Hampton reaches out for ideas on King St. plan
HAMPTON -- Let the brainstorming begin.
Residents, civic leaders and business owners will start shaping Hampton's vision for North King Street between Interstate 64 and Langely Air Force Base during meetings tonight and Wednesday night.
"They identify issues, concerns and things they would like to see in the area," said Constance Mason, the city planner coordinating the North King Street study. "They can even point out a restaurant they like - or that they'd like to see more restaurants." City planners will work with officials from Urban Design Associates during the day, and then both nights at 7 p.m. the groups will hold open meetings at John Tyler Elementary.
The meetings are designed to identify the best attributes of the area and pinpoint problems. Residents can request changes and lodge complaints, for example, about how traffic flows through certain intersections. These are the first steps in a process that usually takes about eight months.
Neighborhood plans have gotten a lot more attention in Hampton in recent months as the city sets the framework for a handful of major revitalization projects.
Numerous homeowners along Kecoughtan Road were incensed when the draft plan for Wythe appeared to gobble up some houses. The problems were eventually ironed out of the final plan but only with the input gleaned during some tense meetings. The City Council is still trying to decide what path to take in Buckroe, where a grassroots group sprung up against development of the muddy fields near the beach. Development there is on hold as the city prepares to take over Fort Monroe.
City planners hope to avoid similar issues along North King Street, and early signs seem to indicate there is a lot of interest coming from nearby neighborhoods. Two weeks ago, nearly 100 people came to the first open meeting on the area.
Cris Ausink has never worked on a master plan in Hampton before, but as the president of the Tyler-Seldendale Community Improvement Task Force, she considers the meeting a way for locals to help fix the problems they see.
"Sometimes people don't take the time to think that things can change," Ausink said. "There's always going to be controversy because what's good for one neighbor doesn't necessarily work next door."
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