Landscaping plans
by hpc
on February 6th, 2008
I am not surprised - like so much at Mueller, despite years to plan, it all seems so last minute. The folks that are living there now still don't have postal service - now over 2 months since they closed. Garbage service by the city still hasn't started (did Catellus hire a private contractor?) and no one is certain where the cans are supposed to go - gosh I hope it's not the street, or it will be impossible to drive, but the alley also seems problematic. Can you imagine backing out of your driveway and being stuck behind the garbage truck as it makes its way down the alley, and you're late for work (oh yeah, we are not supposed to have to drive to work!).
I well remember, at the time our contract signing, they the SP reps couldn't tell us whether the alleys would be one-way. It was obvious that they could only be one-way, but Catellus hadn't decided or hadn't informed any one. We were interested in a SP house on the courtyard along Antone, but no one could tell us what it would look like, where the sidewalk would go, etc. We changed our minds about that lot because of the lack of info.
Sometimes (when I am not fretting about the builder end of things) I worry that the plans drawn up by Catellus and the city will just not work well. You know, streets a little too narrow for comfort, alleys a bit to crowded, too few parking spaces for all the SUV/pickups that can't fit into the tiny garages, houses so close togethor that drainage between them becomes a problem, etc. Many other unforeseen problems too. I know that Catellus has done these redevelopments before with success, but how do we know that they didn't try to push the envelop in Mueller?
Anyway, when I get depressed, I read Aaron's blog and I am reassured. Gonna' have to buy that guy a drink or two.
