When you walk along Franklin Avenue, what do you see? Yummy platefuls of burgers and pizza being snarfed by folks enjoying outside seating? Cigarette butts strewn among the day lilies? Broken sidewalks? Do you see potential?

Dozens of curious people with a vision for an attractive, safe place to live and work recently had an opportunity to donate an hour of their time to explore Franklin Avenue and answer that question, thanks to the “Walk on the Avenue,” a project developed through the combined efforts of Seward Redesign, Seward Neighborhood Group and Seward Civic and Commerce Association.

The walks took place April 17 and April 19, departing from Pizza Lucé and Second Moon coffeeshop, respectively, as part of the larger Franklin Planning initiative, which received a $10,000 Great Streets grant from the city this year.

Each day, small groups were organized and walked part of the avenue between the LRT station and the Mississippi River. Each group took a disposable camera to photograph things they considered “really great assets of the avenue, as well as things that could be better,” said Emily Wergen, development project manager for Seward Redesign.

After each walk, participants shared their ideas and observation on a survey. Those results will be collated to inform future activities as the initiative moves through its next phases. A selection of photos taken on the walk will eventually be posted on the photo archive website is available
here.

A Saturday stroll

For the walk on Saturday morning — a cloudy, cool day — I joined a half-dozen other urban walker-explorers for a westward walk on the south side of Franklin Avenue. Properly fortified with chocolate croissants and hot coffee from the Second Moon Café, we headed out in search of what we liked, and didn’t like, about the neighborhood’s main drag.

We swiftly encountered our first Good Thing About Seward: a swarm of giggling youngsters on their bikes at the corner of Milwaukee and Franklin avenues. The members of the “Lemonade Gang” posed for our first photo then zoomed off down the avenue.

Design elements of buildings we passed by reliably caught our attention. The “Welna” sign, the colorful wheelbarrows all in a row in front of the store and the corner landscaping that will soon green up as the weather warms met with everyone’s approval.

The 2200 E. Franklin Ave. building across the street, with its color combination of brick and pumpkin-colored paint, stood out as attractive, and the building’s two-story windows act as the so-called “eyes on the community” urban safety feature.

The Seward Co-op parking lot was bustling. We mused about the desirability and feasibility of parking created behind buildings, rather than directly on an avenue, but all agreed that this lot is a good example of shared business parking.

We paused at the Blue Nile building to talk about its history and enjoy the artwork. The group agreed the murals are great but revisited the idea of “eyes on the community” and reminisced about the days when the building had arching windows facing Franklin.

Across the street, the Boulder Court, with its tidy grounds and wrought-iron fence, served as terrific chunk of avenue eye candy, architecturally speaking.

But a few steps later, we hit the wall — that stretch of urban wilderness on Seward’s western border. At the corner where Franklin intersects with Minnehaha and Cedar avenues, the entire mood of the avenue shifts. Suddenly, we found ourselves in an undeniable no-man’s land. Crossing the street on bike, foot or car among the unpredictable flow and direction of traffic — along with the lack of activity from businesses or foot traffic heading west — marked a personal safety hazard.

We scampered across the street when traffic allowed. Upon our safe arrival, we found a necessary and welcome garbage can but deemed it unattractive and positioned such that it impedes pedestrian traffic. A proposal by the group to take immediate action was ratified on the spot; we moved the can from the edge of the curb to the side of the bus stop shelter.

We climbed the stairs to the top of the LRT overpass and greeted another group of walkers traveling with babies, strollers, toddlers and a friendly airedale named Bissy, whose owner, Liane Bromer, was knitting the beginning rounds of a cardigan.

Having reached the perimeter of Seward, both groups made their way back towards the Blue Moon, where others who had traveled east or west were reconvening for that last cup of coffee, to turn in their cameras and surveys, and to share their observations.

John Schmid, a potter who lives in the neighborhood, found the opportunity to gather with neighbors and explore the avenue fun and exciting.

“It’s an adventure,” said Schmid.

Ever passionate about the Seward neighborhood, longtime community activist Dick Westby considered the event another opportunity to help make Seward a better place.

“I am concerned about whatever is happening, whether it’s safety and crime, graffiti, or traffic,” said Westby. “When we have an opportunity to participate in major changes and development, I feel obligated to join in as a resident of the neighborhood,” said Westby. “Since Franklin is a major thoroughfare through our neighborhood, it needs some attention.”

For more information on the walk and future phases of the project, visit www.franklinavenue.us.

last revised: September 11, 2008

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