The City of Reno today announced that “The Future of Virginia Street” survey is now live for community members to share their current Virginia Street experience. Data collected from the survey will be used to develop a draft vision and set of goals for the future of Virginia Street as part of the Virginia Street Placemaking Study. The study is being conducted by Gehl, an urban design and research consultancy.
The survey is available in English and Spanish and will be open for four-six weeks, pending the number of responses received within the first four weeks.
Community engagement – an essential piece of the placemaking study – will be broken into two phases. The survey marks the beginning of Phase 1, which consists of information gathering and analysis. In Phase 2, individuals will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft vision, provided by Gehl based on Phase 1 research.
Ultimately, Gehl will create a community-driven plan for street design and programming options, which City staff will present to the Reno City Council for review and approval.
For more information and the latest updates, visit Reno.gov/Engage.
Background
In September of 2021, the Reno City Council approved funding to conduct a study to provide a cohesive and regional vision for the future of Virginia Street and downtown Reno. The goal of the placemaking study is to create a vision for a downtown corridor where locals and visitors want to spend their time.
After a comprehensive search process including a formal Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process, the City of Reno selected Gehl to oversee and facilitate the placemaking study based on their approach to human-centered research and digital data to document the experience of place.
The success of the placemaking study relies on community and stakeholder input and feedback. The City wants to understand the goals, aspirations, and challenges the community sees for Virginia Street and how they envision the future of Downtown.
The Virginia Street placemaking study process will take approximately 6 months to complete. Upon completion of the study, Gehl will provide a concept design narrative and implementation, phasing, and financing plan for the preferred conceptual street design and programming options. Following that, the plan will be presented to the Reno City Council for review and approval.
Original source can be found here.
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