Go Forward Pine Bluff is asking citizens for their input on a project to improve the area surrounding U.S. 63B, known in the city as Olive Street.
The nonprofit is working with the Community Design Center at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, on plans for enhancing the main throughfare through south-central Pine Bluff, thanks to a $548,492 Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant the university received last April from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Go Forward sent an email Wednesday with a link to citizens for a survey, and those who take it can win cash, according to the email. The giveaway for every 25 responses is $50 and will grow to $100 for every 50 entries, after 100 responses are received.
“Right now, we’ve been working with the University of Arkansas Community Design Center. They have dedicated a fall and spring studio (or classes) to some of the work,” Go Forward CEO Ryan Watley said. “We have a website that shows some of the preliminary opportunities there on redesign. Currently we are getting community feedback.”
The DoT, Watley said, is trying to change the narrative that it would not solicit community feedback before putting a highway in the plan.
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The website for the project features 3D motion renderings of possible scenarios for Jefferson Square – wellness district, mixed-use mosaic, two-street and grid-and-square. The main idea is to make the longtime shopping area the anchor of the neighborhood.
It also includes a downloadable planning booklet with still renderings suggesting what Jefferson Square would be like if it were a series of mixed-use enclaves, a lifestyle shopping center through two new main streets (Olive and Main), or a wellness district modeled after “blue zones,” or geographic areas where people are said to live longer than average.
“Imagine Olive Street as a new tree-lined street with great public spaces, sidewalks, bike lanes, lighting and mixed uses including new businesses and housing,” according to the website. “Imagine a new neighborhood main street connecting surrounding neighborhoods and encouraging walkable and safe access to essential services. The project team will develop scenario designs in response to feedback through community design workshops to be held in 2025. We want to know what you think!”
The grant the UA received last spring is for the planning stage, Watley said.
“Whatever comes out of that, if we see significant community engagement and they (DoT) like it, we can submit for actual implementation,” Watley said.
The grant is part of a $3.3-billion program designed to improve access to needs such as jobs, health care and education, among other goals. The Olive Street project, Go Forward says, will improve neighborhoods, create safer streets, add greenspaces and boost local businesses.
The city of Pine Bluff, Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, Arkansas Department of Transportation, Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency and NOB A+D (architecture and design) are part of the project team.
Community engagement is a major part of the grant the UA received, according to Watley.
“It’s really why we were awarded because we have a partnership with the Community Design Center,” he said. “We’ve demonstrated that with all the plans we ever had. We were awarded over cities from northwest Arkansas and Little Rock because of that demonstration of community engagement.”