My problem with the Highlands & Bardstown Road

Whew,

Made it to page 6 ! (that took awhile)...

As a shop proprietor (Ray's Monkey House Coffeeshop) who has lived on Bardstown Road (above the shop) and now lives two blocks away (Deerwood) I think I should comment: less zoning and regulations, not more! Please! Yes, we need health inspections, etc, but we don't need to be told "put a bookstore here, put a coffeeshop there." I turned a used bookstore into a coffeeshop, and it wasn't thaaaaaat hard. But when I wanted to add beer and wine the red tape hit. And just for ridiculous regulations. I had to be re-classified as a restaurant. It took months, cost thousands of dollars, and virtually nobody has benefited. (except for maybe the city in permit fees)

I've lived in Chicago (grew up there), Portland (four years), and Tucson (6 years) among other less exciting cities and I've seen how good or bad cities can be. Bardstown Road is awesome. I can walk to work, walk to several high quality restaurants, grocery stores are close, my kid's school is close, etc, etc. Portland was brilliant in banning urban sprawl and putting in the light rail. Tarc here sucks by comparison with anywhere I've lived. Louisville is VERY dangerous for biking, so yeah we do have some problems, but overall Bardstown Rd is the place to be. Of course, I'm a lefty socialist type, so it is nice being around like-minded people. But my first visit to Louisville included an initial stop at Cumberland brews (2002). I thought Bardstown Rd reminded me of SF or Portland. It tricked me into thinking all of Louisville was like this. Ironic that I'd end up buying the building next door and turning it into a coffeeshop. Stop by for our Tues Bluegrass jam, or Fri live jazz or anytime for great coffee roasted on premises (by me)...

Cheers,

Nimbus

Well, I'm going to wade in one more time, and I hope I do not cause anyone to react with vituperative emotions and cause 90% of the population of Louisville to tar and feather me as I am driven out of town.

I spent the week-end in Portland, Oregon with my wife Donna who amongst other things has a degree in architecture from Berkeley. I imposed on her expertise and asked her what was missing from Bardstown Road that the Pearl District and NW 23rd Ave. seemed to have. Since Donna is better versed then I am on this subject and she is certainly more politique then I could ever be, I will share some of her musings:

Bardstown Road is missing some visual appeal. While the buildings in the Pearl and Nob Hill have been renovated with style and architectural panache, many of the store fronts etc. on Bardstown Road are dilapidated and have been "put together" without thought to any architectural design. Even the street lights in Portland were built with a sense of visual appeal.

Portland's urban neighborhoods have streetscapes as part of the urban design. Everywhere we looked, there was an interesting urban park with a water element or an artistic element that drew people together. Even a construction site had a fence around the "mess" with an interesting design with almost an Asian feel. I spent five minutes just admiring the fence.

I could walk for hours, window shopping or simply peering into the interesting retail establishments without passing a vacant area, or a weedy lot with garbage strewn all over. I did not see one fast food establishment and there were very few chains.

Now, this might be showing my age or perhaps I might be perceived as elite, but the shops, stores, etc. were more interesting, catering to an older clientele. There is a "teen age" element to Bardstown Road that sometimes creates a discomfort level for an older pedestrian.

The stores, shops, restaurants etc in the Pearl and Nob Hill were condensed. Thus, I could walk basically in a couple mile radius and find everything without hitting expanses of nothing of interest.

Louisville, and I know many of you are going to condemn me to eternity in Purgatory for this, lacks upscale shopping. I looked into getting a franchise before I moved here, and several of the companies basically said that most of the quality shopping in Louisville are in the malls. The franchises I was looking at (for example Kiehl's) do not put their stores in malls and look for urban neighborhoods for their shops. While parts of Frankfort Avenue fit this mode, Bardstown Road lacks the things I described above.

I know I will be vilified for what I feel, think, believe, write and realize that probably Louisville is not for me. I am sorry if my "edge" offends you and I am not knocking Louisville. It is an accessable, safe city with an easy going ambiance. It lacks many of the problems and issues of bigger cities and the inhabitants like it just the way it is. I am simply not a good fit and unfortunately Donna and I will have to learn to live apart. Again, to those of you I upset and offended, I apologize. Phil G.

I move we adopt Donna after Phil leaves.

I'm in with the adoption proposal!

I kinda wish we could get away from the suggestions that to disagree with one another necessarily means there's vilification going on. Hasn't happened here that I can see.

I'm a little confused though over the declaration that your decision not to adopt Louisville means Donna will have to fend for herself without you. I didn't realize that was part of your master plan here. It never occurred to me that when Gary relocated for his job that I might consider living apart from him if I didn't like the place he was transferring to.... You mean I had a choice?... And is the group here in some way responsible for rending y'all asunder?

But seriously, for me, the "for better or for worse" meant too that "whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge." Okay, Gary's not my mother-in-law, and I'm not even remotely religious.... But, golly, I guess I really AM provincial.

Here is the problem with comparing Louisville (or other cities east of the Mississippi) to western cities: Western cities have the unattainable advantage of being younger. Hence, they benefit by improving on older cities failures in terms of planning. I noticed many examples of this on a trip of all the west coast baseball parks. Except for LA, most western cities have not gotten to the point of moving outward from downtown, and they may well not get to that point since so much thought was put into their existing urban structure.

Geez, Phil, we have not even had the welcome party yet (it may amaze you how much better things look after a bit of good bourbon!)....give it some more time. I have been here for 29 years and it is different here, quirky and everyone wants to know where you went to high school, but I would not live anywhere else. I visit kids and friends all over the country, and I always come "home".

Having lived in Portland, I can assure you that there are many many parts of it that aren't as slick as the newer construction and urban redevelopment areas you are talking about. A lot of it is a hodgepodge of businesses not that different than Bardstown Rd. The fact is that a lot of Bardstown Road is old. Could we do a better job with new development here? Yes, but there really isn't that much of it. Are you proposing we demo our buildings and put in new ones?

I discovered a row of beautiful small windows above the plate glass in the front of my shop (approx 25 foot of storefront). It is covered up by wood, so nobody knew it was there. Alas, I lack the funds to do a major restoraton and bring it back to its original glory. The facade has been unchanged for decades. I added a classic awning, a handpainted mural-like sign (thanks Noah Church), and some faux wrought-iron gates on the side. Had to go through the Bardstown Rd overlay district for permission for each of those, as well as permitting for the awning.

Phil, I guess I don't see what you're suggesting for Bardstown Rd, and now (if I'm reading the thread correctly) you don't want to make concrete proposals. I think that well thought out concrete proposals would be well received by this crowd. The way I see it, sure we're not perfect in the Highlands (and I represent Deer Park/Bonnycastle), but we're a heck of a lot better than most of the rest of the city. No, we're not upscale. Yes, a lot of young folks hang out here (people in their teens, twenties, thirties and beyond). Young people add art and vibrancy to life. They cause trouble too, but hey, life is about many things. Bardstown Road seems to mesh many elements together in a unique way, and I - along with many others- appreciate it...

And, hey, seriously, no offense intended whatsoever. You have every right to your opinions...

Cheers!

I nominate Donna for sainthood.

Well, I'm glad you can nominate Donna for sainthood without even meeting her. Wow, if all it takes to be canonized is to only say wonderful things about Bardstown Road, Martin Luther should have started the Reformation on Willow Road! Look at it this way, I'm being magnanimous by leaving. Now, Donna doesn't have to live with such a demon and she can be fully accepted by one and all.

Perhaps I've misinterpreted LS's recent post ... but I don't think Donna is being canonized for saying wonderful things about B-town Road ...

Phil,

Internet posting is a strange animal. You can think things with an implied inflection that doesn't come out in print. I say things in person with a twinkle in my eye (?) that can come across as harsh in print.

You just came into Louisville and told short and long-term residents that their city just isn't up to snuff. You're comparing it to cities that have higher average incomes, higher education rates, more cosmopolitan populations, and declaring Louisville deficient. So, fairly or not, you come across as a bit of a jerk. If we met, that impression might completely vanish. I don't know.

State street in Madison is one of my favorite places and easily outshines Bardstown Road, but it is a really different setting. State street connects the major state university in Wisconsin, a university renowned for its liberal sensibilities, to the state capital. Only buses, bikes, and pedestrians allowed. Louisville is not in any sense a university town (that is, primarily shaped by the presence of a major college or university). It will never be like Madison.

Neither is Louisville Austin or Chapel Hill or Sante Fe or Gainesville or a lot of other cities I love. But it is a good place to call home . . . and a great place to eat.

Perhaps I've misinterpreted LS's recent post ... but I don't think Donna is being canonized for saying wonderful things about B-town Road ...

Did Donna say something about Bardstown Road or Louisville? I missed that.... But I'm still up for the adoption and will for sure take the canonization under serious consideration.

Don't know if we've heard from Donna. I was referring to Leah's post and Phil's response to it which were above mine just above. (I haven't learned cut and paste, which I'd use now if I knew how and wasn't too hurried to learn.)

In addition to sainthood, Donna also deserves congratulations for however many hundreds of pounds of blubber she is about to lose.

Jeffrey- really- a personal attack.
Many of us may not agree with Phil, but he certainly has the right to his opinions without being called names. Hell, I'd want to leave town too.