Anchorage 2020 Comprehensive Plan
Hundreds
of citizens worked to develop Anchorage 2020 that was adopted
in early 2001. The
comprehensive plan calls for Anchorage to become a true northern
city that embraces winter with land use, transportation and
building designs that are appropriate for our northern climate.
When describing
what they like about their town, people talk about Anchorage’s
o
Natural beauty and setting
o
Trails, parks, greenbelts and
open space
o
Outdoor and recreational opportunities
o
Cultural facilities and events
o
Accessibility to the wilderness
o
Small-town feel with big-city
amenities
o
Friendly, caring people
o
Educational facilities and programs
o
Economic development and employment
opportunities
Some of the
things they want changed –
o
Expand, improve mass transit
o
Become a true northern or winter
city
o
Improve urban design, architecture,
landscaping, streetscape, signs
o
Become a more pedestrian friendly
city
o
Relieve traffic congestion
o
Maintain, improve existing roads
and add new roads.
During the
planning process, citizens were offered four future “scenarios,”
to choose from. They were
Current
trends, with no major
changes to the comprehensive plan or zoning map.
Private developers would largely continue to determine
the location, type, and pace of development.
Neighborhoods, to be considered the most important aspect of
community life. Schools,
community centers, local parks, and neighborhood shopping districts
would become centers for activities and local businesses.
Urban
transition, a more
traditional urban character in Downtown, Midtown, and nearby
neighborhoods, balanced by a more suburban, rural neighborhood
character for South Anchorage.
Slow
growth, satellites,
with slower population growth in the Anchorage bowl to conserve
open space and maintain Anchorage’s established residential
character and “traditional” lifestyle.
Anchorage would continue to grow as a regional workplace
and marketplace for satellite residential communities in Chugiak-Eagle
River and the Mat Su Borough. Public initiatives would enhance Downtown
and Midtown as an attractive, convenient place to work and shop.
Citizens
chose a combination of “neighborhoods” and “urban
transition” for
Anchorage’s future.
They rejected “current trends” and sending
new growth to “satellite communities” to the north.
It is essential that transportation programs and projects
fulfill Anchorage 2020 by building the urban core into an active
city center with sidewalks full of people going to work, shopping
and to the park. Cars
will move slowly through downtown, and transit is fast and convenient.
Neighborhoods maintain their value as good places to
raise children, and neighborhood centers attract families walking
to convenience shops and businesses. Transit provides a true alternative
to driving, and children walk safely to school.
Citizens rejected
sprawl when they developed Anchorage 2020, and this Transportation
Plan promotes a phased approach to infill and redevelopment to restrain
sprawl and demonstrate the benefits of compact, transit
oriented development. Without “phasing,” Anchorage
does not have enough population growth to turn any one part
of town into the vibrant, transit oriented, walkable community
described in Anchorage 2020. Even with phasing, experts from cities that have already
begun this journey towards compact development say it will take
10 years before noticing a difference, and 20 years before change
is apparent.
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