City officials will begin a three-pronged approach to improve downtown Farmington within the next few months that could lead to a lot of people walking and driving around in circles.
By the end of August, the city will receive the results of a parking study on making downtown more walkable with improvements such as traffic circles. In addition, they are gearing up to launch a branding campaign for the city and downtown. All these initiatives are expected to gain momentum by the end of this summer or early this fall.
Dan Burden, the executive director of Walkable Communities Inc., took a tour of Farmington earlier this summer, suggesting then to make downtown more pedestrian friendly by expanding the sidewalks and shrinking the roads. This would give more room to walkers and at the same time slow down traffic, making everyone feel safer.
"We know that in the future walkable communities will be successful and ones that are not will be challenged," says Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington Downtown Development Authority.
Burden also suggested incorporating traffic circles into downtown's street grid, specifically the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Grove Street, along with the intersection of Farmington Road, Orchard and Alta streets. The circles would slow down vehicles, calming traffic for pedestrians while also cutting down significantly on the stop-and-go traffic created by stop lights. Think Washington, D.C.'s, Dupont Circle or Detroit's Campus Martius on smaller scales.
The study will address the status of parking in the downtown area, its immediate needs and long-term requirements. It will also detail ways to improve and expand parking options to help grow local businesses and make them more accessible to local residents.
By summer's end, the city and DDA are also planning to launch a branding campaign that will incorporate both the downtown and the city as a whole. The goal is to spread the word about Farmington and why it was listed as one of the top places to live by Fortune magazine.
Source: Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke
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