Wasilla seeks planning input High school students get to weigh in on how city should look May 18, 2007 By Will Elliott/Frontiersman WASILLA - A monorail, a greenbelt, a mega-mall, a casino. Wasilla High School students have been asked by city planners to design their community's future, and their visions may be surprising. The city of Wasilla has commissioned a study to determine what residents want Wasilla to look like in 20 years. URS Corporation, a global design and engineering firm, will conduct the process and draft plans this summer. The plans will guide development in three key Wasilla areas: near the sports complex, near the Home Depot store, and in the Wasilla downtown area. URS environmental scientist Joan Kluwe met with Sandy Aschenbrenner's fifth-hour Law Related Studies class at Wasilla High Wednesday to gather suggestions from the students for the future of downtown. That area has been provisionally defined by URS as a rectangle extending from Wasilla Middle School to a point a few blocks west of Main Street, and a few blocks south of the Parks Highway. URS has already met with other classes at the school, as well as focus groups and community boards. They will unveil the finished plans this fall. According to Kluwe, in 20 years, some estimates expect Wasilla to surpass Anchorage in size. “We need to plan today if we want to make things happen tomorrow,” Kluwe said. “These plans have a 10 to 20 year outlook, so it's important to get the opinions of young people.” Those opinions varied wildly Wednesday. Some students focused mainly on commercial options, such as which franchises to welcome and how big to build new shopping centers. For many, the all-inclusiveness of modern mega-malls simplified planning, as shopping, restaurants and entertainment could all be integrated in a few mammoth buildings. Others favored a more exurban model, in which chain stores, franchises and their attendant parking lots would spread out across downtown. Other students hoped to see more family-owned businesses and green space in the Wasilla metro area, and suggested bike paths, parking garages, and a city square to encourage walking and reduce traffic. URS was also interested in how students felt about living in the wider Valley. Wasilla student Ross Atkins appreciated the freedom from authority and open space, but classmate Kyra Yeager lamented how some of that space has been developed. “It's so disorganized here,” she said. Kluwe hoped that the city's planning efforts would help Wasilla balance freedom with organization as the area grows, and build a community all residents could live with. Some students' suggestions, such as an adult club on a man-made island in Wasilla lake, were not appropriate to the downtown area, Kluwe said. Still, she appreciated the fresh eyes youth bring to the process. “They have ideas that adults overlook. Even if the ideas have problems, it's still important to hear what the upcoming generation feels is important,” Kluwe said. Wasilla student government member Tucker Minnick felt that URS would take the students' suggestions seriously. “They've put a lot of weight in our input,” Minnick said. “And that's how it should be. We're the future. It will affect us more.” Minnick felt there was a consensus among students that a new mall, theater, and youth club for concerts and activities were necessities, while more big box retailers were undesirable. “We don't want more box stores. Nobody does,” Minnick said. Kluwe said once URS has prepared the plans, there will be further opportunities for comment. She stressed that planning is an ongoing process in which the whole community can participate, rather than a decree handed down from government. “Planning is not going to solve all our problems. But with no planning, we probably aren't going to solve any of them,” she said. Contact Will Elliott at 352-2250 or will.elliott@ frontiersman.com. |