Laramie residents may see changes to 3rd street in the near future.
Laramie Main Street Alliance held a brainstorming meeting at Grand Avenue Pizza on Wednesday night to improve 3rd street in safety, aesthetics and efficiency.
Making Laramie’s downtown area more appealing was the overlying theme of the night. 3rd street does not currently have much appeal to bring travelers into the downtown area and this has business owners troubled.
“This is not a new conversation,” said Laramie Main Street Alliance board member Trey Sherwood. “This discussion has been going on for many years.”
In attendance were Main Street Alliance board members, local business owners and Laramie residents concerned about the future of their town.
“I am very pleased with the turnout,” said board member Margaret Brown. “There were a lot of people who care about their community who showed up.
Brown said that there were some familiar faces, but many whom she had never seen before.
Working goals of the meeting included improving pedestrian movement, streetscape and intersections.
Attendees suggested many different ideas that would help to improve Laramie’s main street. Wider sidewalks, better parking and lowering speed limits were some of the suggestions that were brought up.
As far as improving the aesthetics of down town, attendees had many suggestions. Including adding more foliage to deafen the noise of traffic, decorative lights strung over the road, murals and other artwork were suggested.
People discussed making changes to Laramie’s downtown to make it more appealing and safer to pedestrians and drivers, similar to Fort Collins, Loveland and other nearby cities.
Changing 3rd street to a two lane road, changing the speed limit to 20 mph and diverting highway traffic to 4th street were popular suggestions.
Developing a common vision for improvements is one of the goals for the Laramie Main Street Alliance.
“In the past, we have been held back by people not agreeing on improvements,” said Sherwood.
Those in attendance were asked if they would like to join an ad-hoc committee to help move from the brainstorming phase to the action phase. People with special knowledge or skills were encouraged to help with the committee.
The Laramie Main Street Alliance would be working with the city and the Wyoming Department of Transportation in regards to regulations of streets and sidewalks.
“Main Street Alliance is a four point program composed of design, promotion, organization and economic restructuring,” said Brown.
According to their website, Laramie Main Street Alliance’s purpose is to preserve historic downtown Laramie while enhancing its economic and social vitality.
More information can be found at laramiemainstreet.org.
