ENACT 15 mC

Academia group 1

Postive Attributes:

  • H7 is close to nature, with large green spaces, even though it is visually disconnected from the street and has a quick access road system.
  • The area has good sports facilities, which are nice for the neighborhood, although they require membership and are not open to everyone.
  • The history of H7 is interesting; the current H7 street was a runway and military airport during WWII. The east side still retains its historic identity.
  • There are good bus connections and a train station, which are valuable for future development.
  • Local services like schools, GP offices, shopping centers, sports centers, and welfare centers are good (though there is no library in the area, as noted by a local resident in the afternoon).
  • City Lade is a good place for the neighborhood (mentioned during the afternoon talk).

Most participants found it hard to list positive aspects and were not very satisfied with the area’s current situation.

Nagative Attributes:

  • The urban design and structure are not human-scaled, with big blocks.
  • There is no master planning; the area developed through uncoordinated small projects, leading to a lack of connectivity.
  • There is no bus loop serving the neighborhood (though a local resident later pointed out that there is a bus that drives around the area).
  • The site has too many grey spaces and lacks green public spaces.
  • The building materials and facades are too grey, which can be depressing, especially in winter.
  • Unlike the walkable city center, this area is not walkable.
  • H7 has only shopping and residential areas, lacking mixed functions. Introducing more diverse activities could improve the space.
  • The area lacks economic resilience due to its single function and is vulnerable to climate change due to the lack of green spaces.
  • Local residents and NGOs are not involved in the development decisions.
  • There is little social life on the streets, and Circus Park was empty at 3 PM on May 29th (though locals later said it is used and in the afternoon local participants says Circus Park is used by kids after dinner).
  • H7 Street is very long and wide, more like a highway. Breaking it into smaller sections with good landscape design could make it more like a street.
  • New residential buildings block the potential for a green corridor from the west.
  • The area lacks social infrastructure and cultural events in public spaces.

Challenges:

Lack of local initiatives and community involvement.

Lack of strong public sector involvement and a comprehensive master plan.

Lack of economic and social resilience due to the area’s single function (housing + Sshopping), and environmental resilience regarding climate change.

No network of public spaces and poor connections between them.

The landfill issue (consider moving sports facilities there and using environmental repair strategies).

Academia group 2

Postive Attributes:

  • Access to green and blue space
  • Already a reasonable mix of facilities for residents and workers
  • Good transport links

Nagative Attributes:

  • Lack of accessibility 
    • External: from the rest of the city and surrounding areas
    • Internal: lack of crossing and connectivity
  • Air quality and lack of air corridors which should be more strategically planned
  • Traffic dominance (air quality, noise, danger…)
  • Lack of green areas (even if it is so close to bigger green areas, but not connected)
  • Lack of child friendly consideration
  • Lack of cultural activities (public community space, connections to heritage…)

Challenges identified

  • Lack of permeability
  • Place identity and vision
  • Overcoming car dominance

Trondheim Municipality

Postive Attributes:

  • Public green sporting facilities 
  • Burger king:
    • Scale and public appearance 
    • Close to pedestrians 
    • Open to everyone 
  • The “green” neighbourhood to the north – the fjord, ladestien, Ringve, cultural heritage, that it is in short distance to the H7th street 
  • Cultural heritage buildings – Transformation gives qualities that are important for future identities. Appearance (tilstedeværelse) in the urban fabric, transformation, function and preservation are important possibilities
  • Mobility – train, different types of bike lanes (bicycle highway, other bike lanes and so on), new bridges connecting the area across the railway barrier 

Facades, the city at eye level – qualities that give understanding, experience and incites. There are some examples of this, but not many, actually very few. 

Nagative Attributes:

The lack of human scale (both in buildings and the street, spaces in between)

Lack of green qualities and lush experiences (such as public spaces, green corridors, trees and more)

Boring – few entrances, big volumes, mono functional areas such as only housing and so on

Parking – too much open air parking, and bad positioning, scale and design of parking spaces 

Lack of pedestrian grid – connections, barriers, obstructions 

Mishandling of greenery – dying trees for salt in the winter and so on 

In general a monotonous car-based area. 

Challenges

Scale – lack of human scale. Surroundings often feels empty. Few and boring experiences at eye level.

Grayness – boring, lack of greenery, need of lush atmosphere

Lack of pedestrian grid – Not prioritized, few and poor perpendicular axes to the main street, lack of positive pedestrian experiences.

Local Residents

CHALLENGES

Development along the street

Somewhere in the city, the shopping centers must be located, and they create car traffic as a necessary consequence

Residential areas are being built everywhere, and small industry is disappearing.

How successful will Lade Arena be with homes on top of a shopping mall?

Will Coop OBS follow and build homes on top of City Lade?

We must consider that 3-4000 new people will live along the street with the scale of planned housing construction we see here today.

It is a dilemma that H7’s street has so much traffic, at the same time as we are afraid to prevent through traffic because we do not want the traffic to take other routes. The side streets of H7, such as Lade alle, are exposed. 

There are problems with too fast driving also in Lade alle.

I love the narrowing of the bus lane in Lade alle!

It is more important for us to prevent more traffic in the side streets, than to limit through traffic in H7 street.

Lack of greenery

  • It is important to create a pleasant street. 
  • Now it’s just GREY! It’s so little green and nice
  • Today, there are few benches along the stretch. It is difficult to rest. There should be several benches with their backs to the street. It is nice to look out towards the green areas at Lade that surround H7 street.
  • The street lacks green at eye level. You must plant bushes along the street!

Dangerous traffic situation

  • Roundabouts prevent left turns in the street. Left turns are very dangerous.
  • In general, there should be more roundabouts along the stretch.
  • There should have been a roundabout in the middle of the stretch, so that the left-turn lanes can be removed.
  • It is important to prevent left turns in the street and prevent people from zig-zagging due to lane changes.
  • The shop owners have been granted all their wishes for exits. We want fewer! We must get rid of all traffic lights and intersections.
  • Does there need to be a 50 km speed limit in the street? How about 40 km? The cars usually drive later due to traffic jams, but speed up when they have the opportunity
  • The street lighting is awfully bad. There are a lot of mistakes, and worst at the roundabouts

Parking

  • The new housing projects have very low parking coverage, and there is also a lot of parking by strangers inside the residential areas. We lack parking spaces for the homes.
  • Less car parking at the shops can lead the customers to park inside the residential areas.
  • There are lots of vacant underground parking spaces by the shops, so maybe you should be able to remove some parking spaces at street level?
  • I understand that the shops need parking. They are of the type that have one store in Tiller and one in H7 street. (trade in large goods)
  • How about setting up a free bus to H7 like you had to IKEA before?

Pedestrian safety

  • Pedestrians and car traffic must be separated even more than is the case today. 
  • There should be level-free underpasses and crossings for pedestrians, not pedestrian crossings in the same plane as cars as today. 
  • At the eastern roundabout, at Hangaren, it is possible to create a pedestrian underpass due to sloping terrain
  • In extension of the exit behind City Lade where the pedestrian bicycle bridge over the railway enters, a pedestrian bicycle bridge over the H7 should be built. This would land approximately at the Trygg Lade hall
  • Bridges are nicer than underpasses. The bridge could be wide with seating on top and decorated with flowers like the flower bridge at Solsiden. Ramps on both sides plus a lift for the disabled. The street is wide enough for there to be room.
  • In several places, car traffic could also be put under a lid.
  • You could make wide lids with room for seating, as there is above Trondheim Central Station.
  • It is important to have barriers between walking/cycling traffic and the road. Want barriers especially regarding children.

Cycle paths

  • There are fewer cyclists along the H7 after a new cycle path was built along the railway. Passing through by bicycle is now taking place more and more along the railway.
  • Lack of signage for access to new cycle path along the railway
  • Perhaps there is no longer a need for a cycle path with two-way lanes on both sides of H7?
  • By removing a cycle path on one side, a wider, more park-like sidewalk could be created there instead, with places where things can take place.

POSITIVE FEATURES

  • We currently have 10 minutes to walk to everything. 10 minutes city instead of 15 minutes city.
  • It is easily accessible for cyclists and pedestrians, except for all the traffic lights where motorists get the green light while pedestrians get the green man.
  • The bike path on the north side of the street is quite OK due to fewer exits to be crossed
  • The west end of the street is not too bad. The area around Ladebyhagen and the roundabout in Ingemann Torps road. It is better to live there than in the eastern residential areas. 
  • The area has many nice, green residential yards.
  • Although we miss more greenary at eye level in H7 street, it is nice that they have planted some trees
  • The sports field is green and nice, and there is green between the buildings.

Real Estate Developers

Postive Attributes:

Leangenbukta (recent and ongoing development) has a very good atmosphere.  There were risks taken by the developer that challenge standard practices.  One example is the variety of building types, spaces between them and materials. Another is the location of outdoor living spaces along the busy H7 road frontage.  The glazed sound protection devices appear successful.  The desirability of these is reflected also in the after-market prices. 

Open space design within development site.  Openness, fosters legibility and access to sunlight, welcoming.  Green elements.  Positive façade designs at ground level.  

Tree lined pathways, available for use by people with several different needs and expectations.  Disabled, pushing pram, cycling, walking.  Green and attractive.  

Large building scale broken down effectively with smaller elements at front.  Accessible and legible.  Know where to enter.  

Access to Ladestien, activity, greenery.  Beaches.  High affordance levels. 

Very attractive, contained space.  Scale of the space is positive.  

Meeting and relaxing space in middle of large sporting complex.  Affording shade and identity with the trees. Overall, the sporting fields seen as attractive and opportunity is provided for many different activities.   

Legibility and connectivity through the housing development, stretching from entry to City Lade down to the Circus park. Invitation to public to use this space is very positive.  

First new park developed in Trondheim in nearly a century.  Requires knowledge of local history, but the meanings arising from this are positive. 

Clear project, great outdoor spaces.  Reuse of former industrial building is well liked.  Accessible to many, not just those who live there.  

Here you can get everything you need.  This is a cozy mall.  The developers have made good attempts to satisfy many different criteria.  Successfully used the slope of the site to manage scale of the buildings, particularly along the southern (car parking) side.  Good use of cladding materials and architectural design in the newer bits.  

Easy to see where we are in the city.  Nice greenery and connection to other places along the flowlines of the valley.  

Newly opened cycleway gives access through this area.  But with this being opened the group asked why it is necessary to have cycle lanes both sides of H7.  

Leangen station.  Access. Legibility, investment in local infrastructure all positive attributes.  

Nagative Attributes:

Poor façade design and set back from street.  Why is this project able to do what others are prevented from?  Where is the consistency in design review?  

Lack of containment; openness.  Temporary problems with scale perception.  Anticipate that this will be better liked space once surrounding development is complete.  

Excessive area of open surface car parking.  Feels unsafe to walk across.  Unattractive.

Feel unsafe to walk here.  Today such crossings would not be allowed.  

Façade design.  Visually and physically impermeable.  

The small length of “building façade” has tricked the zoning regulations in a bad way.  How is this considered an active and defined edge? 

Building blocks the pathway through the site.  Limits accessibility, visibility and choices.  

Façade quality.  Why is it that some rules do not apply to all projects being built?  

Light duration too long for vehicular traffic.  Not sufficient time for pedestrians or those with special needs (young children, elderly, people with disabilities).  Typical for all crossings along the street. This is seen as a concrete barrier to walking in the area and has a negative message “pedestrians not as important as car drivers”.  

Intersection design creates conflict between different users. 

Wrong business type for the area.  Requires heavy transport.  

Barrier to movement from one site to another.  No sensible reason why fences should restrict movement.   

Challenges

Too much vehicle traffic to and through the area.  While this may be addressed in part by growing proportions of residential activity, it will still remain a challenge for the future as many drive into this area and through the area to other places.   

Lack of green and nature within the area.  How can nature be reintroduced in meaningful ways?

Regulatory barriers to transformation.  Example here is approval of the mobility plan, which is long overdue.  Similarly, the discussion and policies around the landfill.  Property owners can influence but cannot decide ways forward, and have unclear rules they can work toward.