City Council members unveiled a new plan to revitalize and beautify Carrollton’s Bankhead Highway corridor. The plan was announced during last night’s City Council meeting, and is being sponsored by Council members Rory Wojcik and Met Lane. See the Full Plan at this Link.
The Bankhead Highway Corridor Plan will help revitalize the economic area and also beautify that area as the main entrance into town,” said Wojcik. “This idea came from speaking with people while I was campaigning. What I was hearing was that the economic blight and the poor presentation of our city on the Bankhead Corridor was something that people wanted to be addressed.”
In September 2016, the Mayor and City Council created the Carrollton Corridor Development and Beautification Committee (CCDBC). The purpose of this committee is to create a plan to encourage and promote development and beautification of the major corridors leading into the City of Carrollton.
The CCDBC’s duties include making recommendations for streetscape improvements, pedestrian-scale building and site design standards, and economic development incentives.
The committee is comprised of property owners and business owners, both commercial and residential real estate professionals, bankers, economic development specialists, and construction project managers.
The first area of study for the committee was Bankhead Highway. Over the past 12 months, the committee developed the framework for the Bankhead Highway Corridor Overlay Plan.
During the October 2017 Mayor and City Council meeting, members from the CCDBC presented an executive summary of their work plan for the previous year.
“The plan will help revitalize that area through tax incentives for relocating businesses in that area, and a new street plan that will beautify the whole strip, as well,” said Wojcik. “The main overlay is largely from the bypass to Cedar Street. It’s a large section, so we will have to phase the plan and do it in sections.”
Wojcik and others from the CCDBC presented their plans and findings during the City Council meeting. The plan extended across five areas of research and includes activities such as a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis and a transportation study regarding lane reduction and the installation of sidewalks and bike lanes. It also includes potential economic development incentives for redevelopment projects and drafting of new design standards for the corridor.
Community organizations, such as the Carrollton City School Board and the Carroll County Commission, are also participating in the planning work for the Bankhead Highway Corridor Overlay.
“I am very pleased with the work of our committee,” said Met Lane. “It really becomes a grassroots effort when we have the opportunity to involve so many stakeholders and experts in a project like this. Bankhead Highway serves as our gateway, and I look forward to making improvements to attract new business to this part of town.”
During the council meeting, conceptual renderings of Bankhead Highway were presented showing new buildings’ infilling existing, underutilized parking lots and the installation of bike lanes, sidewalks, and street trees along the roadway.
“Communities are either growing or they’re dying. Altogether, we are building a plan for sustainable and deliberate growth that will continue the success of our downtown by extending our main street,” Wojcik adds. “This will activate underutilized commercial property and create jobs. These business incentives will give the market the tools to adapt and succeed. Partnering with private investment will ensure the successful revitalization of which we can be proud.”
The committee will host a town hall meeting on October 17. A visual preference survey where photographs are used to determine preferences for various types of community design, streetscapes, and architectural styles, will be made available online beginning October 9.
