The Ohio River Vision and Strategic Plan is being led by Sasaki – the planning and design firm hired by The Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District and the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership.
The goal to draft a master plan for the Ohio River frontage in Evansville and nearby communities.
But first, Sasaki wants to get information about how people use the riverfront, via a brand new survey that just dropped July 4th.
“The goal for us as we get into the design process is we always want to start with listening first,” said Anna Cawrse with the Sasaki Denver Office. “This is our first chance to start listening to the community, both when we're in person but also digitally through the website and the Community Survey.”
This survey will be open until July 21st, and they really wish to know how the river is used, what brings people to the river , and what they’d like to see happen to the riverfront.
Cawrse said if the results don’t broadly represent all areas along the river, they may seek input from specific areas.
This is the first step in a very long development project that could drastically change the Ohio River frontage.
Aside from this new digital survey, Sasaki will also host periodic community open houses. There is one scheduled on Friday July 14th from 3:00-7:00pm at The Pagoda on SE Riverside Drive in Evansville.
Cawrse said Sasaki was excited to take on this project.
“We love complex urban projects,” she said. “And so we really are excited about diving into understanding downtown Evansville, what's what's working, how we can improve it, where (are) other opportunities, and then thinking about the public realm and a riverfront park as a defining feature for a city is something we do across the country.”
Chicago, Cincinnati and Davenport are other big riverfront projects they’ve done that are now coming to fruition.
Aside from community feedback , they’ll also study the ecology and geology of the river.
The study will cost about $900,000 which are separate from any possible projects the study suggests.
Aside from downtown Evansville, the scope is from Newburgh to Mt. Vernon, including Burdette Park, the upcoming I-69 crossing, Angel Mounds Launch Site and the Newburgh Dam.
“This is an intellectual exercise as much as it is a ‘pretty picture’ exercise,” said Josh Armstrong, president of the Evansville Economic Improvement District when the project was announced in May.
“So this is really more of a high level master plan and strategy for the riverfront,” Armstrong said. “And we think that the riverfront is really one of our most underutilized assets.”