Prairie, North Platte inspire downtown landscaping concepts
Bryan Kinghorn, of Kinghorn Gardens, presents design concepts for a downtown landscaping, streetscaping and stormwater plan being worked on by Kinghorn and representatives of Dropseed Studio.
Posted: Thursday, January 9, 2014 12:00 am
Star Herald
Landscaping artistically modeling the North Platte River, shortened pedestrian crossings and a downtown gathering place were some of the concepts suggested by designers in a downtown revitalization effort.
Bryan Kinghorn, of Kinghorn Gardens, and Zack Fergus and Tom Bentley, of Dropseed Studio, outlined concepts that could make up a preliminary plan for a landscaping, streetscaping and stormwater master plan. Implementing the master plan will be the next step in downtown revitalization efforts. Concepts were presented Wednesday after the designers gathered information during a downtown tour, a public meeting and an open house.
“We are pretty excited about how energized the community is to have something different,” Kinghorn said, saying that participation from the public was good. The designs are driven by the city and the people who live in Scottsbluff, he said.
One of the first parts of the process will be to implement a downtown landscaping plan that will improve the aesthetics, while also being functional, Kinghorn said. The designers proposed landscaping to replace current brick work in the downtown areas, with a design that mimicks the meandering flow of the North Platte River. Plants could be inspired by the shortgrass prairie plants that surround the Scotts Bluff National Monument, Agate Fossil Beds and other sites that western Nebraskans identify with.
“We want to enhance the downtown experience,” Kinghorn said. Designers asked residents and officials to identify components that signify Scottsbluff and the prairie seemed to be a continuous theme in the designs.
Landscaping will also continue the current stormwater efforts that have been done by the City of Scottsbluff in other downtown parking lots.
Downtown intersections could also be flanked by trees.
“We want canopy cover,” Kinghorn said. “We want trees … but we want them to be healthy from the get go.”
Instead of placing trees in planters or planting boxes, the designers have proposed expanding bulb outs at the intersections and locating trees in those expanded bulb outs. The design would serve another purpose, with pedestrian crossings proposed to shorten, improving safety at intersections and slowing traffic. The enhancements would also improve the view for drivers crossing east and west streets.
The designers also proposed making the 18th Street Park and adjoining street a downtown gathering area. The 18th Street Farmers Market served as the impetus for the design, but other events could occur there, including adding a splash pad. The downtown area could also be enhanced by artwork, designers said.
“This is the town’s downtown,” Fergus said of the designs. “We received a lot of good input from people passionate about the community.
Kinghorn said designers will be back to present a preliminary design to the Scottsbluff City Council in about four weeks.
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Thursday, January 9, 2014 12:00 am.
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