Future vision: Multi-purpose park, friendlier sidewalks
September 4, 2009 10:30:00 AM
Jason Browne
In revealing its plan for the future look of Columbus Thursday, a visiting charrette team emphasized the flexibility of its suggestions. As one team member put it, “This is not the vision for Columbus. This is just a vision.”
And with that, the team unleashed a series of slides highlighting everything it has learned and developed since arriving Monday in Columbus. From branding concepts to landscaping to huge construction projects, they outlined their vision for what could be.
“This is a road map to the next level. It’s a starting point, not a finishing point,” said charrette facilitator Randy Wilson.
On the hot-button issue of where to locate a proposed sportsplex, the charrette crew chose to stick with the Burns Bottom area of downtown, only their plan passed on a traditional sportsplex design in favor of a sprawling city park which contains multiple soccer fields separated by rows of trees and swatches of unlined grass.
The multi-purpose park could include elements such as bike trails, playgrounds and non-sports designated lawns. Sidewalks or walking trails, and even small fields, would extend into downtown to integrate the park into the business district, which would then blend into residential areas.
Plans for downtown reflected the public’s plea for pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. Suggestions included curb extenders to shorten crosswalks, outdoor dining and trees to provide shade.
Trees were a consistent theme throughout Thursday’s presentation. A computer-generated image of Gardner Boulevard added sidewalks, strips of grass and trees to interrupt the constant concrete.
Back downtown, in what charrette planners referred to as the Northside District, their models for urban expansion showed new business and residential construction hugging roads to eliminate large, flat chunks of concrete such as parking lots.
Separating buildings from roads with sidewalks and landscaped medians, planners said, would encourage pedestrian traffic in areas previously exclusive to automobiles.
The other side of the charrette team’s vision for Columbus’ new look called for a consistent graphic representation for the city. Per the charrette crew’s suggestion, city signage, literature and advertising would utilize similar fonts and logos for official organizations, events and locations, with only minor differences to set each entity apart.
Acknowledging the city’s budgeting concerns, Wilson said the team would continue working to identify funding sources after leaving Columbus. They’ll present a follow-up report to the city in a few weeks detailing implementation strategies.
In the meantime, he says the city will post the charrette presentation for further review by citizens and governing bodies.
Link: View details on the presentation