Ian M. Lockwoood, Florida Architect, asks Sulphur Springs citizens to have a vision for
the downtown area of the city, as he "unveiled" yet another plan for the downtown square
and Main Street, Thursday night.

"Seeking a Vision For Sulphur Springs"
Another Idea For The Downtown Square
And Main Street

by: Bobby McDonald

A crowd of interested Sulphur Springs citizens gathered in the Municipal Building, at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday night, to view the unveiling of yet another plan for both Main Street and the Downtown Square Area of Sulphur Springs. Architect Ian M. Lockwood, a renouned traffic planner, and B.N. "Raj" Mohabeer, a landscape architect, from the Orlando, Florida, firm of Glatting-Jackson-Kercher-Anglin, had spent the past three days viewing the downtown area and offered a plan for the revitalization of the area.

A "chuckle" rose from the crowd as Lockwood told the crowd about the uniqueness of Sulphur Springs' Downtown area. "I've really never seen anything quite like it!" expressed Lockwood. "But, you have a great 'bone structure of streets' to build upon!"

City Manager Marc Maxwell addressed the crowd gathered to view another proposal for the Downtown Sulphur
Springs area, Thursday night, and warned "no one is married to any of these ideas!"

In introducing Lockwood and Mohabeer, City Manager Marc Maxwell sited their experience in designing cities across the country "with a feel for the human aspect of traffic design." "Bear in mind that no one is 'married' to any idea; these are just suggestions to get everyone to thinking, so that hopefully we can come to a consensus in a couple of months and install a plan that will work for Sulphur Springs," continued Maxwell. "These guys know how to design cities and they've worked with ours to aid us in moving forward."

Lockwood showed a number of examples, including before and after pictures, as he led the crowd through a series of novel ideas about designing cities. He asked Sulphur Springs residents to "have an open mind" and to look at the possibilities. "Cities exist to bring people together for exchanges," denoted Lockwood. "The pursuit of mobility in our society has reduced the exchanges and left many downtown areas behind. Our duty is to create areas to bring those exchanges of fun, shopping, and business back to the area, that creates a place for doing business and that is inviting to people. Your city has a circular pattern of major traffic around the town, giving us a more creative option for the Downtown area."

The proposal for the Downtown offers some added parking and other unique features.

Residents were asked to consider "back-in" parking, popular in Seattle, Washington, and to widen sidewalks, while reestablishing two-way traffic in the downtown area. Lockwood propose "bulb-out" street intersections that would replace current traffic lights and provide for safer pedestrian traffic, in the area. And, with the use of Mohabeer's landscaping to provide shade and "green spaces" downtown, he proposed leaving Main Street two-way traffic with parking on both sides of the street.

The new proposed look for Main Street.

As he addressed the "gaps" between the buildings on both Main Street and the Square, Lockwood made a comparison to "someone who had a beautiful smile but a tooth missing!" "You need to fill-in these gaps temporarily and then permanently!" expressed Lockwood.

The use of valley gutters and the landscaping will enhance the streets and slow traffic down to a speed that promotes business and pedestrian traffic, according to Lockwood. And, the trees and landscaping will "breathe life" into the comfort of the areas. Lockwood loved the use of brick in the downtown area and recommends that they be continued in the revitalization of the area. "Your Main Street is a 'Jewel in the Rough'!" exclaimed Lockwood.

City residents listen to Lockwood's presentation on the Main Street and Downtown Areas of Sulphur Springs.

The duo of architects designed a Main Street that can "blend with the Downtown Square" and asked residents to consider reestablishing two-way traffic on both Gilmer and Oak Avenue Streets and two-way traffic around the perimeter of the square. Their design for the square calls for more parking spaces and having them established on the outer edges of the area, near the businesses, to promote trade, terming parking space as "the Gold Standard" of retail trade.

Lockwood ended his presentation with a question and answer session that found many residents asking about particular designs and areas of the plan

Downtown plans were discussed following the meeting on Thursday night, with residents offering
ideas and revisions to the shown plans.

Maxwell asked residents to take what they had heard at Thursday night's meeting and "cuss and discuss" it, as they bring ideas back to the city staff for consideration. "We'll use all of these ideas to make a plan that will work for Sulphur Springs," encouraged Maxwell.

Following the meeting, residents began the discussion period, as they pointed to maps and designs and talked about the merits of each.

"I like the provision for more parking, near the Downtown businesses," stated Tom Sellers, President of Alliance Bank. "And, ironically, many of the ideas these guys presented brings the Downtown Area traffic flow back to a pattern like when we were growing-up in Sulphur Springs, and the Downtown was much more vibrant!"

Others voiced concern with other ideas, that were presented, and the proposed "shifting" of the Veteran's Memorial to a different area of the Square.

"I like the idea of not having the expense of moving the Courthouse mechanicals," expressed another citizen. "And, I'm certain that before the final design is 'set in stone,' there will be a number of revisions to the plan. But, as it is now, I think I like it!"

"Our goal is to have the logo for Sulphur Springs to read Great Parks, Great
People, and Great Streets," exclaimed Lockwood, in closing.

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