5.31.10
Ideas for Downtown makeover come back positive
By: Garth Bishop - www.ColumbusLocalNews.com
An idea to beautify Broad Street drew voluminous response.

An idea to build a Downtown field house elicited surprise.

And an idea to turn the Olentangy River corridor into a miles-long greenway inspired passion.

Responses to ideas formulated for the next decade of development in downtown Columbus were largely positive, officials said.

The Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and MSI Design have been working on a plan for Downtown's next 10 years.

In April, they presented a set of guiding principles and a list of 12 ideas that could transform Downtown.

May 25 in the Columbus College of Art and Design's Canzani Center, officials gave an update about suggested projects and responses during the past month.

More than 1,000 comments have come in since the process began, officials said.

The idea that got the most comments was one focused on improving the look and streetscape of Broad Street.

Many respondents agreed that bringing in the edges to allow for greenspace and more accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists would be a big improvement for the eight-lane road, said Keith Myers of MSI Design.

"It's very wide and it lives up to its name," Myers said.

An idea focused on revitalizing High Street's role as a commercial corridor -- vacant properties, aging streetscape and many surface parking lots have hurt it in this regard, officials said -- got some of the most emotional responses, Myers said.

An idea that seemed to catch a lot of respondents by surprise was one suggesting a field house that could be utilized by Downtown workers and residents and for larger sporting events, freeing up space at the Columbus Convention Center, Myers said.

But the idea that seemed to generate the most interest, Myers said, was the lofty one that suggested removing the lowhead dams along the Scioto and Olentangy rivers to narrow the river.

Such action not only would add more space Downtown where the river's edges would be taken in, but potentially add a stretch of green space from Downtown to Highbanks Metro Park in Lewis Center.

More than any other idea, that one would transform downtown Columbus, Myers said.

One respondent whose comment was shown in the presentation wrote he would "dedicate his life" to making the idea happen, and another wrote that the greenway "could be our oceans-mountains."

Other ideas include:

* Building a new southeast gateway into Downtown;

* Constructing residential infill around the Topiary Park;

* Establishing a "creative campus" in the Discovery District;

* Creating a Downtown transit center

* Bringing in a multimodal station for rail and other travel;

* Building a bike station Downtown;

* Building a pedestrian bridge linking the Arena District and North Bank Park to the Scioto Peninsula, and

* Developing a sustainable mixed-use neighborhood on the Scioto Peninsula near COSI.

The next step in the process is for the Downtown Commission to present the ideas to Columbus City Council as a recommendation.

Council then will consider the ideas and gather feedback from city residents before having a plan up for adoption.

"In many ways, this is just the beginning," said Councilman Andrew Ginther.

Although it will still be months before council can formally adopt the plan, it is working ahead on some aspects, such as identifying possible partners on the projects, Ginther said.

For example, on Broad Street, the city could work with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District in addition to the Columbus Downtown Development Corp.

For the field house, the city could work with the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission and Capital Crossroads.

More information about the strategic planning process can be found on CDDC's website, downtowncolumbus.com.

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