Politics & Government

Village, Firm May Partner to Help Garner Community Input On Route 59 Future

The company Civic Artworks, whose motto is "empowering civic design," will take the lead on getting community input through crowd-sourcing.

Those intimidated by speaking at a public forum will soon have a new avenue to share their thoughts on the future of the Route 59 corridor.

The company Civic Artworks, whose motto is “empowering community design,” will take the lead on getting input on the through crowd-sourcing, said Village planner Michael Garrigan.

Crowd-sourcing is a concept where community feedback is generated via social media.

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But Garrigan is quick to note the process will also include old-fashioned public meetings to solicit input from residents.

Representatives from Civic Artworks attended Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting to further explain the crowd-sourcing method.

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Through the initiative, residents will be able to go to an online platform on Civic Artworks’ website, log in their suggestions, and the rest of the community can respond. Their support takes an idea to the top of the system; once a single idea receives the majority of online support, it becomes a part of the planning process. Once it hits Civic Artworks’ drafting boards, the planners and designers begin crafting initial design ideas based on collected feedback.

“This is a way of trying to maximize input and it will give great credence to people along the business transition corridor,” Garrigan said.

The project is not expected to exceed $5,000.

Garrigan does not anticipate the input solicitation to begin until late August or early September.

In the meantime, tell us what you think? Should the Route 59 corridor remain BTD, or do you think it lends itself to more intense commercial use? Share your opinion in the comments, and tell us why you feel that way.

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