Residents envision Wilson in 2030

More than 50 people who gathered last night at the City Operations Center for what the city Planning Department called the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Neighborhoods, Gateways and Corridors Design Charrette. The residents representing various neighborhoods and interest groups in the city divided into groups and brainstormed about what they thought the city's gateways, neighborhoods (Old Wilson and Five Points) and corridors (U.S. 301) should look like 20 years from now.

The proposals for U.S. 301, which the city has been wrestling with for years, were the most elaborate and expensive. The busy corridor with its mix of small, aged housing and old eyesores of industrial and commercial properties is a particularly vexing problem. Solutions will be expensive, and changes will disrupt businesses and residents (mostly renters along 301 itself, but many established homeowners in the neighborhoods nearby). Like other pods, my group suggested  major changes in terms of landscaping, trees, parks, sidewalks and/or bike trails and demolition of the most outdated structures. We suggested new commercial properties along the four-lane with a buffer between those properties and existing housing beyond them. All the groups wanted to revamp and rehabilitate Fikewood Shopping Center, which has deteriorated badly since its opening in the 1980s. Major private investment will be needed to bring this area a solid retail center, and that might be the most difficult step in all these proposals.

Gateway improvements garnered perhaps the most creative thinking of the evening. One thing all the participants learned is that Wilson has many gateways. It's not just U.S. 264 from Raleigh, but also U.S. 301 North and South, N.C. 42 East and West, N.C. 58 East and West, Downing Street, etc. Well-landscaped, welcoming markers with greenery and flowers were universally proposed at as many as a dozen locations. My group suggested public art, such as Vollis Simpson whirligigs, at each entrance. Another group proposed a stone marker as a gateway motif. Another suggested a small wall or pillar of Silas Lucas brick. All suggested an identifying marker that would announce one's entrance into Wilson.

These proposals will be merged and presented to the public Thursday night at 7 at the Del Mastro Auditorium at Wilson Community College. It will provide a peek at what Wilson could look like in another 20 years if city officials take the comprehensive plan, which is still another year in the making, and run with it.