The city is encouraging all who are interested to attend a series of public input sessions that will take place later this month to gather feedback about the future design plan for the portion of East Main Street that lies between Maxwell Street and Lincoln Street.
Funding for this project's design was approved by the city board of directors on Oct. 16 in the amount of $128,570. On Jan. 15, the board appointed a steering committee comprised of individuals from diverse backgrounds to help guide the process.
The entity hired by the city to create the design is Crafton Tull, a civil engineering, surveying, architecture, landscape architecture and planning firm that operates out of 10 offices across Arkansas and Oklahoma, according to its website. The meetings will take place every day from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28. Following is a list of the location, time and additional information for each meeting, according to an updated post on the city's website.
• Monday, Feb. 25 -- 6 to 8 p.m. at Siloam Springs Public Library, 2015 E. Jefferson St.
This will be the initial public input session, where representatives of Crafton Tull will highlight specific aspects of East Main Street that are problematic. They will ask for feedback about the design thereafter, which is a time that the city's website describes as the public's chance to tell designers what they would like to see happen.
• Tuesday, Feb. 26 -- 5 to 7 p.m. at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 504 E. Twin Springs St.
This will be a 'drop-in' meeting, and is intended for those who were unable to attend the first meeting, or who would like to speak one-on-one with a Crafton Tull employee about any concerns or questions they have.
• Wednesday, Feb. 27 -- 3 to 5 p.m. at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 504 E. Twin Springs St.
This will be another drop-in meeting, similar to the one held the night before.
• Thursday, Feb. 28 -- 6 to 8 p.m. at the Siloam Springs Public Library, 2015 E. Jefferson St.
The final meeting will consist of a presentation of sketches depicting an initial conceptual design that will be created by Crafton Tull, based upon public input that is gathered over the week.
Improving the aesthetics of this section of East Main Street has been a prospect for quite some time and ideas for doing so were first outlined in the city's 2014 Downtown and Connectivity Plan, City Communications Officer Holland Hayden said. The plan was developed following extensive public input sessions and it makes a number of suggestions for potential improvements for the area.
Though none of them are certain to be part of the design at this time, some of the changes suggested in the plan include installing a crosswalk and establishing a "neighborhood center," at the intersection of East Main Street and Britt Street. The plan also suggests encouraging future developments to be "street-friendly," which would mean discouraging things such as large parking lots or setbacks, and also encourages planting trees on each side of the road, spacing them 25 feet apart so that each one lines up with the one across from it.
A primary theme of the plan, however, is an emphasis on increasing walkability and safety for pedestrians. To accomplish this, a couple of measures it proposes include reducing the width of the lanes in the road to 10.5 feet to allow for wider sidewalks or constructing new sidewalks where property owners allow.
Generally speaking, one of the main challenges will be addressing the relationship between the downtown storefronts, pedestrians and motorists, Hayden said. This is because there is heavy pedestrian traffic in the area and some parts of it don't have sidewalks that both adequately support that traffic and encourage the continued development of the street, primarily as it moves eastward.
Community Development Director Don Clark also weighed in on the topic and said that at this time there is no date set for construction because the focus is on the design aspect. He also emphasized the importance of the public's participation in the process.
"Our biggest challenge of this design phase is getting the public's input," Clark said. "The community's voice is a vital part of the design process."
For those interested in seeing the complete version of the 2014 plan, it is available on the city's website and for additional comments, questions or concerns, contact the city at 479-524-5136.
General News on 02/13/2019