Monthly Spotlight: Nashua, NH

“Every new building sets the standard.” That’s what one city official in Nashua, NH urged when developers proposed constructing a Burger King along Main Street. The city had completed a master plan that aimed to unify the pedestrian-oriented northern part of Main Street with the more hodge-podge, auto-oriented southern part. The developers initially wanted to build a restaurant with a traditional layout (parking in front with drive-thru on the side). The city negotiated with the developers of the Burger King to modify the layout to be more pedestrian-oriented and the building design to blend better with Nashua’s traditional architecture.

"We are at a critical point in how buildings need to be situated in the downtown. Every new building sets the standard," said the city official to The Boston Globe (January 9, 2003). "We would love to point to Burger King as a good example of how Main Street south will be developed. We are looking to them to truly demonstrate leadership with regard to this part of the downtown."

The resulting design is pictured below. Good job, Nashua and Burger King developers!

Near-Term Project #1: LOGO

During Meeting #3, Steering Committee members brainstormed ideas for a logo for Black Horse Pike as a NEAR-TERM project for improving the BHP corridor through branding/identity. The following are some of the ideas and suggestions that came out of the meeting. What do you think about them? Chime in on this blog with your own ideas and suggestions.

*Incorporate the Black Horse.
*Use color in the logo.
*Consider a different, customized horse for each town.
*Get more people involved in the design process. Hold a contest and advertise it in each of the towns and schools. Establish parameters for the design.
*Businesses could sponsor horses/banners. Banners in each town should have the same logo but have different colors.
*The logo could have a tag line, such as "[town] proudly supporting Black Horse Pike."

Near-Term Project #2: WEBSITE

During Meeting #3, Steering Committee members brainstormed ideas for a website for Black Horse Pike as a NEAR-TERM project for improving the BHP corridor through branding/identity. The following are some of the ideas and suggestions that came out of the meeting. What do you think about them? Chime in on this blog with your own ideas and suggestions.

*Get the domain www.bhp.com or www.bhp.org.
*Create a business directory. Organize the content by business type rather than by town.
*Consider a listing fee for businesses to be in the directory.
*Get links from the municipal websites.
*Consider advertisements and promotions on the website.

Near-Term Project #3: COORDINATE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS

During Meeting #3, Steering Committee members brainstormed how the developments standards of the various BHP municipalities could be coordinated to improve the BHP corridor. The following are some of the ideas and suggestions that came out of the meeting. What do you think about them? Chime in on this blog with your own ideas and suggestions.

*Coordinate signs. White Horse Pike began a process of coordinating sign standards among the various municipalities.
*Use development standards to attract certain types of businesses.

Monthly Spotlight: Girard Avenue

One of the outcomes of last month's Steering Committee meeting (Meeting #2: Corridor Issues & Opportunities) was a list of near-term priorities for improving the Black Horse Pike corridor. Branding/Identity were on people's minds, with developing a logo for the Black Horse Pike being one of the most important near-term activities. This takes us to May's Monthly Spotlight, which is on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia.

A major east-west artery in Philadelphia, Girard Avenue businesses and residents banded together in 2003 to create the Girard Coalition. The goals of this organization are to stimulate commerce, increase foot traffic, and grow the population of the Avenue. Shortly after its formation, the Girard Coalition undertook a corridor planning process to conceive of and prioritize improvements to the Avenue. One of the priority activities was to brand Girard Avenue with a unique logo. The resulting logo reflects the reactivation of the trolley line and the resurrection of the historic trolley cars. The logo appears on banners along the entire length of the street. Visit the Girard Coalition on the Web.

Meeting #3: Near-Term Projects & Business Survey Brainstorm

We look forward to see you at Meeting #3, which will will take place on Monday, May 12, 2008, 7:00 PM, James Bud Mullen Community Center, 29 East Browning Road in Bellmawr. The topic is "Near-Term Projects & Business Survey." We'll take the ideas from Meeting #2 to the next level and also brainstorm with you the best questions and approaches for surveying existing businesses in the Black Horse Pike Corridor. This survey will be critical for understanding the needs and capabilities of BHP-area businesses and informing the comprehensive economic development strategy.

Monthly Spotlight: El Cajon Boulevard

Every month we'll feature a "spotlight," a case study of a planning issue that could help inform our work together in the Black Horse Pike region. These spotlights are not meant to prescribe specific solutions for the Black Horse Pike region, but rather to help generate ideas and discussion. This month's spotlight is El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego, CA.

The history and evolution (and, therefore, the character) of El Cajon Boulevard is strikingly similar to that of Black Horse Pike. A major east/west route, El Cajon Boulevard evolved into an important auto-focused commercial corridor. By the 1940s, hotels, motels, gas stations, and auto-dealerships were the predominant business-types, and the architecture of buildings and signs were often whimsical and eye-catching. The construction of a major freeway and shopping malls in the 1960s and 1970s gradually drew business and customers away from El Cajon Boulevard. In response, in 1979 the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement District (BID) was formed, which evolved into the El Cajon Business Improvement Association.