Classic Saturday hike at noon

Helen Putnam Park is the largest open space within the City of Petaluma. We got out there mid-day. The spring explosion of blue sky, puffy clouds, green landscape exploding and the peaceful connection with the rolling pasture hills is probably going to continue for a few months after the long rains. Go take a look!

This is the location currently identified for the Corona SMART train station on the east side of Petaluma.

A sense of place

This is going to be fun to watch which cities make the best use of their SMART train stations to create modern transportation, more affordable housing, jobs and promote their tourism. Rohnert Park’s new downtown development plan is train station development on steroids!

Rohnert Park is using their new SMART train station project to create an entirely new downtown core in a city that had no real downtown at all. There was no “there” there. This new Station Avenue Project will create a new heart of the city that is fully accessible to and from the SMART train line. Rohnert Park is creating a “sense of place.”

In Petaluma, we also have a very well-articulated plan for our downtown SMART train station. It’s true that downtown Petaluma already carries a strong “sense of place” but our long term SMART station area plan will expand into the future our downtown as a must see, pedestrian oriented destination that will be fully accessible to and from the SMART train line.

We have the same huge opportunity to create a “sense of place” on the east side of Petaluma as well. The Corona Road SMART station may possibly see some new development at that station location in the near future in addition to the Brody Ranch that is already well under construction. In the end, we are going to wind up with more housing sprawl that results in more car traffic on the roads or else we are going to create an East Petaluma Train station destination that is pedestrian friendly and (hopefully) provides less expensive housing. We are going to provide more housing in east Petaluma where people no longer need their cars and actually use the train or else we are going to have a suburban park and ride train station where people mostly drive to the Corona Road station. Which will it be?

This is a huge opportunity for us in Petaluma to create a “sense of place” on the east side and to get people out of their cars and onto the train.

Rohnert Park’s development is ahead of our SMART station developments in Petaluma. Their train station development project is much bigger than ours but what can we learn from it?

I've been soul searching as I begin to build this blog. My focal point of interest is: how do we get anything done in town without it devolving into a big "political" fight? How do we commission and build multiple public art pieces? How do we resolve a looming City budget crisis? How do we build a lot more housing even though it will increase traffic? How do we preserve what makes Petaluma great while building a city that will work well in the year 2040? How do we get there? By what process?

A look at the public art installation being planned for Petaluma, CA. It's called "Fine Balance".

Welcome to the "P-Town Post" blog. This is the beginning.

I am fascinated with urban planning, architecture and construction. Almost all of my life, I have been involved with old house renovation. These are topics that I like to think, write and talk about.

Secretly, I have a deeper agenda. I guess I'm a "glass is half full" kind of guy. These days, it seems like there are a lot of loud voices about how the "glass is empty." I've been willing to keep quiet about it, mostly. But not so much anymore.

The glass is at least half full. More accurately, it is over-flowing. Never has there been a better time than today for more humans on the planet than now. There is enough food for everyone. There is enough water for everyone. We have the ability to build a sustainable living system on this planet for all the people who are here now and for all the people who will be born for the next century.

I know, I know. "We are all stuck on this big rock hurtling through space and we are all going to die." I got that. But what should we do in the meantime?

I say, let's work together to build the town of our dreams. Let's make it work -- well -- for all the people who live here now and for all the people who will be moving here.

Yes, the population will continue to grow. Yes, traffic will get thicker. Yes, our town is already a desirable magnet that many new people will want to come enjoy and live in. Our resources are not scarce. They are plentiful. How big and how beautiful can we dream, plan and build?

This is "a positive vision conversation."


Teddy Herzog