Travis wrote:
Warren wrote:
Jean wrote:
I've lived in Northeastern Ohio my whole life. We call it the
tree lawn. It doesn't matter if there is no tree, it's still the
tree lawn. I never heard it called anything else. Maybe my world
is too small.
Growing up in Southeastern Wisconsin, everyone I knew called it
"the space between the sidewalk and the street". Of course it
wasn't a big topic of conversation, and people weren't obsessed
with giving things nicknames back then. Eventually I did start to
hear it called the "parkway" or "parkway strip".
Part of the reason for such non-concern about it was that in the
City of Milwaukee, the trees in the strip were planted by, and
owned by the City. The adjoining property owners were not allowed
to landscape the strip in any way. They were expected to keep the
grass tended: weeds picked, mowed properly, and watered. Some folks
re-sodded or re-seeded the grass, but anything more than that could
lead to a ticket and removal. In commercial areas, a request for
pavement could be made. Carriage walks could be installed in
residential areas, but they had to be maintained to the same
standards as the sidewalk.
What is a carriage walk?
A narrow concrete path between the sidewalk and the curb, often lined-up to
be an extension of the walkway to the front door. It's what you once walked
on to get to the door of the carriage that was parked in front of your
house. They are also often found where the rear door of a transit bus would
discharge passengers. (And by ordinance, the ajoining property owner is
required to clear it of snow just as they are required to clear the rest of
the sidewalk.)
So the ordinary person only had to worry about watering and mowing
the grass, and keeping the dandelions down. There wasn't much of a
reason to come up with a special name for "the strip between the
sidewalk and the street", or "between the sidewalk and the street"
for short.
The first time I heard it given any kind of derogatory name was a
few years after moving to Portland, Oregon where I heard it called
the "hell strip". By that time I had noticed that it wasn't a
standardized, sanitized zone like in Milwaukee, and that people
landscaped them very differently, and very seldom does that mean a
single tree surrounded by sod. I don't think I've ever seen anyone
watering their "hell strip", either. But my subdivision doesn't
have sidewalks, so it's not something I see everyday.
I understood that putting in streets, curbs, sidewalks, street lights,
sewer lines and what not as well as houses was what constituted a
subdivision.
A subdivision is nothing more than the platting of a group of lots. (In most
states, 4 or more lots.) The governmental unit overseeing development in the
area may require different things. In most states, either the sale of the
individual lots, or building of homes can't take place until water and sewer
is installed, and all lots must have access to a public street (via private
easements may be allowed.) Most require easements for other utilities be
included in the subdivision plan.
Depending on state laws and local ordinances and goals, widths of street
easements, street lights, sidewalks, bike paths, greenspace, stormwater
retention ponds, public space between the sidewalk and the curb, and
landscaping are things that may or may not be included in any plan. These
things can change over time. For example, my city now requires sidewalks,
but when my subdivision was built in the 1970s it did not. (And the rules
were far different in the 1870's, as well!)
But basically, what a subdivision is comes down to a platting of 4 or more
lots.
--
Warren H.
==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
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