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2. The Shops. This area is iconic today and will be iconic in
the future. The environment will be redesigned to prioritize
pedestrians and maintain a Main Street charm that serves as the
core of its identity today. Sidewalks will be greatly widened
and vehicular lanes will narrow, with trees realigned to shade
people, not cars. Landscaping, lighting and street furniture will
support easy pedestrian walks and unify the district at night. The
area will be designed to allow the street to be a place to hold
festivals, and support future business development.
3. Colee Hammock. This section has the potential to be the
neighborhood center that caters to residents year-round. It must
be treated delicately. Colee Hammock is the key transition
area from the Beach and Isles to the busier Historic Shops and
Downtown portions of the Corridor. Colee Hammock is
bisected by SE 15th Avenue, and acts as an extension of the
corridor in the larger Broward Boulevard, Las Olas Boulevard
system. Preservation of this neighborhood's character and
quality of life is wholly dependent on how this traffic is
handled. Wider sidewalks, secure bicycle paths and flowering
trees will create an inviting, aesthetically pleasing
neighborhood street that will bring value to the surrounding
residences. To support the small businesses that serve the
neighborhood, the redesigned streetscape will include areas of
outdoor seating for the restaurants and cafés that line Las Olas
Boulevard.
4. The Isles. The Isles remains a key portion of the corridor
that should provide a relaxing walk with ample shade for the
residents of the Isles and travelers en route to the beach. Due
to the nature of the road here, as a transportation conduit
encouraging higher speed driving, it is critical that any plan
acknowledge there needs to be a clear separation between
vehicles and bicycles and pedestrians. Traffic flow must be
designed to allow residents to access their homes and for
beach-goers to access the beach. Pedestrian and bicycle paths
are safely buffered and have multiple stopping points along
this long walk. Improved landscaping, integrated resiliency in
design for drainage and improved emergency response times
are a must for this neighborhood.
5. The Beach. The Beach serves as a destination and a
gathering point at one end of the corridor. While the Beach
area was planned by itself, the implementation of the Las Olas
Oceanside Park and associated streetscape improvements
creates a need to better connect this area with the rest of the
corridor. Connections to other paths (such as A1A bicycle
pathways) may be enhanced by bridging new connections
over the Intracoastal Waterways, while unity of design may be
achieved through adopting similar landscaping and
wayfinding to present one unified concept for Las Olas.
16 LAS OLAS BOULEVARD & ISLES