By Anna McFall
Trussville City Hall held a forum Thursday to allow residents to listen and comment on a proposed downtown master plan that is being implemented for the city.
This meeting is the second Downtown Master Plan Public Workshop, with the first meeting held in January.
Plans for a major redesign for the downtown area have been part of the city’s future outlook for years. While the project is moving forward with each forum meeting, the proposed plan is a plan for the future of Trussville, with a projected time frame for the entire revitalization project being 20-30 years.
A slideshow presentation was directed by Jason Fondren of KPS Group, the architectural firm leading the downtown renewal project.
In January, Trussville held an open forum to craft an idea of what an optimized downtown Trussville would look like and what it would take to undergo a major revitalization effort of the historical downtown area of the city.
At Thursday’s meeting, KPS Group presented its plans for the city based on community input and appointed committee oversight. A master plan for the next phase of the city is vital in order to develop a comprehensive guide to public and private reinvestment in downtown Trussville.
As described at the meeting, the main goals of the master plan are to make it easier to get around town, concentrate shopping, dining and cultural experiences in the downtown area, mitigate flood problems, and implement a design for a consistent, safe and attractive downtown. The main component of the new revitalization plan involves a major redesign of downtown Trussville, with the primary focus being placed on road construction and commercial property.
This project span extends from Kay Avenue on the west side of downtown, to the Cahaba River on the east side. It also extends north of Highway 11 to Hewitt Street and down to railroad tracks on the south side of downtown.
The proposed project will address issues of an aging downtown infrastructure, lack of destinations, flooding and most importantly, traffic.
Research indicates that Highway 11 and Chalkville Road are the most congested points in the area, along with limited lane space, which creates a drastic traffic flow issue.
“There are 20,000 cars per day moving through Chalkville Road, with an estimated 25,000 traveling on the west side of Highway 11 and 15,500 on the east,” Fondren said.
If the proposed downtown plan is finalized, many road expansions would take place, including the possibility of widening Highway 11 to be a six-lane highway, as well as widening Chalkville Road into three lanes. Those are just two examples of the many ways the proposed plan will help facilitate traffic flow.
The downtown plan also aims to create more green spaces and walkways throughout the main downtown sector. Parking issues would be addressed by creating shared parking lots and street parking, where applicable.
Other visions for the future downtown would make the space bicycle and pedestrian friendly, encouraging shops and restaurants to open a business in the new district.
Analysis of community feedback indicates that the community would positively respond to more family clothing stores, dining facilities, and creative spaces like art galleries and studios as part of the downtown atmosphere. As it is, the development group said the downtown area is not concise in design or function.
“There’s not much consistency,” Fondren said. “Everything is sort of mixed up together in a random way.”
Some proposed ideas for a more consistent design would involve creating new zoning in the downtown area with specific design guidelines. Other features would include lighting, landscaping and underground utility lines. The proposed image of the new downtown would create a more inviting, uniform space for storefronts, giving the area a more consistent, functional look.
“We want it to fit together like a puzzle with plenty of room for the business owner’s personal expression,” Fondren said.
Following the presentation, attendees were invited to participate in an activity where they rated certain aspects of future design based on what was important to them specifically.
The ideas that received the most response included the desire for an open-air setting that provides support for the existing businesses
. All of the ideas discussed were open for public feedback, which will be used for the next phase of progress.
A third public forum meeting will be held, although has not been scheduled yet.