Consultant Ken Remenschneider, left, talks about the proposed plans for downtown Shelbyville at Downtown Shelby Days on Saturday. Staff photo by Andy Proffet
The organizers of Downtown Shelby Days want the event to become a new tradition for Shelby County.
Appropriate, then, that festival-goers Saturday morning had an opportunity to steer the future of downtown Shelbyville.
The Shelbyville Downtown Opportunities Team presented drawings of five plans for Public Square--ways to utilize the football-field-sized space in a more pedestrian-friendly manner while still giving vehicle traffic a way to get through the city.
A key to the plans is finding ways to slow that traffic down so people can see what's going on downtown, and giving the public a place downtown to participate in any number of activities.
Those checking out the plans were asked to vote on which two they liked best. One of the most popular ones would be one of the most expensive--sending Harrison St. traffic underneath a plaza spanning the square.
Actual cost estimates for the plans aren't available yet because the scope of any downtown improvements isn't known. Pieces of each plan could be combined, consultants said.
Consultant Ken Remenschneider addressed a number of questions about parking, noting that even sending traffic underneath the plaza could still add 100 parking spaces to the downtown area.
In addition to the schematic plans presented Saturday, there's a survey online where residents can express their preferences regarding downtown. The survey can be accessed at http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2253742/Shelbyville-Downtown-Opportunities-Plan.
Copyright © 2024 The Shelbyville News