master plan update - City of Boca Raton

SECTION AINTRODUCTIONissuesAt the most fundamental level, the issueis whether Downtown can become acohesive Downtown. It is now perceivedto be a collection of separateplaces. On the positive side, it has all ofthe functions you would expect to findin a Downtown, including City Hall,museums, a library, post office, officebuildings, shops, educational uses, performancevenues, parks, and an increasingamount of residential uses. But, itdoes not have the coherence that bringsall of these uses together.The portrait drawing on page 3 clearlyillustrates one of the key problems facingDowntown. It is a narrow, north /southband of mixed-use development, cut offfrom other parts of the City. Downtownis constrained by the barriers created bynorth /south arterials and the railroadlines which have made it difficult to createa unified Downtown. Most people’sperceptions of Downtown’s boundariesinclude the railroad tracks as the westernedge, or even Federal Highway. And yet,City Hall, the library, and the Children’sMuseum are west of that boundary. Peopleexpress great pleasure about walkingamong uses in certain specific areassuch as Mizner Park, but experiencegreat difficulty in walking across majorstreets. As a result, Downtown presentsitself as a collection of separated and isolateddestinations. There is evidence thatsome businesses are leaving and that thecompetition from more urban and walkabledowntowns is drawing customersthat would otherwise come here.As illustrated on page 9, most of thecurrently approved development proposalsare located within this same narrownorth-south band. Each is designedwith concern for the public realm immediatelyaround it, but without an overallframework, it is difficult to visualize howthey would all work together to create aDowntown.In short, Downtown Boca Raton hasnot been able to maintain its early leaddue to a series of factors that have preventedthe vision from being fully realized.PEDESTRIAN NETWORKAn essential element in successful downtownsis an interconnected network ofstreets and open space that providescomfortable pedestrian connections.Boca Raton has successful pedestrianpockets, but fails to provide a pedestriannetwork that links its various parts. Aparticularly vivid example can be seenon Palmetto Park Road where, despiteefforts to create a pedestrian-friendlyenvironment, past programs have beenunsuccessful in doing so. The emphasisgiven to through traffic, combined withroad and sidewalk design that encouragevehicles to travel at high speed, hasmade it impossible to provide this vitalattribute.DEVELOPMENT PROCESSWhile the original vision called foran holistic approach to developmentin which each part contributes to thewhole, most projects are conceived anddealt with by the City on a project-byprojectbasis.Existing conditions along Federal Highwayand Palmetto Park Road8