The Zeeland City Council on Jan. 21 voted unanimously to endorse both a corridor report and a streetscape study for Washington Avenue.
The council as well as the city’s Planning Commission had heard a presentation last month in which concepts for improvements to the east-west corridor were proposed, including ideas for improving landscaping along Washington and making the corridor more pedestrian-friendly. The city’s Planning Commission had voted Jan. 2 to endorse both the corridor report and the streetscape study.
“The vision for Washington Avenue is to become a safer, quieter and more attractive destination and business corridor, and to continue to support Main Avenue businesses and community activities,” the vision statement in the report’s executive summary reads.
The Dec. 16 presentation came out of a three-day workshop involving city leaders and business owners that took place in May of last year, guided by consultants Greg Holcombe of Urban Innovations and Tyler Sprague of Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio.
“These studies successfully explored future development opportunities and how the right-of-way along the corridor could be improved to create a more attractive entrance into Zeeland from the east,” city Marketing Director Abby deRoo wrote in a memo to the City Council.
“We feel that identifying these growth opportunities will generate new inspiration for future public and private downtown development projects,” deRoo added.
The Washington Avenue studies had been identified as part of the city’s strategic action plan, which speak to the city’s commitment to a vibrant downtown area, deRoo wrote in her memo.
Among the concerns raised during the May workshop were the speed of traffic along Washington, which was perceived as being too fast; the lack of landscaping along the street, due partly to the limited right-of-way; the presence of overhead utility lines and the close proximity of sidewalks to the road surface, according to city documents.
The report also said that while other downtown streets had been given attention through prior vision plans, Washington Avenue had not been “deeply addressed” in recent vision plans, and that there was no current plan for a comprehensive review and reconstruction of the street.
The City Council was expected to address potential action steps for implementing improvements along Washing- ton during its two-day-long goal setting sessions earlier this week.
The council as well as the city’s Planning Commission had heard a presentation last month in which concepts for improvements to the east-west corridor were proposed, including ideas for improving landscaping along Washington and making the corridor more pedestrian-friendly. The city’s Planning Commission had voted Jan. 2 to endorse both the corridor report and the streetscape study.
“The vision for Washington Avenue is to become a safer, quieter and more attractive destination and business corridor, and to continue to support Main Avenue businesses and community activities,” the vision statement in the report’s executive summary reads.
The Dec. 16 presentation came out of a three-day workshop involving city leaders and business owners that took place in May of last year, guided by consultants Greg Holcombe of Urban Innovations and Tyler Sprague of Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio.
“These studies successfully explored future development opportunities and how the right-of-way along the corridor could be improved to create a more attractive entrance into Zeeland from the east,” city Marketing Director Abby deRoo wrote in a memo to the City Council.
“We feel that identifying these growth opportunities will generate new inspiration for future public and private downtown development projects,” deRoo added.
The Washington Avenue studies had been identified as part of the city’s strategic action plan, which speak to the city’s commitment to a vibrant downtown area, deRoo wrote in her memo.
Among the concerns raised during the May workshop were the speed of traffic along Washington, which was perceived as being too fast; the lack of landscaping along the street, due partly to the limited right-of-way; the presence of overhead utility lines and the close proximity of sidewalks to the road surface, according to city documents.
The report also said that while other downtown streets had been given attention through prior vision plans, Washington Avenue had not been “deeply addressed” in recent vision plans, and that there was no current plan for a comprehensive review and reconstruction of the street.
The City Council was expected to address potential action steps for implementing improvements along Washing- ton during its two-day-long goal setting sessions earlier this week.
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