Taking care of the main commercial entrances into our community business districts can have a large impact on how we are viewed by visitors and prospective employers and citizens alike. 

Increasingly, we are realizing the importance of taking care of our communities as the “product” that we promote as a great place to live, work, invest and play.  What we do to prepare our communities to be those “great places” falls under the category of Community Development.  While there are many facets of community development, in this article we will discuss the community’s commercial entrances, or the roads or highways that lead from the edge of the community (city limits) into our business centers or districts, including downtown.   

A community program can be designed to enhance the corridors connecting the edge of a community to its downtown and/or other commercial districts, giving people a positive image of the community while driving through and encouraging appropriate types of development along the corridors.  Such programs may include physical improvements to the streetscapes, as well as implementing planning and associated codes to help assure positive and appropriate business development activity.  These measures are intended to impact both short- and long-term planning and business programming and are important for a number of reasons, including:

• They build a positive image of the community, showcasing the attractiveness of the community to both residents and visitors and directly addressing a community’s pride in itself to prospective residents and businesses;

• They can enhance traffic flow; and

• They can enhance a community’s “look,” playing to whatever design theme the community is pursuing as it tries to distinguish itself and its own identity.   

Components of a Community Entrance Program

Entrance programming basically addresses two main components: first, - improving the physical look of the corridors; and, second, - land use planning and associated codes. 

The first step in developing a program is to assess the current entrances, focusing on their physical characteristics.  The key is to critically look at the signage and billboards, measuring cleanliness and legibility.  Do our signs look more like clutter or are they tastefully placed?  Also, critically look at sidewalks, bike paths and lighting along the corridor(s) and in front of the businesses and residences, measuring the degree to which the corridors are pedestrian-friendly, safe and clean.  Look at the landscaping and whether plantings and greenery enhance the views and sense of place. 

If there is a determined need to improve the physical appearance of our corridors, the next step is to establish the planned improvements and determine cost, before implementing the physical improvements.  A few examples of physical improvement strategies include: 

• Planting more floral groundcover and trees in the medians and along the sides of the corridors;

• Placing decorative trash receptacles, flower pots and/or benches in strategic locations;

• Positioning decorative, uniform street and traffic signs at intersections, and installing decorative lighting along the route. 

As with any programming, we are limited by our budgets.  However, labor can be volunteered and grants can be pursued.  A question to ask: How important it is to the community?

Once we have decided on physical improvements, we can explore providing land use planning and other codes and controls to help protect and support development and appearances of businesses along our corridors.  These plans and controls can also help to ensure that the improvements we have made are not compromised. 

Land use plans and the associated codes and controls, including zoning and the creation of any overlay districts, can help prevent incompatible property uses and actions that physically affect other businesses’ success and property values.  Keep in mind that plans, as well as specific codes and covenants will only provide the community benefits if they are enforced. 

Benefits 

By participating in a community development program such as this, we can benefit from increased property values and marketability of the corridor’s properties, as well as those for the entire community.  We can also benefit from community engagement, volunteerism and pride that is created from these types of projects and by the image-building result of our work in the eyes of a visitor. Remember that you only have one chance at a good first impression.  Finally, we stand to benefit from any and all public-private relationships that can be developed as a result.

Where do I get help?

Community development programs such as this can play a critical role in the marketing of our community to others as part of an effort to create jobs.  Comprehensive community development programming requires some careful planning, organizing, data-gathering and consensus-building.  Many communities and economic developers rely on third party support from universities, consultants, and state agencies and associations to develop program templates for moving forward.  Your choice of external assistance will depend on how much you are willing to spend, how quickly you want the results, and how comprehensive your programming will be.  If you are interested in exploring this further, the Fayetteville Chamber can provide advice and referral, as well as conduct a range of topic – specific community development discussion programming.