BENTONVILLE — The Planning Commission will discuss the city’s vision for North Walton Boulevard at a meeting Wednesday that will lead up to a public hearing and decision on the plan Jan. 15.
City planners have worked for more than a year on an ambitious strategy to revitalize North Walton Boulevard, a 113-acre section between West Central Avenue and Ridgefield Drive. The street is home to 83 businesses, 1,228 single-family homes and 128 multifamily units, according to city plans.
At A Glance
The Meeting
The Bentonville Planning Commission will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Development Building, 305 S.W. A St. The group usually meets on the first Tuesday of the month, but the meeting was postponed because of the New Year’s Day holiday.
Roger Thomas, newly elected to represent the North Walton area on the Bentonville City Council, has followed redevelopment plans. He cited the upcoming opening of the Harps Food Store on North Walton Boulevard, the popularity of the Bark Park and the city’s trails as steps in the right direction.
“My family and I have lived in North Bentonville for over 10 years, so naturally I have great interest in revitalizing North Bentonville,” he said. “I look forward to this revitalization and to assist with managing, what I hope to be, real financial growth for new business owners, the city and increased property value for the local home owners.
The plan aims to boost economic viability and improve aesthetics along the corridor. Planner Danielle Shasteen said the draft as presented to planning commissioners is about 95 percent complete.
Major plan goals are to improve safety and accessibility, update architecture and landscaping and provide a residential presence alongside a mix of businesses. More than 100 Bentonville residents showed up to public sessions in May to give input on North Walton. Common themes noted during the meetings included adding more greenspace, updating building facades and improving sidewalks.
The plan integrates many of the comments made by the public. Sidewalks and trail connections are at the forefront of the plan, spanning 2013 to 2020. The plans shows replacing crumbling sidewalks with sidewalks that are a minimum of six feet wide and include green space between paths and curbs. The plan also suggests installing crosswalks at major activity nodes and replacing or building sidewalks a quarter-mile into adjacent residential neighborhoods.
Plans call for a pedestrian and bicycle path to connect with the Bark Park and the North Bentonville Trail sometime between 2013 and 2015. New signs would identify Tiger Boulevard and West Central Avenue as primary connection routes to the Razorback Regional Greenway.
The plan also aims to improve safety for vehicles that travel North Walton Boulevard every day. It suggests improving cross access between adjacent sites and consolidating and reducing curb cuts.
The strategy would create three main activity nodes along the corridor at Tiger Boulevard, Northwest Fifth Street and West Central Avenue. The Fifth Street plan includes extending the street through to North Walton Boulevard, working with Arvest Bank on a remodel and creating an open space with public art. The Tiger Boulevard/12th Street plan includes finding a business anchor for a neighborhood center, providing a transit stop and improving pedestrian crossings.
One common theme to the public comments was the need for more trees and green space along the corridor. The city plans to encourage retrofitting parking lots with islands of green space, even potentially offering free site design.
The plan includes new streetlights along the corridor between 2014 and 2017 and a new public park in 2015. The city hopes to develop a public art theme specific to the corridor and install the art along the route. It also plans to identify artwork to install on traffic light utility boxes.
The strategy calls for a merchant district to benefit business owners and redevelopment of zoning regulations to encourage mixed-use development.