Contextual Analysis: South Craig Street, between Forbes and Fifth

Contextual Analysis: South Craig Street, between Forbes and Fifth

Physical Attributes

  1. Ebb and flow of traffic
  2. Windy
  3. Wide sidewalks
  4. Paid street parking
  5. Smalls trees line sidewalk
  6. Contains Razzy Fresh, police station, offices
  7. Bus stop
  8. Sidewalk is for the most part even
  9. Cross street, Winthrop street is under construction, therefore there is some debris left on the block from the work there.
  10. Brick buildings
  11. 4 street lamps adjacent to the road along the sidewalk
  12. Nothing that stands out about the space
  13. Trees are barren
  14. When cars are parked bumper to bumper on the street, it can feel claustrophobic.
  15. A Power line runs on the corner of Winthrop and South Craig
  16. Power line runs along one side of South Craig.
  17. Benches in front of 300 South Craig
  18. Unclaimed bike whose chains are rusted.
  19. Lack of loading docks, causing delivery trucks to park in the road.
  20. Lulu’s plays 90s music, which is audible as you walk past it on South Craig.
  21. Boxes of books outside of Caliban Book Store
  22. Smells like food
    • onions
    • garlic
    • curry
    • coffee
  23. Outdoor seating available at some restaurants, but not utilized in the winter
  24. Smell of exhaust from cars during traffic jam
  25. Crosswalk is faded, poor maintenance of traffic lines and pedestrian markers
  26. Bike Rack
  27. USPS Mail Box
  28. Two-way street

 

Social Attributes

  1. Liminal space, people going from place to place
  2. Near police station
  3. People smoke outside of the buildings
  4. Used by high school students
  5. High school girls in uniforms pass by
  6. Lot of college students passing
  7. Homeless people walk around
  8. independent businesses
  9. Young people gather in Razzy Fresh—open until midnight
  10. Business people go to Luca, a fancy Italian restaurant.
  11. Carnegie Mellon Shuttle has stops along this block
  12. Quizno’s employees take a break outside.
  13. Guy sells flowers outside of PNC bank
  14. Multiple businesses have “Help Wanted” signs facing the street.
  15. Personal services available, such as dentist, travel agent.
  16. Businesses on side street put advertising signs on South Craig
  17. Nightlife congregates at KBox
  18. Educational buildings brings academics to the street
  19. Competition of local coffee chain vs. international chain
    • Coffee Tree Roasters vs. Starbucks
  20. Blind intersection at both ends (all four directions stop)
  21. Drivers disregard pedestrians
  22. Some students walk in groups, especially at night
  23. At night, CMU shuttle drivers sometimes ignore students, perhaps due to poor visibility
  24. Graffiti artists have tagged the mailbox
  25. Bicyclists ride on the sidewalk
  26. People look for parking

 

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