Designs for Miami downtown project presented to public

May 08, 2008 10:50 pm

— By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — Six graduate students from the University of Oklahoma on Thursday afternoon presented final design plans for a downtown revitalization project in Miami to members of the City Council and the public.
The students’ designs focused on Main Street, parking lots and a proposed park adjacent to the Coleman Theatre.
Designs included trees, benches and traffic-calming measures, such as slightly elevated crosswalks made from a textured paving material.
Another design focused on alleys behind Main Street stores. It showed tables and chairs, trellis vines, and overhead elements that would mask power lines, said professor Leehu Loon.
“It would make it an inviting area for pedestrians,” he said.
Alleys would continue to be open for deliveries to Main Street businesses.
Loon said students focused on making the downtown area cohesive, with a common theme from parking lots to Main Street.
Other designs featured the small park adjacent to the theater and a potential park across the street in another vacant area.
“If the design is right, maybe the city could acquire the small lot across the street and build a park,” Loon said. “Then it all becomes one area.”
The design for a proposed park across from the theater showed more garden plantings along Main Street in keeping with the style of the theater.
Another design showed closing the downtown section to traffic, with the area open only to pedestrians, but that idea didn’t receive much support.
“We are a Main Street community,” said Mayor Brent Brassfield. “We want traffic in downtown Miami.”
Councilman Rudy Schultz questioned the use of numerous trees, saying they would attract birds and droppings.
“A number of studies have shown that trees in the downtown area actually enrich and liven the area,” Loon said.
He suggested the use of columnar trees, which grow upward like columns or cylinders and would not block storefronts.
A resident asked about the cost of maintenance once the project was completed.
The students pointed to studies showing that similar projects attracted more people and shoppers to the downtown, resulting in more revenue to the city.
Brassfield said city officials want to attract more downtown shoppers, including more young people.
“One thing we talked about initially was that we want to make downtown a cool place to be,” he said.


Grant money

The city received an $18,000 grant from the Oklahoma Scenic Byways Program to cover students’ cost for the project.

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