The City of Columbia has received a $2 million grant to improve the I-70 Business Loop area and now wants citizen input on how to do it. An open house later this week will keep one eye toward beautifying the road, which planners in other cities say often precedes the kinds of investment Columbia is seeking.
North Little Rock, Arkansas Assistant Director of Permits and Planning Donna James says in her experience, the beautification of an area is an important first step in the revitalization process, such as with one recent neighborhood revitalization program she worked on.
“Once you did the model block program and gave those houses a facelift and put in sidewalks in front of those, that made the other neighbors take more pride and want to make the community area...more appealing,” James said.
Carrie Gartner, the executive director of Columbia's Business Loop community improvement district, says the project will require more than just the $2 million grant.
“It’s also a road that has been neglected for quite a long time,” Gartner said, “so it’s not just making it pretty or building a sidewalk, it's really re-doing sewers, it's doing underground culverts to manage stormwaters.”
Gartner says the project could cost upwards of $30 million in total. She says the city has already begun small beautification steps such as putting up banners and artwork.
This meeting will take place Thursday from 4-6 p.m. Officials are looking for opinions on redesigning sidewalks, improving pedestrian and bicycle connections, better stormwater management features, beautification elements and intersections.
