[Winona Online Democracy]
Mr.
Woodford and others,
The
process of putting together a proposal for planning involves outlining a
process, not a final vision. The word "proposal" can be used in many
ways. Our "proposal" (and all the other consultants' proposals) was a
timeline and budget for a certain amount of research, community meetings, staff
meetings, design sessions, etc. that would result in a concrete vision for the
downtown, riverfront, etc. This is distinctly different from a "proposal"
by a developer or business that already owns a piece of land and has a specific
plan for it that might involve plans and drawings of the buildings, landscaping,
etc.
Good
planning doesn't start with a specific idea of what will be built, but
formulates it out of community input, stakeholder interviews, careful goal
setting, generating alternatives, facilitating the selection of a
preferred alternative, and detailing the implementation
steps.
Phil
Carlson, Mpls
P.S.
Having said that we didn't put a specific vision in our proposal, I do have
pre-conceived opinions of what should happen on and near the Winona
riverfront. First, make sure you know what industry needs are and
accommodate them as best you can, but not in the downtown area. Second,
get more dense housing downtown to support downtown businesses and take
advantage of the riverfront - the current downtown spreads out east and
west too far. So replacement or conversion of some downtown
fringe buildings for housing might make sense. Third, create amenities
along and near the river so that people want to live, shop, dine, and hang out
there. Concentrating on a revitalized downtown riverfront with more
housing would be part of absorbing some of the growth that might otherwise
happen out at the edge of town in the townships. But there have to be high
quality amenities and convenient services to compete with the beauty of the
bluffs. Dense urban development is the best thing for the environment. A
challenge to all this is the active rail line.
Mr. Carlson,
Thank you for the info, I had no idea this was already so far
underway. I appologize for not being aware of the process and am surprised I
havent read more about its progress in the local newspapers. Thank you again
for the direction, and this is also another good example of this message board
doing what it was intended to do,
Thanks again,
C.E.Woodford
p.s. Any chance you would share with us( or me) what your firms vision
was/is for the riverfront?
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