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Salisburians know what they want 20 years from now. The question becomes, how do they get there?
With the public’s help over
the past month, the Salisbury Vision 2020 Committee identified 17 categories of dreams for
the city’s future. On Tuesday night, the public got the chance to review a Salisbury
as it could be by the year 2020.
The hard work will follow, as the
committee takes the next 15 months to arrive at a comprehensive plan for Salisbury’s
future. Their overriding task: What policies and actions must be put in place for the
dream Salisbury to materialize?
The committee wants to have its
comprehensive plan finished by September 2020.
Meeting again with the public
Tuesday night at City Hall, committee members gave a summary of what they heard in the May
4 town meeting and April 27 Youth Night, both designed to obtain citizen input.
Consultant Glenn Harbeck took the
hundreds of ideas expressed at those meetings, put them in categories and ranked the
categories by preference.
The committee gave labels and
descriptions of each category. Here, for example, in a crystal ball description, are the
top five by ranking:
- Getting around:
‘‘We see a community with ‘full-service’ streets in which cars and
pedestrians, bicyclists and buses are equally at home. We see streets with ample
sidewalks, large trees reaching over the street and attractive pedestrian-scaled
streetlights. We see well-planned neighborhoods, designed to encourage walking from home
to work, from home to corner store, or from home to transit shop.’’
- Downtown Salisbury:
‘‘We see a healthy, vibrant downtown with attractive streets and well-maintained
sidewalks filled with people and activity. We see a diverse array of shopping, dining,
working and cultural amenities housed in historic buildings. We see a downtown that is the
social and cultural center of the community and the first place where we want to take
visitors. At night, we see the streets filled with activity and the lights on in
upper-story apartment windows.’’
- Historic preservation:
‘‘We see the entire community, from school-aged children to senior citizens,
with a keen appreciation for Salisbury’s rich history. There is constant attention
and energy being poured into the preservation and rehabilitation of the city’s
historic buildings and natural resources. We see Salisbury as a model for the state and
nation, drawing visitors from far and wide to experience a living, growing community
immersed in an historic setting.’’
- Neighborhoods:
‘‘We see safe, secure, peaceful neighborhoods in every part of the city, with
litter-free streets, manicured lawns and lush gardens. We see freshly painted homes with
neighbors greeting neighbors on sidewalks and front porch swings. We see mothers pushing
baby carriages to nearby parks. We see children riding their bikes to the neighborhood
corner store for a loaf of bread or a Saturday afternoon ice cream.’’
- Economic opportunity:
‘‘We see a community of workers with good-paying jobs and a diverse local
economy with employment in services, retail, manufacturing and agriculture, among others.
We see workers with pride in their work and the prospect of continual advancement as they
go on to develop their skills and earning power.’’
When the group discussed economic
opportunity in the future Salisbury, Eldridge Williams said the reference to a
‘‘diverse local economy’’ is something that not only has to be said
– it has to happen.
The Rev. Johnson Asibuo said
economic efforts had to provide the kinds of jobs that will keep young adults in Salisbury
after college.
As for the emphasis on history,
Asibuo spoke of the need for a ‘‘Heritage Walk’’ through the city that
showcased the rich history of African-Americans in Salisbury.
Other visions for the future
imagined a city still committed to community-based policing where beat cops were known to
business owners and residents.
Residents dreamed of
‘‘subtle’’ commercial signs, buildings of ‘‘architectural
distinction’’ and parking lots where cars are tucked behind walls or hedges.
They envisioned East Innes Street as a grand, landscaped boulevard from Interstate 85 to
the Square, with Jake Alexander Boulevard and Main Street also having that
‘‘grand’’ appearance.
In the crystal ball, residents saw
a Salisbury that remained a ‘‘distinct urban enclave’’ bordered in
several directions by farms, open fields and woodlands. The city limits would provide a
distinct separation from a rural to urban character.
Because Salisburians will be less
dependent on the automobile and leaders will have recruited environmentally compatible
industries, they dreamed of cleaner air and a place where people walk, bike and ride the
bus regularly.
With recreation, citizens
envisioned both large community parks with clusters of playing fields and tiny pocket
parks that are convenient to neighborhoods and office workers on lunch breaks.
Bill Burgin, the Vision 2020
Committee chair, called for future subdivision development that tightens up on lot size
and creates extra green space that new neighborhoods could use for parks.
There was more: Salisburians
wanted more housing choices, such as garage apartments, and more innovative homes for the
baby boomers who will be quite elderly by 2020. They wanted the city to use its
water-sewer extension policy as a powerful tool to encourage or discourage development.
They dreamed of schools as
community centers and providing more things for kids to do.
What doesn’t fit with
Salisbury’s future? The public said, in order of dislike: neglected neighborhoods,
sprawling growth, ugly commercial strips, rampant crime, a city overwhelmed by
automobiles, insufficient parks and open space, no community identity, racial and cultural
segregation, substandard schools, economic stagnation, ugly appearance, broken down
infrastructure and abandoned youth. |
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