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Over 65 residents attended the third Downtown Strategy meeting on April 30, 2018 at the Blacksburg Community Center. This meeting focused on the strategies for the plan—those actions that will allow the town to achieve its goals and objectives for Downtown. The strategies range from allowing greater density of development, to building a more robust bike and pedestrian system, to improving and enhancing Downtown’s parks and public gathering spaces. The consultant team also presented a series of conceptual design alternatives for Central Downtown—the district comprising the three core blocks of Downtown, from Turner to Jackson Streets and from Main to Progress Streets. These concepts focused on key sites within Central Downtown, each with its own opportunity for redevelopment. Attendees reviewed the Central Downtown concepts in detail, and provided comments on their relative strengths and weaknesses. As with the districting framework, the concepts were also posted online to invite broader feedback. With guidance from the public, the stakeholder committee, and the Town Council and Planning Commission, the consulting team refined the concepts into a single preferred alternative that can guide future investment in this core Downtown area. PUBL I C MEET I NG #3 Community input guided the seven strategies that will guide Downtown’s evolution. Community feedback also refined specific concepts for the redevelopment of key sites in the Central Downtown District.

Chapter 1 - Process: Community Input

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