Westside planning efforts moved forward with a public presentation last week at the Kroc Center that showcased information gathered last month at a weeklong design workshop to receive community input.
The consulting and planning team led by the Lawrence Group presented its latest vision for Greenville’s Westside and answered questions from area residents.
The three-year planning project, called Connections for Sustainability, is funded through $1.8 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) as part of the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The city’s proposal was one of 42 chosen nationwide, and only one of 14 to receive joint funding from HUD and DOT.
The Westside encompasses the neighborhoods of Southernside, West Greenville, the West End, Hampton-Pinckney Historic District, and the recently renamed Village of West Greenville.
The Lawrence Group presented both long- and short-term plans to reduce traffic lanes on Pete Hollis Boulevard and Pendleton Street, install bike lanes, put in wide sidewalks on Willard Street and give the Queen Street bridge new lighting and paint.
The proposal includes re-imagining the Louis Street Underpass as a colorful entryway into the Village of West Greenville, while West Washington Street Bridge would get a large pedestrian and bicycle walkway.
The plan features multiple green spaces, with a suggested rain garden along the Swamp Rabbit Trail as well as several proposed parks, artwork and other public spaces throughout the Westside.
The consultants recommended that the city modify existing transit service to include direct service to the Kroc Center and A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School, establish a new route along College Street and Pete Hollis Boulevard and expand operating hours from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The consulting team also suggests introducing a new Westside trolley that would provide direct links to the Kroc Center, The Village of West Greenville, the Community Center and St. Francis Hospital.
The team also showed what key areas such as Washington and Hudson, Newtown, West Greenville and Pendleton Street could look like in the future.
The Lawrence Group invites continued public comment as the team “begins to look deeper into some of these ideas and begin to develop policies and implementation goals for the plan,” said Christa Jordan, livability grant coordinator.
Planning efforts will continue through December, when the final plan is to be presented. The next update is slated for Saturday, Nov. 2.
