Is anyone else concerned about what seems to be the impending invasive spread of the artificial Flexipave material into the residential areas of the important Key West Historical Area.
This material, now widely used on Duval Street, certainly has a value in high traffic areas such as the Duval corridor but seems terribly inconsistent with the HARC guidelines for the maintenance of historic accuracy. Homeowners need to comply to very high standards to retain the character of the historic district and it seems like this Flexipave material is being installed without any review at all unless I missed something.
I know that it is being installed in the name of "safety" but other changes to the nature of the historic district while proposed for seemingly "good" reasons like the white roofs are still subject to HARC review and evaluation. The design and placement of these elements should respond to the historic and architectural character of the district.
I really despair of seeing our neighborhood streets turned into walkways that Disney would be proud of!
A real part of our historic street character is seen it the care and maintenance of the sidewalk tree islands such as has been done so elegantly in many places along Frances Street. And even the somewhat scruffy, unkempt places with their assemblages of grass and flowering weeds and just plain dirt are also an integral part of the character of the streets for each neighborhood in the district. I believe that it would be very unfortunate to see this pervasive use of such an obvious artificial material dominating the streetscapes of our beautiful historic district.
I can understand the safety issues on Duval and perhaps adjacent to high use areas such as restaurants in the Historic District, as has been done at Cafe Sole on Frances and Southard, but to spread this material and contaminate the remainder of the historic district appears to be against the goals of HARC.
I will send my comments and concerns to HARC to see if they will respond but meanwhile I would like to hear any of your thoughts as well.
Thanks
Phil Schaeffer
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