Pang Designs: Design Concepts (cont...)

Exhibition Square

Decluttering of Exhibition square and Bootham Bar should be a priority. There is a lot of street furniture that is unappealing and also confusing for visitors. The pavements and crossings at the Bootham and Gillygate are very narrow and tight. The area is noisy and also very vehicle dominating. Public buses often stop at the lights, as well as the York sightseeing and the brown bus.

I propose that the rearrangement of the road system to give more priorities to pedestrians, but also getting rid of the traffice island. A nice wide crossing should be in place to direct flow to and from the Art Gallery to Bootham Bar. It should be pleasant with a wide angle of view and also makes vehicles aware that they need to slow down. Reducing to single lanes also provides more space for cyclists waiting at the lights, but also buses turning onto Gillygate.

Next, the Exhibition Square frontage should have an area of focus. Where people can meet up and organise, for York tours and school groups, the entrance to the Art Gallery is an ideal place. Children are able to have their packed lunch and is easily monitored. A bus lane directed into and around the fountain may also be more convenient for school buses, tour buses and other public transport. Removing much of stopped traffic along the St Leonard's place. There is enough bus stops along this corridor, as it is, so this could be a temporary solution. Bearing in mind that the Lendal Bridge closure would really contribute to the traffic along this area.

Mirrors of York

Initially I was thinking about how to help the problem at Gillygate/Bootham junction; there is often someone coming round the corner quickly, and you can bump into them. I thought of using convex mirrors to allow pedestrians to see round the corner. It reminds me of seeing some really beautiful architecture above the shops of York and feeling that they get forgotten or ignored. Using large mirrors, visitors which may normally walk past streets or alleys, could get glimpses of side streets and alleys. I think it could be used as a tool to spread footfall in otherwise empty spaces. I think this could be useful if there was a magnification too, and placed in certain positions it could give interesting viewpoints or highlight something in the sidestreet. Landmarks could have be viewed differently, illusions, exaggerations can be all part of a new fun adventure for people in York.

As a side idea branching from viewing York differently; a disposable camera service could be fun. For family day outs, you can purchase a disposable camera and use it for the day. Then return back to tourist centre once you are done. But because the disposable camera is not digital; the photos need to be developed and results cannot be seen right away. Returning back home from the visit, there will be a surprise the next day to see your journey/experience in the post.

This could be very entertaining for all if each member had a camera each. The children’s perpective of entertaining things is different to teenagers or adults. However, there is always the issue that almost everyone has a mobile phone with a camera. Tourists will have a digital camera most of the time, and also people will not be willing to spend a lot for photos. Holiday photos almost worth nothing in today’s world.

Inspired by Kai from digitalrevTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N14GKJaVsZ8