Avanzar Consulting

Broken Streets – Parallels to Christchurch and a Mall Crawl!!

My Monday at the American National Planning Conference in Denver started early with one of the sessions I was most looking forward to.  This was a session on disruption caused by roadworks.  Being an inhabitant of Christchurch, I have my own opinions of the extent of roadworks being undertaken in Christchurch at the moment, so it was great to be able to meet planners from around the States, hear their experiences, and discuss the issues relating to the significant disruption to communities caused by roadworks, and to consider what the true cost of roadworks actually is to communities, businesses and individuals.      

After that, I jumped on the bus with 25 of my fellow attendees and went on a ‘Mall Crawl’!  We started with a fascinating walk down 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver, which is currently being renewed, and heard from the designers about the rationale behind their design decisions and  cutting edge construction methodologies.    

Next we visited Olde Town Arvada where post COVID, the temporary pedestrian areas were retained.  It was a worthwhile place to visit, and we had a pleasant lunch there.

Finally, we headed to Pearl Street in Boulder, that I consider to be the best pedestrian mall I’ve ever visited, ( and I’ve been to quite a few!).   I can’t wait to go back after the conference and visit some of the shops we walked past and share what I learnt with Laura. 

The day finished with a very loud and entertaining game of ice hockey at the Ball Arena.   The Denver Avalanche  team lost in a penalty shootout, and the local fans left dissatisfied, but we enjoyed the experience and the showmanship.  I was lucky to sit next to a lovely planner from Boston, who patiently answered all my questions about the rules and tactics and also important queries like where on earth the crowd camera was located!

What a great day!