| Updated: 8/29/2009 6:20 am |
Published: 8/28/2009 9:31 pm |
More green space, less concrete is just one of the recommendations coming from a team of urban planners on how to revitalize Main Street Little Rock. Designers say think of Main Street as a several smaller districts extending farther south than even I-630. The big takeaway at the meeting, Main Street has big assets, make them all fit together.
If you walk down Main Street you've got plenty of room. There are few people to pass by on sidewalks and more for sale signs than businesses selling anything.
"There are a number of empty shops and empty spaces and filling those I think is important," Larry Carter said.
The city agrees. Mayor Mark Stodola hosted a team of urban designers who say reconnect Main Street with Markham and south Main with downtown.
"A lot of stuff to chew on and a lot of challenges," Stodola said.
Among the challenges is parking. Not too little. Maurice Cox, the National Endowment for the Arts design director, says Main Street is over parked.
"We basically said no more parking structures on Main Street. That street belongs to the pedestrian," Cox said.
And more parking can't provide the 24/7 retail and residential development needed.
Other recommendations: Reuse historical structures instead of tearing more down. And build off the culture created by The Rep Theater.
"You tap into the individual artists as well as the visual artists who need gallery space who are urban pioneers who will move into unfinished space and create a buzz," Cox said.
That's an idea Stodola says the city will look at. "I'd love to see the symphony down there; I'd love to see some dance organizations down there, create the synergy of an arts district which then helps with the residential area," Stodola said. And help get Main Street thriving with people again.
There were a lot of developers at the meeting too. One developer said they are happy they weren't told to build a hotel here or a restaurant there. It gives the city and the business community the flexibility to make it work.
