Community needs and opportunities identified

 

Community needs and opportunities identified

 

On Saturday, March 16, Ossian residents participated in a focus group workshop as part of the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program. 

The focus groups are part of an input gathering process under way to identify transportation needs and opportunities for enhancements in Ossian.

Five different demographic groups of citizens responded to questions related to transportation use and barriers. They were then asked to document what was discussed by taking photos with a digital camera.  The pictures were uploaded to an online map throughout the day, and it was viewed and discussed at the conclusion of the day.  

The groups included senior citizens, youth, parents, active recreationists, and the Visioning steering committee.  The online map can be found at www.communityvisioning.org.  

Some of the common project ideas discussed include enhancing Main Street; developing a trail connecting to Silver Springs Park, Calmar, and/or Decorah’ improving places within the community for walkers; and city park improvements.

Meredith Borchardt, Trees Forever field coordinator who is facilitating the Visioning process in Ossian, stated, “There was good turnout from all of the different groups that we were trying to include, and lots of good input on project ideas throughout the day.”

The next step in the process will be a Visual Quality Workshop on Saturday, May 4, at the Ossian Community Center. This event is open to the public.  Please watch for more information in the upcoming weeks.  The results of the visual quality mapping, along with the focus group findings, will be the basis for the transportation enhancement plan for Ossian.

To learn more about participating in the special places mapping workshop or the overall Visioning process, please call Terry Linderbaum at (563) 419-3911, Pam Buddenberg at (563) 532-9535 or Meredith Borchardt, Trees Forever field coordinator, at (319) 278-1131.

The Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation in partnership with Iowa State University Extension Landscape Architecture and Trees Forever.

 
Rate this article: 
No votes yet
Comment Here