CTroyMathis
16 May 2004, 12:38 PM
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Creekwalk concept, once rejected by voters, gets a makeover
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 hi="1"><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#396ca5 height=2>http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD>http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>BY AMY MORENZ , STAFF WRITER </TD><TD align=right>05/16/2004</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Development of this Harrington Park area along the lines of San Antonio's popular Riverwalk is among city revitalization ideas being considered.
Imagine retail stores along a tree-lined creek next to a vibrant park area just west of Central Expressway near Harrington Park and the Senior Center.
Elements of this type "Spring Creekwalk" concept -- rejected by Plano voters on Jan. 26, 1991 -- may be resurrected in a different way.
Conceived in the late 1980s, Spring Creekwalk was first proposed as a gathering place capitalizing on the waterfront, Harrington Park's 16 acres and Chisholm Trail.
Early plans called for restaurants and shops to face the waterway, rather than the present arrangement in which Creekwalk Village fronts 15th Street facing south.
Reviving the Spring Creekwalk concept is one of five strategies being unveiled for consideration by Transition and Revitalization Commission members when they meet at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plano Municipal Center, 1520 K Ave.
Other strategies will include: developing a "way-finding" system to pinpoint key interest points and places; encouraging infill development; promoting year-round public space use celebrating ethnically diverse cultures; and using heritage and conservation districts for historical preservation.
in 1991, Plano voters denied the $5.5 million Spring Creekwalk proposal in a three-to-one vote, with 6,088 ballots cast against and 2,959 cast in favor.
Proposition 11 had called for creek improvements needed to "prevent natural erosion from destroying a major portion of existing tree cover."
"We talked about Spring Creekwalk ... as a missed opportunity that is not necessarily a dead opportunity," said Commissioner Jim Hiegel. "It has the potential to tie together various parts of the city and help to revitalize Collin Creek and downtown.
"Plano is not an easy place to make stand out visually," he said. "We have kind of a suburban type of environment."
Creating a sense of place and gathering spot is the top issue facing commissioners, said Jeff Zimmerman, staff liaison to the commission.
"The issue raised the most has been a lack of a focal point and gathering point," Zimmerman said. "Downtown was built for a population between 2,000 and 3,000 ... and we have 240,000 (people). We have to continue to look for opportunities."
"Despite Plano's reputation for high-quality development, it has yet to clearly distinguish itself visually from surrounding cities," a May 12 comprehensive plan draft states. "The rapid growth of the entire north Dallas suburban area has resulted in large areas of homogeneous development. One community looks like its neighbor."
No longer a "new city," Plano should have central gathering spot that is immediately recognizable by residents, said Hiegel.
"There has to also be economic opportunities, someone has to make money out of it," Hiegel said. "There needs to be a focus on creative ways to take advantage of smaller spaces."
"How do you make Plano a livable city and keep it going forward?" Commissioner Russ Kissick asked. "What do we do to affect the sustainability of the city? You have to keep replanting and resowing."
Commissioners are updating the urban design element of Plano's massive comprehensive plan.
As it ages, the city's challenges include myriad issues, including managing big box projects, new urbanism, redevelopment, an aging population and older housing stock, according to the comprehensive plan.
"People used to live in a town square where they could meet their neighbors," said Commissioner Loretta Ellerbe, also a former member of the Planning & Zoning Commission. "Now they live in cars and drive in alleys."
The city has to "keep its eyes open" for potential redevelopment opportunities and creative use of commercial zoning for retail, senior housing and varied housing options, she said.
Plano can capitalize on the strength of its park system built by acquiring land in flood plains before property values increased, she said.
"Right now, we're constrained because we've got what we've got," Ellerbee said.
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 hi="1"><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#396ca5 height=2>http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD>http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>BY AMY MORENZ , STAFF WRITER </TD><TD align=right>05/16/2004</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Development of this Harrington Park area along the lines of San Antonio's popular Riverwalk is among city revitalization ideas being considered.
Imagine retail stores along a tree-lined creek next to a vibrant park area just west of Central Expressway near Harrington Park and the Senior Center.
Elements of this type "Spring Creekwalk" concept -- rejected by Plano voters on Jan. 26, 1991 -- may be resurrected in a different way.
Conceived in the late 1980s, Spring Creekwalk was first proposed as a gathering place capitalizing on the waterfront, Harrington Park's 16 acres and Chisholm Trail.
Early plans called for restaurants and shops to face the waterway, rather than the present arrangement in which Creekwalk Village fronts 15th Street facing south.
Reviving the Spring Creekwalk concept is one of five strategies being unveiled for consideration by Transition and Revitalization Commission members when they meet at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plano Municipal Center, 1520 K Ave.
Other strategies will include: developing a "way-finding" system to pinpoint key interest points and places; encouraging infill development; promoting year-round public space use celebrating ethnically diverse cultures; and using heritage and conservation districts for historical preservation.
in 1991, Plano voters denied the $5.5 million Spring Creekwalk proposal in a three-to-one vote, with 6,088 ballots cast against and 2,959 cast in favor.
Proposition 11 had called for creek improvements needed to "prevent natural erosion from destroying a major portion of existing tree cover."
"We talked about Spring Creekwalk ... as a missed opportunity that is not necessarily a dead opportunity," said Commissioner Jim Hiegel. "It has the potential to tie together various parts of the city and help to revitalize Collin Creek and downtown.
"Plano is not an easy place to make stand out visually," he said. "We have kind of a suburban type of environment."
Creating a sense of place and gathering spot is the top issue facing commissioners, said Jeff Zimmerman, staff liaison to the commission.
"The issue raised the most has been a lack of a focal point and gathering point," Zimmerman said. "Downtown was built for a population between 2,000 and 3,000 ... and we have 240,000 (people). We have to continue to look for opportunities."
"Despite Plano's reputation for high-quality development, it has yet to clearly distinguish itself visually from surrounding cities," a May 12 comprehensive plan draft states. "The rapid growth of the entire north Dallas suburban area has resulted in large areas of homogeneous development. One community looks like its neighbor."
No longer a "new city," Plano should have central gathering spot that is immediately recognizable by residents, said Hiegel.
"There has to also be economic opportunities, someone has to make money out of it," Hiegel said. "There needs to be a focus on creative ways to take advantage of smaller spaces."
"How do you make Plano a livable city and keep it going forward?" Commissioner Russ Kissick asked. "What do we do to affect the sustainability of the city? You have to keep replanting and resowing."
Commissioners are updating the urban design element of Plano's massive comprehensive plan.
As it ages, the city's challenges include myriad issues, including managing big box projects, new urbanism, redevelopment, an aging population and older housing stock, according to the comprehensive plan.
"People used to live in a town square where they could meet their neighbors," said Commissioner Loretta Ellerbe, also a former member of the Planning & Zoning Commission. "Now they live in cars and drive in alleys."
The city has to "keep its eyes open" for potential redevelopment opportunities and creative use of commercial zoning for retail, senior housing and varied housing options, she said.
Plano can capitalize on the strength of its park system built by acquiring land in flood plains before property values increased, she said.
"Right now, we're constrained because we've got what we've got," Ellerbee said.