Those interested in the downtown master plan took to planning the future of downtown Monday evening.
More than 80 people split into groups to discuss ideas for downtown, write them down and present them. They looked at maps of the city. They wrote on them. They drew pictures of ideas. At the end of the meeting, someone from each group presented the ideas to the other groups.
The following are some of the ideas presented Monday
• U.S. Highway 412 gateway
• Main Street needs help
• Trees in middle of road
• Sidewalks from high school
• Amphitheater near new library site
• Trails going down to Sager Creek and over the creek, near Washington Street
• Clean up trails, such as Lovers’ Lane, west of Sager Creek, near City Park
• Install bicycle lanes, including Broadway Street
• Grocery store
• Place to get a piece of pie
• Splash pads
• Rename Main Street, Calle Mayor
• Roundabout
• Linking kayak park to City Lake
• Use unused buildings
• Pedestrian bridge over U.S. 412
• Tree lined East Main Street
• Decorative wall along recycling center
• Ashley and Mount Olive streets beautification
• Host Dogwood Festival on streets instead of grass
• Sager Cabin identified as part of downtown
• Trolley from JBU through downtown
• A community vegetable garden
• Bicycle trail to kayak park
• Safe routes to school
• East Main Street area be more involved in downtown planning. Along with this comment, Dover said he has staff who are fluent in Spanish who could conduct a meeting in Spanish, if requested, this week at the design studio.
• Mixed arts center
• Narrow Mount Olive and East Main streets to slow down traffic
• Use Moss House
• Reroute road at new library
• Bicycle path along Sager Creek through the parks
• Make Holly Street and U.S. 412 crossing safe for students
• Twin Springs Park expansion
• Connectivity with East Main and Broadway streets
• Bump outs on Broadway Street
• Redesigned intersections and corners
• Develop arts and music
• Put museum where library is going
• Public studios for artists
• Development incentives from the city
• Arches
• Latin restaurant on way to downtown
• Connect JBU art with downtown
• Open up springs again
• Veterans memorial.
It was the first of two public meetings to take place this week for the Downtown and Connectivity Master Plan. The second meeting will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the Community Building.
"We help you visualize change before it occurs," said Victor Dover of Dover, Kohl and Partners. The town planning company of Coral Gables, Fla., was selected to develop the master plan.
The plan will be a five- to seven-year road map for the future of downtown.
Dover said a plan of this length is unusual. He said most communities work on 100-year or 50-year plans.
These plans help "decide what their towns want to be when they grow up," Dover said.
He said American small towns have something magical.
Dover showed old pictures of downtown and compared them to new photos.
"The town wasn't afraid to build a little more vertically," he said.
Staff of the company will host a design studio this week so people can drop in to offer an idea or watch the staff work. The studio is at 103 E. Alpine St., next to the Balloon Closet. It will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Friday.
In the meeting Friday, company staff will present what they've heard from residents and verify if that is what they wanted to say.
General News on 04/02/2014