Lowry Street Revitalization overlay

The Town of Smyrna is calling for feedback on the Lowry Street Revitalization Overlay Study. They are having an open meeting on what you feel about this and what your ideas on what could be done.

The public is invited to share its vision of Lowry Street in Smyrna! 

Take a peek at the project's Facebook Page:

Now I will admit a little confusion on the subject for several reasons. The first is that I had thought this had been addressed in the 2007 Comprehensive plan. In fact the Comprehensive plan said this

Lowry Street Gateway Strip commercial development dominates the Lowry Street corridor. The numerous driveways, haphazard signage, and scattered parking lots create a chaotic atmosphere. This corridor is important because it is the gateway to the heart of Smyrna and leads to its historic center. Most users enter from the north from the Sam Ridley Parkway interchange or directly along Lowry Street. The Lowry Street gateway should accomplish the following objectives: 

Signal to drivers on Sam Ridley Parkway that they are passing over an important gateway and provide information to direct them to the heart of the town.  

Create a defined gateway at the Sam Ridley Parkway overpass announcing to motorist traveling south on Murfreesboro Road that they have entered the gateway to the heart of Smyrna.  

Establish a streetscape that promotes pedestrian activity.  

Extend the greenway system and provide connection to future Sam Ridley Parkway multi-use trail. Create a more aesthetically appealing and consistent environment that reinforces the identity of the are

They even included photo-shopped images of what they sought for Lowry.

Click for larger image

Click for larger image

In fact you can see they even said what type of shrubs as to create "changing landscape as people pass through the corridor."

The images on FB have some desciptions of what they are going to be doing

Our initial work on this study involves first taking an inventory of the study area...see this map (above) of the corridor with the historic districts that lie in the corridor identified. More to come!

Here is another map (above) of the existing natural resources within the Lowry Street Revitalization Overlay Study area, part of understanding what is there right now as the study moves forward.

Take a look at this map of the existing utilities along the Lowry Street Revitalization Overlay Study...another part of identifying what is currently in place in the corridor.

I wish them well. They are going to get a lot of negative feedback. Smyrna rises and falls on how well Lowry looks. The two interchange strips serve a purpose, but lowry connects the two wildly different ends of Smyrna.

The Town of Smyrna, TN, has begun the Lowry Street Revitalization Overlay Study to identify the possibility of a new mixture of uses and improve visual conditions for a three-mile stretch of Lowry Street. Please like and follow this page to provide your thoughts and ideas about Lowry Street and find out about public meetings to learn more.