Beyond the Banks Planning Meeting
I recently had the opportunity to attend one of the public meetings about the Rio Salado Project. The meeting was held on Monday March 3, 2002 at 6:30pm at the Travis L. Willams Family Services Center (corner of Central and Tamarisk). Present at the meeting were several community leaders, those who were directly involved in the Rio Salado planning process, and community residents. Most of the community members were elderly, however there were a few young couples and families sprinkled in the mix. The majorityof the audience, ethnically speaking were of the minority.
Brief Overview of the Meeting
Susan Sargent and Joy Mee presented the Beyond the Banks
Area Draft Plan. They went over their vision for the South Phoenix area,
the six main goals of the project, and how they were going to accomplish them.
They presented plans for proposed infill housing, commercial development, parks,
trails, parkways, and a scenic drive. Overall, Susan wanted her audience to be
sure that if they took one thing away from her presentation it was that, through
the Rio Salado project, the area is finally realizing its full potential because
of its proximity... to downtown & the airport.
The presentation of the actual Rio Salado Habitat Resotation
Project filled the remainder of the meeting (all 5 minutes). Karen
Williams breifly went over the progress that is being made in the river bed.
She said that everything is moving as planned and if they continue to move as
they have the project should be completed when scheduled.
My
Thoughts Regarding the Meeting
Throughout the course of the night I was pleasantly surprised
at the overwhelming community acceptance of the project. Not only are the
residents grateful for the great clean-up and restoration of a river in dire
need of a make-over, they greatly appreciate the work that is being done to
revitalize the community beyond the banks. At the meeting I was made very aware
that, contrary to what I had been told in previous presentations, both the old and new
residents are very much in favor of the changes taking place in their
community. I think the essence of the resident's attitudes toward the project
can be captured in the comments of one elderly gentleman. He humorously noted
that he had more years in South Phoenix behind him than he did in front of him,
but in that time he wanted to see several changes take place. He wanted to see
this river riparian project completed, more infill housing in the area, and
better commercial and retail stores so his wife does not have to travel at least
20 miles to buy a new pair of red shoes! The residents welcome a change that
will ultimately encourage a sense of pride in the South Phoenix community. They
would one day like to see a river run through it!
by Kamaili Jones