Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: A New Word: Home Zone

[Suzanne Buice (scbuice]

I too am very interested in "home zones".  I currently live in a historical
neighborhood in which traffic calming measures are currently being tested.  A
speed hump has been placed in front of my house and I HATE it.  Most cars have
to come to a near stop to get over the hump and so now I hear a lot of traffic
noise I did not hear before (from deceleration and acceleration).  Also, the
passengers in nearly every car that comes to a near stop in front of my house
look over at me whenever I am in the front yard or on the porch.  We have
always used the front porch a lot but now feel uncomfortable..

I am dreaming of living in co-housing, though none exists near me.  I got a
taste of living in community when my family lived in married student
university housing a few years ago.  My kids loved having others around.  I
loved having friends of both sexes, the spontaneous conversations and
gatherings--when we moved I felt almost as though I had been through a
divorce.  I want to live that way again.

I have given some thought to a "retrofit cohousing community".  My
neighborhood contains a street full of currently section 8 housing which might
be available for sale in a year or two.  They are ugly now, but if cleaned up
and landscaped?  It would be nice to sacrifice some beauty for TIME to be at
home and spend time with family and the community.  I wonder if I could find
others who feel the same way.

Suzanne in SC

Fred H. Olson wrote:

> On Sat, 17 Apr 1999, Sharon Villines wrote:
>
> > Home zones are residential streets in which motor vehicles take
> > second place to people.
>
> "Home zones" is a new term to me, tho I am somewhat familiar with
> the term "woonerf".  "Traffic calming", a term that is somewhat more
> general, is more common here.  Whatever the term used, it's a
> great community building idea.
>
> I was on a parkway evaluation group last year that was considering traffic
> calming measures to slow traffic around our parks e.g.- traffic circles,
> speed humps, constrictions, parking bays, even longitudinal lines that
> make drivers feel the road is narrower.  The general conclusion is that
> people drive at a speed that they percieve is reasonable and safe based on
> their perception of the roadway design and environment with little regard
> to posted speeds.  So the task becomes attaining a design that drivers
> perceive as having slower "reasonable"  speeds.
>
> In our attempt here in Minneapolis to organize a "retrofit cohousing
> community ** , I have hopes / dreams that someday our alley and street
> will become a home zone.
>
> **  "retrofit cohousing community" is the term I advocate for a
> cohousing-like community that evolves in an existing residential
> neighborhood.   See:
>
> http://freenet.msp.mn.us/housing/cohousing/retrofit
>
> I plan to go on the Cohousing tour to Denmark this June and spend a day or
> two in Stockholm as well.  I'd love to see examples of home zones.
> If anyone has knowledge of specific examples there, please write to me.
>
> Fred
>
> --
> Fred H. Olson  fholson [at] cohousing.org    Minneapolis,MN   55411
> (612)588-9532  Amateur radio: WB0YQM          List manager of:
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> Cities Neighborhood issues list.  See http://freenet.msp.mn.us