Robertson County Growth online survey

Online Survey Available for Input on Growth and Development Plan for Robertson County and the cities of Adams, Coopertown and Cross Plains
Survey is in Addition to Four Community Workshops Scheduled December 3-6

Springfield, TN – Residents now have the opportunity to provide needed input on the Robertson County Growth and Development Plan from the comfort of their home or office. Project officials have established an online survey to make the process as convenient as possible. The survey can be found under “Give Us Your Feedback” at www.RobertsonChamber.org/Growth.  There is also a series of workshops scheduled December 3-6, providing additional opportunities for feedback.

“We can’t stress enough how important the input of residents and business owners is for the success of this project,” said Jonathan Garner, chair of the project’s steering committee. “This plan will affect everyone in some way, so providing ample opportunity to have issues addressed is very important to us.”
               The survey provides a series of 13 questions that allows the participant to answer in his or her own words. Questions range from where new housing should be located to which new industries may be good additions to the local economy. There is also a feedback section to openly address any issue not presented in previous questions. 

Residents are also encouraged to attend one of four Community Workshops to learn more about the plan. The workshops are scheduled for Monday, December 3 through Thursday, December 6.  Consultants with Littlejohn Engineering Associates, Inc. will lead the discussions. See a complete listing of the dates, times, and locations for each workshop on the following page.

                                                                             

Smart Growth America - Nashville Report

Nashville was featured in Smart Growth America's email as a city that has successfully redeveloped its Riverfront. The riverfront has now become "an asset for revitalization efforts" and is a place that people want to go to, rather than simply go by. The fact that Rick Bernhardt, a Nashville planning executive, remarked that "Not any one of the downtown attractions can succeed on its own, but the synergy from different elements, along with the locals and tourists creates something special" points to the importance of good planning. This development took decades, and has helped to revitalize downtown.

Out in Knoxville, a similar process has occurred and is ongoing with its own riverfront. I believe the same is occurring in Chattanooga, and perhaps Memphis and elsewhere as well. Note how although such growth does not automatically tie into bike/walk things, the development of urban landscapes inherently favors biking and walking.

Universal Bike Lanes: A Way to Mass Cycling?

This study clearly shows that a multi-faceted approach to bicycle and pedestrian improvements is the Complete way to go in changing a county's auto center culture.

"Despite the fact that some parts of the country are still cycling deserts, the good news in recent years is that cycle use in Britain overall has at last started going up – albeit from a very low base compared to many of our continental neighbours. London has led the way, with its hire-bikes, super-highways, cycle maps and excellent marketing initiatives, which have more than doubled cycle use in less than 10 years. But places like Portsmouth and Leicester have also achieved a great deal with a lot less cash. They have been investing in 20mph speed limits and closing off city centre streets to all but cyclists and pedestrians. They have been running 'smarter choices' programmes like cycle training or carefully targeted social marketing programmes to promote cycling for women, children, employees, health patients and so on. All these measures are proving very effective at boosting cycle use, thereby gradually building up the political will to do the things that will really transform our car-dominated congested roads into cycle-friendly, neighbourhood-friendly streets for people and the surrounding communities." Read the Sustrans article HERE.