Beginning in the summer of 2007, a group of Salem's large City Center employers began discussing the future of the heart of the City - downtown, north downtown and the Edgewater/Wallace area of West Salem.
Together, the group considered the diversity of uses in the core area, employment centers, housing, recreation opportunities, transit, vehicular and pedestrian circulation, and parking. The group also heard from more than 3,500 Salem residents, employees and visitors who offered ideas to help create a new vision for Salem's City Center.
The Vision 2020 Team is a growing collaboration that now includes the State of Oregon, Marion County, Willamette University, Go Downtown Salem!, Salem-Keizer School District, the Chamber of Commerce, Salem Convention and Visitors Association, Chemeketa Community College, Salem-Keizer Transit, the Salem Hospital and General Growth Properties. Councilors Rogers and Tesler serve with the Mayor - who chairs the Team. A website for the project is on the city’s home page
Twenty four leading ideas have emerged from the community discussion under five broad themes. People are asking that the City Center:
o Provide places for people to live and gather. This theme includes projects like a plaza or a town square, expanding the diversity of places and activities for youth, developing new downtown housing, and coordinating access to services for people in need.
o Create a vibrant destination. This theme includes actions like more restaurants and shopping, later hours, performing arts venues and live music, more public art and promotion of local artists.
o Preserve and enhance the look and feel of the historic City Center. In addition to highlighting the historic character and protecting the character of the adjoining residential neighborhoods, this theme includes popular ideas like creating welcoming entrances for the City Center and making the sidewalks and streetscape pedestrian friendly, clean and attractive with wayfinding signage.
o Expand options to get about the City Center. The focus of this theme is creating better connections between east and West Salem, improving bicycle and pedestrian access, the trolley idea, and managing parking resources.
o Improve connections to parks and rivers. Two project ideas: creating more riverfront and creek corridors and trails, as well as providing more activities and facilities in Riverfront Park - really taking advantage of the waterways moving through the City Center.
From here, the Team is gearing up to make the vision a reality. Following an upcoming Team meeting to review feedback from the March 11 Open House and a design workshop with the Salem AIA, the Team will begin developing the projects with supporting organizations in the community. Organizations like Go Downtown Salem will take the lead in delivering more restaurants with outdoor seating and securing later opening hours for businesses and restaurants in the downtown core. Salem Keizer Transit will take the lead in developing a frequent reliable shuttle service around the City Center. And, the City will likely take the lead, with the support of all the partners, in piloting a town square. A Council Work Session is scheduled for April 7. In June, the Team will hold its first quarterly progress briefing.
Want to get involved ? You can visit our website: www.cityofsalem.net/vision2020.html or contact 503-588-6178 and speak with Annie Gorski or Courtney Knox.
Contact:
Vickie Hardin Woods
Director, Community Development
503-588-6173, Ext. 7501
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