<\/a>Residents shared their 10-year visions for Douglas at a kickoff meeting for City and Borough of Juneau’s effort to create South Douglas-West Juneau Area Plan, Wednesday, Jan. 15. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Many of the comments said they want south Douglas and west Juneau to be a vibrant community, maintain its small-town feel and preserve easily accessible recreation opportunities.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Bookless said she’d like to see bike lanes added to the area so she can commute on an electric bike.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Resident and former City Manager Kevin Ritchie said he’d discourage high-density housing developments in the area because in his opinion Douglas Highway is near its traffic capacity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Multiple notes on maps of the neighborhood spotlighted the Cordova Street and Douglas Highway intersection as something they’d like to see improved.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“Intersection is dangerous for pedestrians, cars, school, kids, etc.,” read the note.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Residents posted perceived challenges, successes and opportunities in South Douglas and West Juneau at a kickoff meeting for City and Borough of Juneau’s effort to create South Douglas-West Juneau Area Plan, Wednesday, Jan. 15. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Ritchie said he’d like to see more attention paid to keeping the area safe and clean. He also sees untapped potential in South Douglas.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“On Sandy Beach, I said in terms of opportunities, it’s an incredible historical and recreational opportunity,” Ritchie said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
He wasn’t the only one to mention the potential appeal of Douglas’ history. Multiple sticky notes, and resident Annetta Love also mentioned it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Love said she mostly wanted to highlight one of the community’s successes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“The biggest accomplishment is Perseverance Theatre,” Love said. “That is very unique.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Feedback from residents will be analyzed by planners and archived, said Jill Maclean, CBJ director of community development.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“It’s a way to ensure that CBJ understands what the community wants for the neighborhood,” Maclean said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Residents shared their 20-year visions for Douglas at a kickoff meeting for City and Borough of Juneau’s effort to create South Douglas-West Juneau Area Plan, Wednesday, Jan. 15. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Additional public meetings will also help shed a light on that.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Six additional meetings are scheduled for March and April, and each meeting will focus on a facet of the community. Topics include economic and business vitality, housing, arts, culture and historic context, transportation and infrastructure, recreation and natural resources and land use and zoning.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Before those meetings happen, Maclean said CBJ’s Planning Commission will need to appoint a steering committee and applications are still being accepted for a committee that will need at least nine members. Applications will be available online through the area plan’s website, beta.juneau.org\/community-development\/douglas-west-juneau<\/a>. They can be emailed to project managers Allison Eddins at allison.eddins@juneau.org and Tim Felstead at tim.felstead@juneau.org.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The deadline to apply is Feb.7, and appointments are expected to be made Feb. 25, Maclean said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t • Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"