With assistance from the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Town of Brattleboro will host a 3-day design charrette from June 6-8, 2016. This a multi-day opportunity for property owners, business owners and Brattleboro residents to collaborate with a team of planners, landscape architects, and hydrologists to create a new vision for the Lower Whetstone Brook.
“We were inspired by work of other communities redesigning urban river spaces with a focus on ecology, flood protection and amenity,” said Rod Francis, Brattleboro Planning Director. “Scientific research predicts more frequent and heavier downpours leading to increased flooding, this is the right time to visualize a resilient urban landscape for downtown Brattleboro.”
The charrette will focus on how the community can engage with the Whetstone Brook as an asset through assessing the character and scale of potential development along the Brook between West and Williams Street and Main Street. A design team of Parker Rodriguez, Inc., Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture, and Watershed Consulting Associates will be working on designs throughout the 3-day charrette. Public meetings and focus group discussions will inform the design work in a dynamic iterative process resulting in implementation strategies.
A Community Open House will be held on Monday, June 6 at 6:00 PM in Gallery 4 at the Latchis Theater, 50 Main Street in Brattleboro. The design team will make a brief presentation of the project goals and present a thought provoking design to jumpstart a community conversation about the study area.
On Tuesday, June 7, the public is invited to stop by 118 Elliot Street from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM to view progress on the designs and speak with the design team.
Finally, on Wednesday, June 8 is welcome to come to a Closing Open House/Presentation from 12 noon – 2:00 PM at 118 Elliot Street to view the designs for flood resilience in the lower Whetstone Brook corridor.
“Charrettes are a fun way for the public to interact with design professionals and see community visions come to life in real time,” said Sue Fillion, Planner. “We hope that the public will participate in the open houses but will also feel free to stop by 118 Elliot Street during the day to check on the progress being made.”
For more information on events planned for June 6, 7, and 8, please visit www.brattleboro.org.
Members of the public or the media may also contact Sue Fillion, Planner at sfillion@brattleboro.org or 802-251-8112.
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Sue Fillion
Planner
Town of Brattleboro
230 Main Street, Suite 202
Brattleboro, VT 05301
Phone: 802.251.8112
Fax: 802.254.6456
Firm details
Wagner Hodgson has already done work in town – the Coop plaza redevelopment: buildings, parking lots, walkways, landscaping. Also other public projects in Vermont.
http://www.wagnerhodgson.com/projects/public
Watershed Consulting hails from Montana:
http://www.watershedconsulting.com
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This is a good time to express ideas about this area of town. What typically happens is these early ideas get combined into some sort of plan, and then the plan gets implemented later on. If the ideas aren’t in the early plan, it is much harder to get them figured in later.
If you want paths, bridges, scup lute gardens, skateparks, amphitheaters, housing, and so on along the lower Whetstone… this is a great time to speak up.