The Advantages of a Local Team
The Team lead by Thurlow Small Architecture has been uniquely designed to not only bring a highly level of expertise to this opportunity for urban design, traffic planning and zoning in downtown Pawtucket, but to bring existing resources, information and working relationships that stem from previous projects in the City. Because the scope of these described services is broad and multilayered, the foundation of this work can make the design process efficient and the scope more affordable. These resources include:
DATABASE OF EXISTING INFORMATION & MAPS
Maia Small has been closely involved in Pawtucket community projects over the past 6 years, including the collation and exhibition of City plans and studies from the 1960s to present time and can offer this extensive database as a resource to the project. TSA has also recently completed a Local Knowledge Report as part of the KeepSpace Communities Project that looked at economic, social, infrastructural, recreation and transportation issues in downtown Pawtucket and Central Falls. TSA has extensive drawings and digital maps of the city ready to be used for these services.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Thurlow Small Architecture and Highchair designhaus are both located in downtown Pawtucket and are thus well connected with local business and residential stakeholders as well as being closely familiar with the way the city works formally and informally. Maia Small has also been a downtown resident for 6 years.
AGENCY LINKAGES
L + A has worked closely with RIPTA and RIDOT through recent Providence projects and offers the resource of linkages and working relationships with two agencies that can assist in transportation and traffic improvement.
TRAFFIC COUNTS
Maureen Chlebek of McMahon Associates was the lead traffic engineer for the Pawtucket/Central Falls Commuter Rail Facility Feasibility Study and Site Analysis and is intimately familiar with the traffic data collection and recommended transportation improvements of that study. This previous work can be directly used as a starting point in traffic planning. Having been employed in Pawtucket for 19 years, Maureen is personally familiar with the driving, parking and pedestrian facilities of downtown Pawtucket.
COMMUNITY PLANNING
Nathan Kelly has been a consultant partner in the Pawtucket KeepSpace Project with the Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation and Rhode Island Housing and has developed the soon to be released (June 2010) Community Plan.
SIGNAGE & ACTIVE NODES PLAN
Highchair designhaus has worked closely with the City over the past year to develop a downtown signage plan and can offer that project in tandem with traffic modifications and understandings of active nodes and important intersections. This project would integrate and repurpose all of those efforts. HCd’s dedication to the City has been extensive, through their development of the PawtucketLive website, donating services to the Arts Festival and in support of Pawtucket’s history through the ArtinRuins website.