Normal Renting

An interactive map shows the minimum wage needed to be able to afford the median rental cost in an area (as of October 2014). For Bloomington-Normal, a dual-earner household would need at least $11.76 per hour and a single-earner household would need at least $23.52 per hour (assuming a 40-hour workweek, 50 weeks per year of work).

Normal: EV Competition

It sounds like electric cars are catching on! This article says that there will be 3.3 million electric cars "on the road" by 2050.  Oregon even has a "chief electric vehicle officer" (CEVO?) and has a "West Coast Electric Highway."  Maybe Veterans Parkway could become the BloNo Electric Parkway and the Governor can appoint someone as IL-CEVO.

Normal: Let's Play!

This is a nice idea: making a city playable by having fun events and creative ways for residents to interact with their environment and each other. We need to get the many creative people in Normal to come up with playful ideas!

Normal: Up for a Quick Dip, Anyone?

This article describes how a university and a town collaborated to provide improved resources and attractions for students and community members. Some of their efforts are similar to what ISU and Normal have done: apartments for students, multi-use buildings, to name just two examples. But there is one development they have that we don't have: a rooftop pool on one of the new buildings.

Normal: Parking Garage Living

Normal has apartments built up against a parking garage, but I think we should take it one step further and have living spaces within the parking garage, as in this example. (It's surprising they actually have a parking garage that is underused. Has anyone ever heard of a college with too much parking available?) Locally, if there are any unused spaces in an Uptown Normal parking garage, we should have one or two custom-designed pods in place temporarily, just to show Normal can be hip.

Normal Retirement Communities

Being able to retire and live in a college town has its advantages, as this article describes. The fees for the retirement communities discussed in the article are rather jaw-dropping, though. Hopefully, the costs for living in retirement complexes in and around Normal aren't quite so high. Everyone should be encouraged to develop and take advantage of the many opportunities for retirees at the local universities and colleges, keeping in mind that retirees can contribute to these opportunities as well as enjoy them.

Normal: Small town urban planning at its best!

This article nicely describes how much of an impact people can have on small towns. Even if you're not an urban planner (and how many of us are?), you can make a big difference in a small town.

Normal Community Engagement Ideas

These are some great ideas for getting citizens more involved in local issues and events. The "walkshop" where people walk (or bike!) around town and have conversations about what's right in front of them would be better than having discussions in a conference room. Opportunities for citizens to be creative, such as competitions to develop new ways to address issues, are also ways to involve people who would otherwise not take an interest.
 

Normal: Senior Villages a Possiblity?

Senior villages are offering a new alternative way of life for "older" people who want to age in place. Participants pay a yearly fee and receive fix-it services when they need them, for example, or any services the village decides on. What a great idea! I could see pockets of residential areas in Normal developing these villages.

Normal Plowing

It seems there are many cul-de-sacs in Normal, although I don't know that exact total. These are probably a hassle to plow and I've heard complaints about how poorly they are plowed. Perhaps a how-to-plow-a-cul-de-sac video would help. Or, residents might benefit by being able to consult a FAQ list about town plowing, such as the one Iowa City, Iowa, provides.

Normal: Mowing is Baaaad

Think of all the pollution (air and noise) caused by lawn mowers in Normal. Individuals mowing their yards and town employees mowing the grassy areas -- all in an effort to make green spaces look nice and tidy. Even electric mowers make some noise, so they aren't the perfect solution. Enter the humble sheep. Yes, people in France have started renting out sheep for lawn care. This would work for Normal: there are farms just outside of town where sheep could be kept, and it's a great new business opportunity! Sheep: keeping grass looking nice the normal way. 

Normal: Light Up the Trail!

This is a video about an application for pathways that absorbs sunlight and then glows in the dark. That would be fantastic for the Constitution Trail!

Normal: 9/11

Twelve years have passed since the events of 9/11/01. New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania all seem very far away from Normal, Illinois, but on that day, it felt like we were all neighbors. Normal may not have the physical scars or memorials from 9/11, but the people here were also changed that day and share the memories of it.

Peace.

Normal: Making Subdivisions More Aging-Friendly

This is an interesting article about making suburbs better for aging Baby Boomers. It discusses not only improving transit options for the agers to get to where they want to go, but also how to bring those places to the suburbs.

Normal doesn't have suburbs (maybe bedroom communities) but does have many subdivisions that are kind of spread out away from businesses. Even with the increasing number of residential developments for retirees in the area, it would be great to meet aging residents where they live. We have a good bus system and a wonderful walking/biking trail, but what about bringing goods and services to the subdivisions?

In order to build businesses in subdivisions (or really close by), zoning codes would need to be revised. I think a more flexible way to provide what the subdivisioners (of all ages) need and want is to have mobile versions of businesses. There have long been book mobiles and ice cream trucks. How about convenience store mobiles? Pharmacy mobiles? Home improvement mobiles? Electronic gadgets mobiles?

Great for residents and businesses, too!

Normal NIMBY: Normal Is My Back Yard!

There is a new show on BBC (not yet on BBC America, but I'll watch for it) called "The Planners" which enters the exciting world of urban planning!  I could see a similar show based on our local Planning Commission, so full of drama and intrigue. Will the developer's request for fewer trees on a proposed apartment building site be approved? Is there an underlying plot to increase the number and size of digital signs in Normal? How do urban chickens fit into all of this? Stay tuned!

Normal New Year: 2013

Happy New Year, Normal!

May 2013 be the year the "hole-in-the-ground" gets filled!

Normal Holiday Lights (from afar)

Couldn't get close to this sign but I appreciate the effort to provide some holiday cheer!

Normal Lighted Trees

When did lighted trees become popular in cities? I'm referring to lights on regular trees, not trees put up for the holidays.  An online search for lighted trees images results in many, many examples.  I wonder if they actually increase the number of visitors (shoppers) to an area, if they increase the time visitors spend in an area, and/or if they increase the morale of visitors and employees in an area. I like lighted trees but they aren't enough to influence my shopping behavior. They do put me in a better mood, though, because they give the area a festive appearance. If they were lit all year, I wouldn't even notice them after a while.

Normal Crosswalk Safety

To the extent that crosswalks in Normal are used, they could be made safer. There is new technology to do this: timers that count down the time left to get across, flashing lights on the crosswalk pavement, and imbedded plastic designating the crosswalk area that lasts much longer than reflective paint.  There is also the strategy of allowing pedestrians to start crossing before the drivers (going the same direction) are allowed to proceed. This probably helps reduce the number of pedestrians getting hit by drivers making turns. If people are being encouraged to walk rather than drive, we should take more steps (pun intended) to make it safer.

Normal Tweets

There are plans to use tweets as a public suggestion box. For example, collecting tweets that originated in Chicago and searching for key words that would help city staff identify problems (people tend to tweet about what's not going well).

There probably wouldn't be hundreds of tweets originating in Normal about town-related problems people are experiencing, but there might be some. I wonder how whiny we would sound . . .
"There are too many leaves on the grass!"
"Why do we have to listen to train whistles at night? I'm trying to sleep."
"Why can't all the stoplights be coordinated so I can speed down the street without stopping?"
"Who painted these bird heads on the streets? I don't like them."
"Why is my water bill now higher than my electric bill?"
"Why do they flush the hydrants in the middle of the night?? I'm trying to sleep."
"Why do they pick up garbage so early? I'm trying to sleep."