News
Knoxville shows enthusiasm for Iowa's Living Roadways
Knoxville — An all-day workshop in Ames last Saturday was attended by 12 Knoxville representatives. This was the largest contingent of any City participating in the workshop’s program, Iowa’s Living Roadways.
The City of Knoxville is taking part in a joint effort by Trees Forever, Iowa State University and the Iowa Department of Transportation to improve Iowa communities.
City Manager Dick Schrad submitted an application to the program. In the application, Schrad described community events, attractions and the City’s appearance to visitors. He included photos of the entrances into Knoxville and shared work that has already been done to plan for beautification, including the Streetscape and the 2007 work of the Iowa Architectural Foundation.
There is no monetary involvement in the program. A committee has been appointed and several committee members attended the workshop.
The workshop included an overview of this visioning process. In the past, the program has helped communities with pocket parks, trails and community gathering areas. Schrad said the program director has found Knoxville’s plan to be more ambitious than most.
Knoxville’s visioning committee is working on beautifying the entrances to the city, improving wayfinding signage and gathering ideas to make the town more pedestrian-friendly. The committee is seeking help in identifying areas that should be addressed regarding pedestrian access.
On March 23, a program corrdinator will be in Knoxville to meet with focus groups to gain their input. These focus groups include a group of high school students, a group of senior citizens and recreation enthusiasts. The focus groups will help landscape design interns design beautification projects for the city.
In the future, a presentation of these designs will be given to the community. The design will go back to the original steering committee before plans are finalized.
“I think good things will come to the community from this,” Schrad said.
To enhance wayfinding, the group was asked to identify attractions around Knoxville. These attractions were marked on a map at the workshop. Areas identified include the parks, the Knoxville Recreation Center, the multi-use trail, hospital, Knoxville Raceway and Dingus Lounge.
This program offers no grant money. However, by taking part in this visioning process, Knoxville will be eligible for grants through the Iowa Department of Transportation. The visioning process is expected to be completed by this fall.
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