The city of Pensacola tomorrow will host the first in a series of meetings to discuss the reconnection of East Government Street. The public meetings were planned after a number of residents living on the street showed up to a Pensacola City Council meeting in March and expressed concerns about reconnecting the currently dead-end street and the fact that city officials had neglected to get input from the public on the matter.
Several council members said that the lack of public input into the process gave them pause when it came to approving the reconnection.
“That was the trigger that made me completely change my mind,†said Councilman P.C. Wu at the March meeting.
In addition to tackling the Government Street reconnect, a city press release describes the upcoming meetings as an opportunity “to discuss the restoration of Downtown’s Historic District street grid.†The city has also partnered with the West Florida Regional Planning Council (WFRPC) to co-host the public meetings.
According to the city statement, the meetings “will address the City’s plan to employ the “Complete Streets†system to restore East Government Street’s traditional traffic connectivity.†The complete-street model places an emphasis on creating an environment that accommodates pedestrian, bicycle, transit and automobile traffic.
“The Complete Streets system provides high value to both the residential and economic components of this neighborhood,†said Alan Gray, AICP, Regional Planner for WFRPC, in the city statement. “We are committed to uniting the community’s voice with a prosperous vision for the future.â€
During the first meeting—July 6—planning expert Dan Burden, executive director of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, will also be in attendance. Burden was named by Time Magazine as “one of the six most important civic innovators in the world.â€
Tomorrow’s meeting will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Pensacola City Hall. The following meetings are scheduled for July 12, 19 and 26.