THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503220274
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
The Water Street of the future could be a tree-lined, divided thoroughfare decorated with banner-covered utility poles and dotted with roses.
That, at least, is the vision of three landscape architects who spent two days in Elizabeth City preparing a broad plan to spruce up the street that serves as the downtown's riverfront welcoming gate.
The architects, along with staff from the North Carolina Commerce Department's Main Street program, studied the street in a ``charrette,'' a team-based design process that relies primarily on community input and the area's physical characteristics.
More than 30 community leaders and Water Street landowners met next to the Elizabeth City Downtown office at The Virginia Dare Arcade Tuesday to hear the results of the brief, intensive study.
``It's intended to be a plan that gives you food for thought,'' Rodney Swink, director of the North Carolina Main Street program, told the group.
``What's important is that you have a sense of what's there that you can create out of.''
What's there, primarily, is the Pasquotank River, which, Swink said, should be emphasized at every turn. The rough proposal calls for highlighting access to the river and carrying the waterway's character deeper into downtown.
The plan also recommends extra care for one of the town's greatest resources.
``It's crucial to first protect the irreplacable,'' Swink said. ``The waterfront, the water, certainly I think is one of those elements.''
The charrette grew from months of discussion between Swink and Elizabeth City Downtown Executive Director Peggy Langley about how to make Water Street more attractive, Swink said.
Langley said the seven-year Main Street project has brought good results. It's time now, he said, to concentrate on Water Street.
``It's just a highly visible area, and we felt like we needed to put some emphasis on it,'' Langley said after the meeting.
The planners relied in part on a survey of local residents, who identified what they thought were the visual strengths and weaknesses of Water Street and the downtown.
Across the board, Swink said, people were most concerned about the appearance of utility poles and wires.
``Those really jumped out and said, `Here is an issue,' '' Swink said.
The concerns led to an emphasis on attractive new utility poles, which under the plan would stand in an even row on a landscaped strip dividing Water Street. The center strip would also be home to a row of trees and a smattering of roses, to highlight the theme set by Elizabeth City's renowned boater-welcoming committee, the ``Rose Buddies.''
``You have such an image because of the Rose Buddies,'' Swink said. ``Reinforce the concept.''
Also recommended is a rerouting of a stretch just south of Ehringhaus Street in front of the future Museum of the Albemarle site. Swink said linking two parcels of open space would give the museum's ``front yard'' a better appearance.
Residents gave the planners an enthusiastic reception but expressed concerns about the feasibility of dividing the narrow stretches of Water Street. Some also didn't like a proposal for a boardwalk along some private waterfront property.
But Swink reminded participants that the details would be up to them. ``You begin to fine-tune it based on the reality of the site,'' he said.
Members of the planning team said they had good impressions of Elizabeth City.
``I think it has a lot of potential,'' said Perry Howard of the landscape program at North Carolina A&T, who was visiting for the first time. ``What I find is a lot of opportunities here.''
Langley said she wanted to capitalize on the opportunities while the Water Street project has momentum.
``This is just the beginning,'' Langley said at the end of the meeting. ``Roll up your sleeves, and let's get started.'' by CNB