Accessibility: Ancient History?

by fcahill

Something I find interesting about courthouses is accessibility.  There are obviously many forms of accessibility regarding the courthouse but one I would like to focus on at the moment is locational accessibility.  This could be a form of openness, but on a greater scale.

Going back in history, one thing that seemed to crop up most of the time was that the courthouse was in the center of town. Possibly in a square.  It generally didn’t popup in the middle of nowhere, or so many miles outside of town-it needed to be where most of the people were or congregated.  Even as towns became cities, the courthouse remained within the city and even today many courthouses are built within the city.  But it seems as though many are not.  As time has gone by, new courthouses are being built outside the city, to the point where many people have to take the time to drive, take the bus, or use some form of transportation to get to it. (Clarification: as people because suburban-dwellers they relied on the car for everything, so even to get downtown they had to drive, so I’m not focusing on them).  So, up until recently, it seems as though the courthouse was a centrally located place in town that was easy enough to get to, OR (as many people have mentioned personally) it was passed while walking in the city each day.

This being the case, our courthouse is not exactly centrally located.  Many people drive by it on their way to work or home or shopping.  But it is a very busy road and would be difficult to cross.  Hence, some thoughts. How is this site going to be accessible?  How are we going to make it so that anybody who is curious enough to venture in our direction can, without endangering themselves because they have to walk on roads? Cross big roads? Bike in heavy traffic?  Is it possible to make it more safe as a designer? I’m not talking about making sure there is enough parking for people once they arrive or have enough bike racks or a close bus stop.  So if we are thinking about making this a mixed-use facility, we want people to venture over; can we make them feel comfortable doing so?