Vision for Bayside

    On Thursday April 27, 2000 a new type of planning and design forum for the Bayside Community occurred.  It was hosted by Architalx and presented Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, renowned as a founder of the "New Urbanism" school of thought (Vegh 2000, 1B).  This workshop invited  architects, businesspeople, and community residents to all work together and attempt to envision Bayside in the future.  Plater-Zyberk's New Urbanism seeks to eliminate the sprawl associated with suburban type development.  It, instead, attempts to introduce mixed-use development where neighborhoods possess a "walkable" characteristic and use of public transit.  

    The participants of the workshop toured Bayside and then sat down in teams to draft ideas and proposals for different parts of the community.  "Plater-Zyberk, after touring Bayside, declared the area an incredible jewel" (Shanahan 2000b, 12A).  This forum produced ideas such as more open and greenspace, the continuation of Chestnut Street to Marginal Way, the linking of parking garages to public transportation, the improvement of sidewalks and streetlighting, and the development of mixed-use communities where residential and smaller commercial operations or office complexes could coexist. 

"Bayside is looking to become a neighborhood again" (Elder 2000, 11).  Bayside is seen as a place where smaller business can develop and eventually move into higher cost offices.  These attributes make Bayside a prime area for the type of development sought by the city and community.  It is evident that Bayside will develop.  It remains to be seen how it will develop.  The Bayside Neighborhood Association is firmly entrenched within the process of how this will occur and therefore has an enviable position as the watchdog.