New construction on south duff

and there are no requirements that parking lots be connected. That's what irks me the most. The worst offender is the Best Buy lot next to the Poncheros lot. Try going from BB to Poncheros during rush hour? It takes 10 minutes to go 300 feet. For a progressive town they sure base everything on the automobile with no connectivity between parcels.

You could park between best buy and pancheros and walk. Or just walk the 300 feet.
 
I was asking the Howe's Welding guy when I was there picking up steel tubing a while back and he didn't even know what was going there. He said no one would respond back to him when he asked.
 
If only there were a quicker way to traverse those 300 feet.
You could park between best buy and pancheros and walk. Or just walk the 300 feet.

I agree with you. But the point is those developments are not even designed or planned for people walking. How about walking from Target to Texas Road House? They are close but that whole stretch is not designed for walking and that the problem. Those things should be thought of up front rather than after-the-fact.
 
I agree with you. But the point is those developments are not even designed or planned for people walking. How about walking from Target to Texas Road House? They are close but that whole stretch is not designed for walking and that the problem. Those things should be thought of up front rather than after-the-fact.
How is it not designed for walking? Are their traps and pitfalls on the way? Left, right, left, right a few times and you're there!
 
The problem is there are no frontage roads. After the floods a few years ago, the city could have thought long and hard about making all new businesses on Duff require them, and then look at existing ones to see if that can be helped.
A road in the floodville behind Target, Walmart would help a lot.
 
How is it not designed for walking? Are their traps and pitfalls on the way? Left, right, left, right a few times and you're there!

When something is designed for walking the buildings and other built environment factors make pedestrians feel safe. Things are built to a human scale, not an automobile scale. Here are two examples: Which one would you prefer to walk in? Which one do you think is safer for people crossing the street?

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The problem is there are no frontage roads. After the floods a few years ago, the city could have thought long and hard about making all new businesses on Duff require them, and then look at existing ones to see if that can be helped.
A road in the floodville behind Target, Walmart would help a lot.

Agree. A road back there would take shoppers off of Duff and make it less congested fro people not shopping.
 
I'm with you BDK. Ames is about the only town where all the commercial development is on the complete opposite side of town as the residential development.

Ames likes to think it is some progressive town but all they have the same suburban development as every other town PLUS a terribly planned commercial corridor.

You think Firehouse wants to be stuck out in the old Wendy's in west Ames where the students can gawk at it while they ride by on CyRide every day? No, they want to be in the middle of the chaos on Duff and why wouldn't you if you're trying to make $$?
 
I was asking the Howe's Welding guy when I was there picking up steel tubing a while back and he didn't even know what was going there. He said no one would respond back to him when he asked.

He must not have tried very hard, it's been in the newspaper since 2013 since they've been arguing about putting in a traffic signal and over cross driveway access. As others have said, they are not really going to fully connect the parcels or get to 5th since TX Roadhouse and the auto store were not designed to do that.

Assume signal will be at Walmart entrance, and help the joke of a "no left turn" at the Walmart driveway by Wendy's south of 5th.

Ames Dev't Map
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=z-8hRyso-nus.kRW11K__jWLI

Developer wanting full access and stoplight for little strip mall, complaints about sharing access and need for medians:
http://amestrib.com/news/south-duff-traffic-proposal-inches-forward-city-council-workshop

I agree with many others about the frontage road needs, but they have the same problem in Ames on Duff as in Ankeny on Delaware...Either you can't put one in b/c of ex parking lots, or the parcels are not deep enough relative to the the frontage road far enough away from the main road to store the departing vehicles.
 
When something is designed for walking the buildings and other built environment factors make pedestrians feel safe. Things are built to a human scale, not an automobile scale. Here are two examples: Which one would you prefer to walk in? Which one do you think is safer for people crossing the street?

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I feel much safer on the road that doesn't have any commercial development or cars. However I don't do much of my shopping in open pastureland.
 
If this is indeed in the old Happy Joe's parcel I'm curious what precautions they are taking. Afterall, there is a reason that there is no longer a Happy Joe's there.
 
The problem is there are no frontage roads. After the floods a few years ago, the city could have thought long and hard about making all new businesses on Duff require them, and then look at existing ones to see if that can be helped.
A road in the floodville behind Target, Walmart would help a lot.


Just wanted to post this.
A road from East Lincoln to South 16th. (would need a bridge over Sqaw)

This would allow for people to sneak into the Big Stores from the back side or cut over to the middle of Duff without going through all of Duff.

I am not sure why all the business parking lots are isolated. For instance...Would you want Cy's Lockerroom access from Walmart? I guess not. You have to go back out to Duff and turn into Walmart...Its almost like the City of Ames is got some short bus syndrome going on.
 
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If this is indeed in the old Happy Joe's parcel I'm curious what precautions they are taking. Afterall, there is a reason that there is no longer a Happy Joe's there.

The same as every new development on S. Duff. Its about 8 feet higher off the ground. The Enterprise building in between there and Tx. Roadhouse is ****ed if/when the next floods hit.

That interactive map is fantastic. Whoever put that together is genius.
 
He must not have tried very hard, it's been in the newspaper since 2013 since they've been arguing about putting in a traffic signal and over cross driveway access. As others have said, they are not really going to fully connect the parcels or get to 5th since TX Roadhouse and the auto store were not designed to do that.

Assume signal will be at Walmart entrance, and help the joke of a "no left turn" at the Walmart driveway by Wendy's south of 5th.

Ames Dev't Map
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=z-8hRyso-nus.kRW11K__jWLI

Developer wanting full access and stoplight for little strip mall, complaints about sharing access and need for medians:
http://amestrib.com/news/south-duff-traffic-proposal-inches-forward-city-council-workshop

I agree with many others about the frontage road needs, but they have the same problem in Ames on Duff as in Ankeny on Delaware...Either you can't put one in b/c of ex parking lots, or the parcels are not deep enough relative to the the frontage road far enough away from the main road to store the departing vehicles.



I agree about Ankeny, but Ankeny does have at least some residential and some what of a frontage road behind Walmart. And all the parking lots on the West Side of Delaware you can drive through without Touching Delaware.

Plus Ames has a busy Train Track and a River going through their business district. Just not very friendly
 
If this is indeed in the old Happy Joe's parcel I'm curious what precautions they are taking. Afterall, there is a reason that there is no longer a Happy Joe's there.

Precautions? They don't need no stinkin' precautions. That's why they keep building in the floodplains of a river & a creek that have flooded much more frequently than they were ever supposed to flood.
 
Precautions? They don't need no stinkin' precautions. That's why they keep building in the floodplains of a river & a creek that have flooded much more frequently than they were ever supposed to flood.

Quite right. Every time we see new businesses springing up along South Duff I think back to when I was fighting flood waters at Happy Joe's. We thought we might have a fighting chance of sandbagging and winning the battle against Squaw Creek from the southwest. We knew we were screwed when the Skunk started rushing over Duff and flooding us from the East. Game over.
 
Jim's Discount Mattress and Auto Parts is looking to expand I heard, they'd fit right in on Duff.

Good gawd. Mattresses and auto parts in the same store? That's brilliant. Throw a Farrell's studio in there, and Duff Avenue will be bumper to bumper from the hospital down to Huxley.