You may have heard a little bit about plans to make changes along the river in downtown Wichita, but like most Wichitans, you probably haven’t been following it closely. Well, if you haven’t been keeping up, now is the time to fully engage. Things are really starting to heat up downtown and decisions are about to be made that will affect Wichita for the next 50 years.
”This is going to change the lives of everyone in Wichita whether you want it to or not,” says Jonathan Long, Director of Community Advancement with the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.
By this time next year, the City of Wichita will probably have approved a Riverfront Legacy Master Plan that will change the face of downtown. This plan is about more than what to do with Century II and the old library. When they get through with downtown Wichita, you’ll probably hardly be able to recognize it.
The scope of the plan will focus on the area south of Douglas Avenue to US-54/Kellogg and east to Main Street, but the plan will connect projects from both sides of the river and with the greater downtown area and nearby neighborhoods.
A big question is, will Wichita dream up a big enough plan to have a positive economic impact on the city? There are a lot of other questions that need to be asked, but certainly Wichitans need to question the inclusiveness of the plan. Will it offer something for all: families, as well as young singles, and people of all races?
The city has been seeking input on what people want to see along the river. They’ve held lots of meetings around town to gather input, but input can still be submitted online at www.riverfrontlegacywichita.org.
The city has hired a design team who, working from community input, are set to present several preliminary “scenarios” for the Master Plan. After the preliminary scenarios are presented, there will be additional opportunities for the public’s opinion to be heard.
You’ll be asked to select which scenario you like best and suggest changes and tweaks to any or all of the plans. A final recommendation from the planning team is expected in January.
As you can see, things are moving quickly. So, if you want to have any say, speak soon or forever hold your peace.
If you want to know more about the process to date and the goals and mission of the plan, you should definitely get your knowledge up by spending some time online at www.riverfrontlegacywichita.org.
And in the words of Childish Gambino, who some of you may or may not know, “Stay Woke.” Things are about to happen, don’t wake up too late and things have already changed around you.
