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Resident ideas soughtfor Quincy CenterDesign workshop planned to brainstorm ways to revitalize cityThe Patriot Ledger QUINCY Should Hancock Street be re-routed and the stretch in front of city hall be turned into a park? Have an idea for what type of development makes sense at the Hancock lot? As Mayor William Phelan and a task force of experts try to craft a plan to revitalize Quincy Center, they’re giving residents a chance to be designers for a day. City officials are encouraging residents to brainstorm ideas - and pick up a pencil to illustrate them - during a design workshop to be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, at Quincy High School.
“I just want people to know we’re looking for their input,” Phelan said. “We want them to participate, and it should be a fun way to get involved.” The design workshop, called a charrette, will begin with an overview of the city’s goals to return Quincy Center to a commercial and social hub. Participants will then break off into groups of six to 10 people and brainstorm everything from how streets could be reconfigured to architectural styles that most make sense in downtown Quincy. Among the topics residents will be asked to consider are traffic, open space, parking, commercial and residential mix, and building height and density. Little elements will be discussed, too. Residents can weigh in on details such as how to make business signs more attractive and whether a fountain would be a nice touch in a downtown park, for example. “No idea is too extreme, no detail too small, no vision too big,” said Thomas Largey, the mayor’s top aide. After a lunch break, teams will reconvene and, with the help of architects and planners, sketch out their ideas. Styrofoam blocks and colored paper will also be used to make rough models. A mayor-appointed task force will then take ideas and incorporate some into a master plan being assembled. The plan will eventually guide city officials as they try to revitalize and redevelop a downtown that has been in decline for decades. While the market will help drive whatever happens downtown, the city can exert influence over construction and redevelopment through zoning and infrastructure improvements, for example. It can also make city-owned land like the Hancock parking lot or the Ross Garage available for development and set standards for what would be allowed there. For that reason, Phelan said, it’s important for planners to know what residents would like to see in their city center. By all indications, there are plenty of ideas. Nearly 100 people turned out at each of two public forums last month on downtown redevelopment. The charrette should be even more helpful than the forums, because it gives residents a chance to open a dialogue with officials and other stakeholders, rather than just listen, said David Dixon, the city’s chief development consultant. “It’s like a window into people’s minds,” said Dixon, director of the planning and urban design division at the Boston architectural firm Goody, Clancy & Associates. “To me this is hugely valuable to understand what other people dream about and imagine when they see (Quincy Center) through their eyes. There is a lot of richness in that.” Karen Eschbacher may be E-mailed by .
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