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View Poll Results: Which ideas do you like for improving downtown Leesburg?
a crosswalk for the middle of South King Street between Market and Loudoun streets 1 8.33%
tree boxes and planters along the road side. 1 8.33%
beautifying the triangle in front of Mom’s Apple Pie 2 16.67%
improving the alley between the town parking garage and King Street 1 8.33%
widen sidewalks to make room for dining along the street 6 50.00%
Other. Please share your ideas below! 1 8.33%
Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-26-2010, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 31,008,751 times
Reputation: 42988

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In April, the Leesburg town council passed a Capital Improvements Program that allotted $5 million to spruce up the historic downtown area. Now they need to decide how to spend the money.

Here are some of the suggestions floating around. Which ones do you like?

They're holding a meeting July 28 at Ida Lee Park. Leesburg town staff will make a brief presentation, and then the public can speak up. If you're interested in attending or want to learn more, see: leesburg_talks_downtown_improvements368/
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Old 07-26-2010, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 31,008,751 times
Reputation: 42988
Note: If you like ALL the ideas, which ones should be done first? Is it more important to beautify the alley first? Mom's Apple Pie triangle? Or King Street?
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Old 07-26-2010, 11:23 AM
 
Location: Bettendorf, IA
449 posts, read 1,390,134 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Note: If you like ALL the ideas, which ones should be done first? Is it more important to beautify the alley first? Mom's Apple Pie triangle? Or King Street?
I agree with councilman Dunn that the triangle/King street should be improved. The alley next to the garage is important, but I think it can wait a bit. And, I think widening the sidwalks is really important. I believe they want to make access to get to the historic district easier, but once there people need to get around. As it stands now, there are too many people and the sidewalks are just too narrow to accomodate everyone. Kind of takes away from the expereince.
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Old 07-26-2010, 11:42 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,881,375 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by scimitar12 View Post
I agree with councilman Dunn that the triangle/King street should be improved. The alley next to the garage is important, but I think it can wait a bit. .
I definitely agree on this. The alley seems like the least important concern, and the money probably won't cover all the projects. So that's the one I'd put off.

Quote:
Originally Posted by scimitar12 View Post
And, I think widening the sidwalks is really important. I believe they want to make access to get to the historic district easier, but once there people need to get around. As it stands now, there are too many people and the sidewalks are just too narrow to accomodate everyone. Kind of takes away from the expereince.
Agreed... but... if they widen the sidewalks, won't that make driving down King Street an even worse nightmare than it already is? Maybe they should just close it completely, and make it a pedestrian mall. OTOH, closing a major street like that causes other headaches.

I have to admit, though, that a few outdoor cafes with colorful umbrellas would enhance the area quite a bit.
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Old 07-26-2010, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,881,375 times
Reputation: 19090
I voted for an extra crosswalk, because if you make it easier to cross the street then people will be more likely to shop on both sides of the street. Of course, if they made it a pedestrian mall, that would solve that problem, too.
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Old 07-26-2010, 11:51 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,881,375 times
Reputation: 19090
An additional idea:

I think they should build something within walking distnace of downtown that appeals to teens. Right now it's too heavy on art and decorator items and antiques--all of which are good things, but it means Leesburg appeals mostly to Aunt Suzy. They need to make it draw a wider audience.

What if they built a skateboard park? If they built a skateboard park within walking distance, or promoted events on the stretch of W&OD that's right there, Leesburg would draw more young people and could even become the sort of place you take a date.
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Old 07-26-2010, 12:56 PM
 
Location: Ashburn, VA
577 posts, read 2,055,724 times
Reputation: 301
I like Gettysburg's downtown area. There's also a nice one in Greenville, SC. Here are some photos of Greenville's downtown area. One of the major things they did was add trees, according to this article. Here are a couple of photos of Greenville.



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Old 07-26-2010, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,881,375 times
Reputation: 19090
Greenville's downtown is indeed lovely. Here are some photos of the Leesburg downtown area to contrast and compare:









The first two photos show King Street. You can see the problem with the narrow sidewalks and also the narrow (and heavily driven) street. I wish we could have large shady trees on King Street, but I don't see how that's possible unless possibly they go down the middle of a pedestrian mall. Unless... thinking waaaay outside the box.... would it be possible to move one side of King Street and widen the street? That would involve moving a few dozen historic buildings and probably sacrificing a city block behind King Street. Is that conceivable or just crazy thinking?
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Old 07-26-2010, 02:51 PM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 31,008,751 times
Reputation: 42988
I'm the one who voted to do the planters first. I figure the rest of the changes will take some time but planters are a quick change that could spruce up the area right away.
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Old 07-26-2010, 03:16 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,881,375 times
Reputation: 19090
I like the idea of planter boxes. But the ones that really spruce up a neighborhood are BIG ones. And that brings us back to the problem of narrow sidewalks with not enough room as it is.
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