As many of you know by now, Mike's Grill on Main St. is closed. In that thread some of us began discussing the planning practices of the Town of Blacksburg and how they may have contributed to Mike's closing. Because TKP is a community of people who care very deeply about Blacksburg and most of us have lived here for at least a few years, I thought it would be a good idea to engage in a discussion about Blacksburg planning and development.
Before I continue, for those of you who don't have experience with urban planning and have 30 minutes, I encourage you to watch this. It's an entertaining and funny look at land use practices.
How a place is planned affects every aspect of your life, from where you live to where you drink. Planners need input from the community in order to improve their experience. Government officials will bend to public pressure, so if you're upset that Mike's is gone and that the Town did not do enough to facilitate an economic environment where it could succeed, please get involved. Town of Blacksburg Planning Commission meetings are on the first Tuesday of each month @ 7:30 second floor of the Blacksburg Municipal Building.
This forum can be the place where we stay informed on the changes happening around Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. To start off, what are the problems that you see in Blacksburg? How should those problems be fixed? What do you want Blacksburg to look like in the future?
Fernleyhokie, who has a career in architecture and urban design, outlined his ideas on the Mike's forum. His 4 main suggestions
1) Shopping Mall Town Center
2) High density mixed-use on Progress St.
3) Centralized parking lots
4) Turn part of Main St. into pedestrian only
My suggestions (I am not formally trained in urban planning yet)
1)Short-term replace private lots in the downtown core with metered lots
2)Higher density affordable student housing within .5 miles of main campus, emphasis on housing .5 miles of Main St core
3) Connected bike lane network with protected lanes on major roads
4) Better sidewalks--need sidewalks on many roads, others need to be widened
Here are links to the various plans from the Town, Virginia Tech, and Montgomery County if you are interested:
Blacksburg
Comprehensive plan
Bike master plan
Parks and Rec master plan
Virginia Tech
Campus master plan to be completed in 2017
Parking & Transportation master plan site
Student Experience
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