October was National Community Planning Month. From where you live to how you get to work, your decisions are all influenced by planning. Many citizens do not realize the impact planning has on their daily lives. In an effort to join the community with its local planners, various City of Fort Collins planning departments offer FREE tours of our great neighborhoods and streets. This is an opportunity to meet local planners and have one-on-one conversations about the many projects within the city, past and present. The tours highlight various projects including recent urban design winners, 1950s neighborhoods, Mountain Vista Subarea, ghost signs, South College Corridor Plan, and the evolution of neighborhood planning. This is an opportunity to recognize how planning shapes Fort Collins, and the work of planners and the planning profession in creating communities of lasting value. The City of Fort Collins encourages you to take advantage of this terrific occasion and be part of the next Plan Van tours in the Spring.
Planning is the process of envisioning, mapping or otherwise conceiving how a community will look, grow, and define itself—its characteristics, attributes, and identity. As our communities continue to change and grow, planners play an important role in ensuring that new developments are designed and built in harmony with existing surroundings. Planners must carefully balance the needs and desires of residents against the challenges presented by growth and change not just in the physical realm, but also economically and socially. Planning also strives to give residents choices. From the type of home an individual lives in, such as a condominium, apartment, town home or single family, to how an individual gets around, whether taking mass transit, walking, bicycling or driving, planning helps ensure communities address the needs of everyone. The Plan Van recently received a 2008 Colorado American Planners Association award for community engagement.
From the Front Porch to the Stars: How Neighborhood Planning Has Evolved Hop on as we travel through time from 1873 to 2007! City Planner Clark Mapes showcases the planning evolution of our neighborhoods and streets; starting in Old Town then traveling decade by decade to end at the Stargazing Observatory in Observatory Village. Van departs from Northside Aztlan Community Center parking lot, 112 East Willow Street. FRIDAY OCTOBER 2 | 10AM TO NOON From the Fort to the Future: A Walk Thru Our Downtown River District Ever wonder where's the Fort in Fort Collins? Senior Planner Timothy Wilder shares everything from our humble military beginnings to this district's current infusion of culture and housing. Wear your walking shoes for this short jaunt around downtown and the river. Tour departs from Northside Aztlan Community Center parking lot, 112 East Willow Street. SATURDAY OCTOBER 3 | 10AM TO NOON Ghost Signs Haunt Old Town: A Downtown Walking Tour Once brightly painted on the sides of buildings, but now lost or fading away, "ghost signs" are tucked throughout Old Town. Get a little history lesson from Preservation Planner Karen McWilliams on advertising signs, sign painters and what is being done to preserve them. Wear your walking shoes for this 1 mile jaunt around Old Town. Meet in Oak Street Plaza (the plaza on the westside of College Avenue at Oak Street) and consider parking in the public parking lot at Remington & Olive Streets (behind the Aggie Theatre and The Cupboard).
From Housing to A Helping Hand: How Public Money Makes Fort Collins Better! You'll see first hand how affordable housing is developed, who benefits, and the City's role. The tour showcases publically-funded housing projects and also stops at one of Fort Collins' vital social services, Respite Care, providing care for children with developmental disabilities. Van departs from Northside Aztlan Community Center parking lot, 112 East Willow Street. FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 | 10AM TO NOON North College is Movin' On Up: How the Urban Renewal Authority is a Revitializer! When you're hot, you're hot. North College is moving and quaking with new development, funded in part by utilizing an urban renewal authority. Join Christina Vincent, our Urban Renewal Planner, and see what synergy really looks like! Van departs from Northside Aztlan Community Center parking lot, 112 East Willow Street. FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 | 10AM TO NOON The Mountain Vista Subarea Plan: Preparation is the Key to Success With about 1,500 acres of vacant land, is the Mountain Vista area prepared for our city's growth? While many plans establish a wish list for future development (including a high school, community park, commercial center and employment center) the time to refine this vision is now, not later. Senior Planner Pete Wray will take you along East Vine Drive, Timberline Road, Mountain Vista Drive, and around the Anheuser-Busch Brewery to share the how and why behind this area’s future development and street alignments. Van departs from Northside Aztlan Community Center parking lot, 112 East Willow Street. FRIDAY OCTOBER 30 | 10AM TO NOON Fort Collins Was So Hip: Our Unique 1950-60s Neighborhoods Did you know Fort Collins has many examples of 1950-60s architecture and design? Take a little trip with Preservation Planner Pam Opiela and revisit the era of bomb shelters, space-age kitchen appliances, and mid-century modernism. Wear your comfortable blue suede shoes — there is some walking. Van departs from Northside Aztlan Community Center parking lot, 112 East Willow Street. Past Tours (not offered at this time)
As one of Fort Collins' recently annexed areas and a major travel corridor, the South College Corridor holds much interest for its local residents, businesses and the rest of the community. Beginning at Harmony Road and traveling south to Carpenter Road, you'll see key locations, issues, options and recommendations making up the backbone of this plan, recently adopted on March 3, 2009.
Take a look at the best: The Siena (straw bale home), In-Situ, Police Services, Pads at Harmony, Burr Oak offices, Lofts at Magnolia, and Mason Corridor. This tour highlights past winners of the biennial Urban Design Awards. |
