In an effort to get the community more involved in the on-going development of the neighborhood Envision Courthouse Square, the committee dedicated to re-envisioning the Courthouse neighborhood, recently polled its home owners on a number of design concepts.
The group is committed to making the neighborhood the epitome of community and collaboration, and as such has placed a heavy importance on the input of its local public. As a seat of the county government, Courthouse is looking to innovate on its image and status by re-imagining the neighborhood as a premier public destination for home owners and tourists alike.
In order to get a feel for what the public would like to see develop in their community, Envision Courthouse Square has been holding a series of community workshops that have outlined certain design concepts for the Courthouse square. Just recently, at the third workshop the community was asked to weigh in on three draft design concepts, each of which was carefully crafted with input from the public gathered in two previous workshops.
In addition to the workshops, committee officials have also reached out to local residents through an online survey. The survey asked the community to indicate their preferred variation of 15 big ideas, which could greatly help to steer design concepts.
The efforts of the committee were greatly rewarded as a total of 645 survey entries were submitted, providing invaluable information on the sentiments of the community. Approximately 80 percent of the survey respondents were residents of Arlington, while 48 percent worked in Arlington.
Circulation and Open Space Important Issues to Courthouse Home Owners
First up on the survey docket were home owners’ sentiments regarding circulation, or flow of motor and foot traffic through the area, and the development of open space. These are important issues to local home owners because the proper or improper execution of these concepts can result in a congested and cramped neighborhood.
A large majority of Courthouse home owners expressed the need for circulation to be focused around foot traffic in the area. While the neighborhood is already known as a highly walkable area, residents want to further that notion with structures like a covered promenade, shared street space and improved pedestrian pathways throughout the community.
One anonymous resident remarked, “(Shared Street) Need more of these in Arlington… especially around high-activity zones like farmers market metro stop. Focus on people more than cars.”
In terms of open space, home owners expressed the need to make more outdoor, communal spaces for gatherings. Approximately 41 percent of respondents preferred a green, outdoor room that would accommodate pedestrian access to various parts of the community. Another desired use of the outdoor space is for the farmers market area, which would feature a flexible pop-up market with the option to make a permanent building in the future to accommodate expanding needs in the community.
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http://www.thecondohub.com/blog/courthouse-home-owners-weigh-updates-neighborhood
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