The Second Street Project Rumor Mill

As the project manager and lead designer for the Second Street Project I’ve been hearing from many different people in the community about all the things they heard I’m planning for the Second Street Project.  These are news to me.  Among the claims are that all the cars are going to be removed, we’re turning it into Times Square, it’s going to become a one-way street, and we’re going to start construction very soon and not only are we going to tear up Second Street, but we are going to tear up First and Anthes at the same time.  None of these are true.

I’d like to reiterate that we are in the midst of a community based design process and NO DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE ON THE PROJECT.  We are providing a myriad of ways to have your voice heard, to learn what is actually happening with the project and provide us your concerns, ideas, desires and needs.  We are starting to set up one on one meetings with each property and business owner along Second Street, but if there are other downtown property or business owners that want to meet I am more than willing to meet with anyone and everyone (residents too of course).  We are aiming to make a decision on a preferred design alternative at the end of August so it’s important if you want your voice to be heard that you get involved now.  Construction likely won’t happen until at least 2014.  My direct line is 360 221-4246 x26 so if you hear a concerning rumor about the project don’t hesitate to call me directly to find out if it has any merit or provide input.  We’ve gotten quality input from the community already, which is summarized below.  Our job is to listen to the community and interpret the input into a coherent design that reflects the community values.  Our job is not to impose some preconceived design philosophy onto the community.  So, if you hear something that concerns you or you have valuable input to provide please don’t hesitate to contact me!  I look forward to hearing from you.  There is a comment form at the end of this post that you can also use to send comments directly to me, they are not posted on the blog.  I’ll provide more detailed information on the project as it progresses.

SECOND STREET PUBLIC INPUT

1.  Second is a safe street for crossing, everyone agrees to dance  (let’s reinforce it) i.e. people cross without using the crosswalks

2.  Visual Variety, Lots of diversity (let’s not homogenize it)

3.  Big Space (let’s make it more pedestrian scaled)

4.  Authentic & Genuine – NOT CONTRIVED (don’t disneyfy it)

5.  Learning to Park (on 3^rd, management on 2^nd, clear connections) – provide better signage and way finding to parking on 3rd Street and other public parking areas as well as to the mid block alleyways.

6.  Identify opportunities for enhancing underutilized space

-Open Space

-Parking

7.  Working Street - Provide safe and convenient truck loading, access to businesses and parking.

2nd Street Charrette Update

We had a successful kick-off meeting last night and a big thank you to those that attended.  We will be at fellowship in the methodist church at 301 Anthes all day today so stop by at your convenience.  We will be conducting a walking tour at 11am and then breaking for lunch from 12 to 1.  We have lots of material for people to review, maps to draw on and many different ways to provide input so please stop by.

I want to reiterate that no design decisions have been made on the project!  The street is in disrepair and needs to be reconstructed and the storm water system must be upgraded to improvement treatment.  Beyond that it is an open dialogue on the future of 2nd Street.  The charrette is the first stage in the design process and construction will not happen for at least a year and will be dependent on our ability to get construction funding.

Below is a copy of a portion of our presentation last night that provides interesting examples communities have taken to designing and using their street right of ways.  Please review and let us know what you think by filling out the comment form below.

Street Design and Public Space Examples

Second Street Project Update

Project Kick-Off and Public Involvement

The Second Street Project has begun!  We had our first advisory committee meeting this past Wednesday and it was a resounding success.  Our next big event will be a three day design charrette on June 12, 13 and 14 at Fellowship Hall in the Methodist Church at 301 Anthes Avenue.  The event will kick off on June 12th at 6pm.  On June 13th we will have a series of workshops and many exciting and fun ways for the community to be involved and provide valuable input.  The design team will transform that input into design explorations that will be presented the morning of June 14th.  We will provide a more detailed program shortly and we hope to have an excellent turn out.  If you can’t make it or are out of town do not worry, there are plenty of other ways to stay involved and provide input including following along on this site as we will be continually be updating this site with information and design options for which we need your feedback.  For more information the project and key meeting dates please click on the flyer below:

Second Street Public Involvement Flyer

Your Second Street Advisory Committee at Work

Vision Statement and Project Goals

The following draft vision statement and project goals were developed with input from the advisory committee and we’d like your feedback on them.  Please review and use the form to let us know what you think.  Comments will be sent directly to the city and will not be posted on this site.  Thanks for your input!

Vision Statement

Project Goals