Community members take part in the Big Ideas Open House for the Greenwood Comprehensive Plan update Thursday at the Greenwood Public Library.
Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
The boards filled up quickly at the Greenwood Public Library as residents gave their feedback on the city’s comprehensive plan update Thursday.
Over two hours, more than 100 community members and other stakeholders made their way from station to station, giving feedback on topics like infrastructure and public safety, along with some of the city’s focus areas for development and redevelopment. The activities were part of the Big Ideas Open House, which was designed to see if officials are moving in the right direction with feedback gathered during the comprehensive plan update.
Since last year, Greenwood officials have been working to create a new comprehensive plan, documents that will guide development and growth in the city for the next 10 to 20 years. The full plan was last updated in 2007, and while there have been some smaller updates since then, it does not account for all of the growth the city has seen over the last 20 years.
The updated plan addresses the city’s “Four Pillars” — public safety, infrastructure, economic development and quality of life. It will also prioritize the eastern corridor of the city’s sustained expansion, reinvestment in long-established areas and look at the future of the city’s southwest corner.
For the open house Thursday afternoon, officials presented preliminary recommendations and concepts for the city’s future. Officials were pleased to see so many residents come out and take part, with the number doing so exceeding Planning Director Gabe Nelson’s expectations.
“I said to the other planners, ‘I’d be happy if we had half of what we had at the last meeting,’” Nelson said. “I think we’re already at that number. I’ve already seen 100 people through here.”
All of the stations at the open house addressed key focus areas for the city. In addition to the Four Pillars, stations also proposed ideas for redevelopment, development or improvements of areas including and surrounding the Greenwood Park Mall, Old Town, Main Street east of Interstate 65 near the city limits and the Main Street and Worthsville Road interstate interchanges.
Posters asked residents what they thought the city’s role should be in the development of these areas and what residents would like to see, Nelson said.
“We’re still looking out east, but we’re now starting in this process to look at redevelopment and reinvestment in the city of Greenwood,” he said.
For the Greenwood Park Mall area, suggestions include the redevelopment of the old Sears and an auto care center located on the southeast side of the property. As for Old Town, preliminary recommendations include more mixed-use development, trail extensions and pedestrian and bicycle crossings of U.S. 31 either at Main Street or Pleasant Run Creek.
Recommendations also addressed ways areas of Old Town could be redeveloped in the future if buildings were damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster, for example. Federal officials wouldn’t allow some buildings to be rebuilt due to their location with floodways, so potential green spaces were suggested.
When it comes to the Main Street interstate interchange, there are existing plans for the Indiana Department of Transportation to modify the interchange. These plans give the city an opportunity for transportation and aesthetic improvements in the area, according to officials.
Two through lanes for each direction of Main Street under I-65 were recommended, as were potential roundabouts at Main Street-South Park Boulevard-Sheek Road and Main Street-Commerce Parkway West. Driveway closures along Main Street were also recommended.
Residents agreed with the focus in this area, with one even suggesting a “Welcome to Old Town” sign be built. Another resident expressed concern about the idea of a roundabout at Sheek Road.
For areas of Main Street east of I-65 near the city limits, suggestions included roadway and streetscape improvements along Main Street, a community park and a variety of residential developments. Residents agreed it should be a focus area, though individual feedback focused on the need for the roadway to be improved and a request to consider more upscale housing. One resident expressed concern about how future development would affect Nay Road.
As for the Worthsville Road interstate corridor, recommendations show that the large parcels of land available give opportunities for the development of commercial, entertainment and recreation uses to make it a “regional destination.” Destination commercial, hospitality and office flex uses could go southeast of the interchange, as could the development of a mixed-use activity center, plans show.
Other feedback provided by residents address the Four Pillars. Suggestions by residents include fewer apartments and rental developments, along with “no more warehouses.”
Residents also said they wished for more support for the city’s art league, expanding waterway capacity to handle floods, pedestrian bridges on U.S. 31 and Smith Valley Road and requests to stop new neighborhoods from connecting to stub streets in existing ones.
The preliminary recommendations listed on the boards were not final and are subject to change following feedback, said Adam Peaper, a project manager for HWC Engineering, the firm assisting the city with the update.
Thursday’s open house is not the last chance for the community to take part in the comprehensive plan update. On Friday, officials launched an online survey with content featured at the open house for those that couldn’t make it, plus a video recap, Nelson said.
Once officials have gathered the data from the online portion, they are going to analyze it and use it to improve and update the plan. They will also meet with their steering committee and other stakeholder groups, he said.
“We’re going to take that feedback and see how we can apply it in our goals and vision of Greenwood,” Nelson said.
The goal is for the first draft of the new plan to be completed in April, with edits coming after before a public draft is released. A public presentation will then take place, following by revisions and eventually adoption, Peaper said.
Public input will continue to be needed and accepted up through the plan’s adoption, Nelson said.
“We want to continue to hear from people,” Nelson said.
To learn more, take part and give feedback, go to PlanGreenwood.com.
