Buchanan Avenue Workshop

BUCHANAN Avenue Workshop Campus Corner Merchants Association City of Norman Oklahoma Municipal League OU Institute for Quality Communities OU Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design

Students tour Buchanan Avenue to learn about the area’s challenges and opportunities.

Buchanan Ave Workshop The City of Norman and Campus Corner Merchants Association were awarded a matching grant from the Oklahoma Municipal League, to pursue assistance from the University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities. Campus Corner representatives expressed that one street, Buchanan Avenue, has difficulty attracting visitors to linger and shop at the interesting mix of businesses along the street. Compared to neighboring streets, Buchanan gets far less foot traffic and has seen more business turnover in recent years.

The challenge became the focus of the Environmental Design Practicum course at the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture in Spring 2018.

Students worked with Campus Corner and City of Norman representatives from March through May. The group of 18 students investigated the challenges of Buchanan Avenue, and highlighted a few strategies designed to improve foot traffic and lingering on the street. The project included building and installing test versions of those improvements on site.

This report includes images of the tests conducted by students and some renderings or photographs showing what could be possible to attract more foot traffic onto Buchanan Avenue.

Areas of Intervention

Victoria’s First Presbyterian

Chixs & Styxs Buchanan Bikes Second Wind Harold’s Square

Alley

Kong’s

Fuzzy’s

Buchanan Ave Tulip’s

J. White Fitness

Annabelle’s

Antique Garden

Boyd/Buchanan Boyd Street

Asp Ave

Boyd House

University Blvd

Hideaway

Alley

Buchanan Ave

Boyd and Buchanan

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Boyd and Buchanan

The higher foot traffic along Boyd, and the high visibility of this entrance to Buchanan Avenue from campus make this a very important location.

In this location, students wanted to heighten the visibility of the intersection and inspire passersby to enter Buchanan Avenue. Students tested a Big XII-themed public art project, placed in the ample landscaping area at the corner. Another team attached a mailbox containing district marketing maps to the art project at the corner, transforming the art project into a makeshift wayfinding kiosk. A third team worked near this corner, using a sheet taped to a wall to simulate a mural shaped like a butterfly that would create a photo opportunity.

Public Art: This corner is a great location for a highly visible sculpture or public art.

Wayfinding Kiosk: Campus Corner could use one or more wayfinding kiosks with a large map of nearby destinations, businesses, and points of interest. The kiosk might also have brochure racks for Norman attractions. This corner has the right amount of space to accommodate such a kiosk.

Permanent Gateway Feature: A gateway feature, like a banner or overhead sign erected at the entrance to Buchanan from Boyd Street, would be a highly visible feature for people walking toward Campus Corner from the OU campus.

Public Art Monument

Brochure Box

t The intersection draws pedestrians along Boyd Street instead of making them curious about Buchanan. q Extending the curb to create a narrower entrance to the street, adding a gateway monument and wayfinding sign.

Extended Curb & Crosswalk

Wayfinding

Public Art Monument

A monument, public art, or sign could create a strong visual impact from the campus.

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Petoskey, Michigan

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Bentonville, Arkansas

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Chicago, Illinois

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Buchanan Avenue

Buchanan’s narrow scale, charming storefronts, and nice landscaping create an excellent street environment.

However, there are few opportunities for people linger on the street and enjoy the public space.

In this location, students wanted to add a comfortable place to sit and create an activity that would serve as a simple destination. The team created a parklet on the sidewalk with some seating, and demonstrated a butterflywing mural idea that would be a tempting photo backdrop for professional photography sessions, Instagrammers, and even selfies.

Overall, the very low volume of traffic on Buchanan could make the street a good candidate to be a “Festival Street,” where vehicles are allowed to pass through slowly or park, but the whole street is designed as an open pedestrian plaza.

Parklet with Public Seating: A parklet can occupy one or two parking spaces along the street, providing a location for seating and landscaping.

Engaging Photo Opportunity: A mural that creates a can’t-miss photo opportunity could become a simple destination visible from Boyd Street.

Festival Street: A remodel of Buchanan Avenue might consider the construction of a low-volume, low-speed, mixed traffic street. The street might include removable bollards at either end to easily close the street for parties.

Interactive Mural Photo Op

Parklet

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Parklet in Oklahoma City

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Festival street design on River Street in Batavia, Illinois

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Alley

The privately-owned alley connecting Buchanan and Asp stretches from Buchanan Bicycles to Fuzzy’s Tacos. This is Buchanan’s most promising connection to the heavier patronage along Asp Avenue.

Branding the Alley: Consider creating a name and personality for this alley space. Enid’s “The Breezeway” is one example of a narrow pedestrian passage upgraded with infrastructure, seating, art, and programming.

In this location, students wanted to demonstrate the placemaking opportunities in the alley and how it could create a new pedestrian-only public space. One team created a colorful pattern on the pavement with temporary paint to demonstrate a different paving material. They also created streamers overhead in the alley to demonstrate string lights or décor enclosing the space.

Colorful or Textured Surface: The ground and walls can be colored or textured to create a welcoming space.

Another team added music, a wayfinding sign, and little free library to entice people into the space. The alley can feel safe and inviting while also serving the utilitarian functions like trash and utilities.

Overhead Enclosure: String lights between buildings, or overhead streamers could help enclose the space.

Blade Signs and Doors: Businesses along the alley can consider blade signs and active entrances in the alley.

Signs and Crosswalks: The color and texture of the alley can extend to form intersections and marked crosswalks on Buchanan and Asp Avenue.

Music & Light: Maintaining good lighting levels and adding an outdoor speaker for music can also create a good atmosphere in this location.

Overhead Decor

Existing Murals

Painted Surface

Little Free Library

Students installed a temporary version of the suggested improvements.

Painted Signage

p It's easy to walk right by this pedestrian alley that connects directly to Buchanan Avenue. u A “lighter, quicker, cheaper� experiment with paint could send a signal to passersby: Something interesting is found this way.

p The existing alley can send a better signal to pedestrians to create more movement between Asp and Buchanan. u The "lighter, quicker, cheaper" way to create movement down the alleyway from Asp.

Painted Surfaces

Blade Signs

Mural

Landscape Textured Paving

A permanent upgrade to the alley could make this a pleasant place for people.

t Pedestrians pass into Buchanan here from parking lots on University Boulevard. q The intersection of the alley with Buchanan creates a place for possible curb extensions, cafe seating, and a crosswalk.

Curb Extension Cafe Seating

Curb Extension Possible Crosswalk

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Seattle, Washington

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Enid, Oklahoma

t Vancouver, British Columbia

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Next Steps

Buchanan Avenue is a quaint street that could easily become a strong public space, but this requires continued engagement from business and property owners. Buchanan can tap into streams of pedestrian traffic on Boyd Street and Asp by creating moments of interest at the corners and through the alley. These moments of interest could range from a simple sandwich board, to a mural, to complete redesigns of the physical space.

Buchanan Avenue merchants could work together, along with property owners, to implement "lighter, quicker, cheaper" versions of these improvements. There may be future opportunities to seek funding or raise money for more ambitious public art monuments.

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Collaborators

Norman Community Collaborators Campus Corner Merchants Association City of Norman Oklahoma Municipal League Mike Fina, Executive Director Nancee Morris, Operations & Business Development Kay Hunt, Communications Director Cole Poland, Outreach Specialist

University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities Shane Hampton, Executive Director Hope Mander, Associate Director Ron Frantz, Environmental Design Coordinator Environmental Design Practicum Bradley Anderson Thant Aung Athena Black Stephanie Boothe Emily Carter Jennifer Connett Armani Frye Bethany Grissom Sephra Kolker Colt Looper Cassidy Middleton Shawndale Pina Isabelle Preston Marshall Stringer Brendan Summerville Daniel Woodruff Audrey Yu

Report Prepared By: The University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture 830 Van Vleet Oval, Suite 165 Norman, Oklahoma 73019-6141