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HomeNewsClarksville's leaders lays out ambitious plan for the future of our city

Clarksville’s leaders lays out ambitious plan for the future of our city

City of Clarksville plans to launch new web site in a few weeks to offer full details on the new master plan.

Aiming to set the course for our city for the next twenty years, Clarksville Leaders laid out a far reaching master plan for the future of our city. The plan development was coordinated by Frank Lott’sĀ  and Jeff Bibb’sĀ  BLF MarketingĀ  with assistance from RKG Associates, Betsch Associates, and Wilbur Smith Associates along with a Master Plan CommitteeĀ  chaired by Mark Holleman, Jim Durrett (Mayor Piper’s former chief of staff), and Col. Perry Clark from Fort Campbell.

The City of Clarksville budgeted $230,000 for the development of this plan.

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper making the case for the Smart Growth 2030 Master Plan
Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper making the case for the Smart Growth 2030 Master Plan

The Master Plan Committee was broken down into several assessment area sub-committees.

  • Transportation/Traffic – Chair: Wayne Wilkerson, and Jim Amos
  • Infrastructure – Chair: David Smith
  • Zoning/Land Use – Chair: Gary Norris
  • Retail/Entertainment – Chair: Jill Bartee-Ayers
  • Office/Headquarters – Chair: Richard Swift
  • Housing –Ā  Chair: Brad Martin
  • Cultural/Public Assembly –Ā  Chair: Maggie Culback
  • Recreation/Greenway/Waterway – Chair:Ā  Charlie Koon
  • Urban Design & City Center – Chairs: Rudy Johnson & James Halford
  • Real Estate –Ā  Chair: Christy Batts
  • Government Structured Tax Strategies – Chair: Mark Briggs

The plan has an expressed desire to cater to Fort Campbell and Austin Peay State University.

Frank Lott served as the emcee for the presentation
Frank Lott served as the emcee for the presentation

Frank Lott during his introduction stated “The Smart Growth 2030 plan consolidates elements of over 65 separate plans into one cohesive guide for city plannersĀ  and future city leaders.”

Mayor Piper highlighted some of the accomplishments that people said couldn’t be done including The River Walk, the Marina, Dunlop Lane, University Blvd, “Many said they were not possible, but they were part of our long range plans… We are beginning a new journey as a city, today once again we are asking this city and its leadership to take another gigantic step and commitment to a long range plan to continue to keep Clarksville on a visionary path and commitment to excellence. Six months ago we began an exciting journey to explorer ideas and visions for the next twenty years as Clarksville grows and continues to progress forward. We are here today to hear how those ideas and visions have come together to complete the City of Clarksville’s Smart Growth Plan 2030. “.

Jeff Bibb talking about the creation of this plan
Jeff Bibb talking about the creation of this plan

Jeff Bibb said the process began on Janurary 15th with a meeting of the planning team in the Mayor’s Office. The Mayor communicated four specific expectations when this process started:

  1. That the plan be truly visionary and progressive minded.
  2. That the plan be so dynamic and relevant that it could not possibly reside on the proverbial shelf.
  3. That the plan not be perceived as a Mayor Piper plan, but that it be a true community plan.
  4. That a 1 year planning process be condensed into 7 months.

On February 2nd the city held a Master Plan kickoff at F&M Bank with the naming of the 16 Chairs and Co-chairs. The Assessment Area committees were comprised of 109 citizens, andĀ  were given 7 weeks to complete their work.The result was over 150 pages of manuscripts and visuals in their reports. “Theses reports are a great resource, not only for this Smart Growth plan. But will be a valuable reference for going forward for any community or government planning effort for some time we would predict.” he said.

According to Frank Lott, 11 Community assessment briefings were held at The Clarksville Gas and Water Department seeking citizen input, and a survey was placed on the city web site inviting the public to participate.

A dedicated website for the plan will soon be made available to the general public in the next week or so and will allow the citizens of the city to review the complete details of the Master Plan.

“Now we do not claim perfection by any stretch of the imagination, but this is what we do claim. We claim thorough thoroughness, we claim diligence.” said Jeff Bibb.

The consultants then presented some of the major features of the master plan including the east-west corridor, a new North/South road from Tiny Town to Kraft Street, APSU Expansion, Lincoln Homes Relocation, Downtown Events Center,Ā  an expansion of Governor’s Square Mall, possible replacement of Two Rivers Mall with a new commercial development, The old Hospital location, and much more.

Phase three of the APSU redevelopment may look like this, if this plan is implemented.
Phase three of the APSU redevelopment may look like this, if this plan is implemented.

The plan was extensively revised after the Great Flood of 2010 to take highlight new opportunities presented by the flood damaging businesses along Riverside Drive, including Two Rivers Mall.

The city sees this redevelopment as serving two major purposes improving the quality of life for residents, while at the same time increasing the city tax revenues.

Bill Larson
Bill Larson
Bill Larson isĀ  is politically and socially active in the community. Bill is a member of the Friends of Dunbar Cave. You can reach him via telephone at 931-249-0043 or via the email address below.
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