 4th of July! :)

Normal Very, Very High Speed Rail? Probably not.

Japan is building the ultimate high speed rail system. The train uses magnetic force and actually floats above the track when running, practically eliminating the kind of wear-and-tear of traditional trains that scrape along metal tracks. So the trains last longer. The speed? Over 300 mph. Think about that.

The cost? Billions of dollars. (A 320-mile route would cost Japan around $112 billion.) The time to build the infrastructure? Years. (The 225-mile route that Japan is building is going to take 16 years.)

Do we have the money or the patience for this? No.

Like lots of innovations, though, perhaps the cost and building time will go down eventually. For now, it's fun to think about how quickly we could travel going that fast!