After year of planning, Conway unveils path for future - Arkansas Online

CONWAY -- More than 10 years after Conway developed its first 15-year strategic plan, civic leaders last week unveiled a new comprehensive road map for Conway's future -- created in the midst of unprecedented challenges from the covid-19 pandemic.

"We had decided that 2020 was the big year to redo the whole process," said Brad Lacy, president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce. "We were planning what we were going to do, and then the pandemic hit."

That didn't stop the planning committee.

"Every one of them said, 'Absolutely, let's move forward,'" Lacy said. "They said: 'This brings hope to people. We need to think about things other than covid, and we need to be prepared for what's on the other side of this.'"

A 13-member steering committee was seated and met in person for the first time last June.

"They spread out in the giant ballroom at UCA and went to work," Lacy said.

Countless emails, phone calls and Zoom meetings later, the Conway2035 plan was completed.

The team began by reviewing more than 1,800 surveys that had been sent out to the public in 2020 by the Conway chamber to find out what residents and business leaders saw in Conway's future.

"It started with a very simple survey that listed probably 40 or more different issues," Lacy said. "Job creation, drainage, trails, homelessness and poverty. It was a wide range. Basically, it's, 'What should Conway focus on in the next decade?'"

The Conway chamber hired the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute to facilitate the planning process. Leaders from nearly every aspect of Conway's business, civic and nonprofit entities as well as numerous residents were involved.

The end result was the Conway2035 plan, divided into two categories -- People of Conway and Places of Conway -- with seven priorities each.

"This is the first time that we sat down with an entire community and worked in all of these areas at once," said James Hopper, director of programs at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. "It's been a very important experience for all of us on my team, and I hope that it's also going to end up being a very important experience for the future of Conway."

PEOPLE OF CONWAY

The seven priorities selected for the People of Conway goal set are arts, entertainment and culture; diversity, belonging, inclusion and equity; education for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade; job creation; poverty and homelessness; public safety; and small business and entrepreneurship.

"It was a very simple survey," Lacy said. "We simply asked, 'What should Conway focus on in the next decade?'" and, 'Do you want to help write the plan?'"

It was arts and culture that got the most votes this time around, Lacy said.

"It wasn't even in the top 10 the first time around," he said.

The Conway2035 priorities are different from the initial 2010 plan because of how thoroughly the city responded to the needs expressed at the time, Lacy said.

"In the last iteration of this, people said they wanted more roundabouts. Well, there's a lot more roundabouts. We passed a sales tax for roads, and Mayor [Bart] Castleberry has had a very aggressive plan for resurfacing roads," Lacy said. "I think that what we're seeing in this specific survey shows us that city government listened 10 years ago and got it right. There were other things moved up the list that weren't critical a decade ago."

A few of the initiatives identified by the group include fine arts and performances, live music and public art. Each subsection is followed by a list of goals to achieve by 2035.

Under fine arts and performances, the goals include forming an Office of Cultural Affairs; hiring a dedicated employee with the city of Conway and the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce to work directly with arts organizations; dedicated funding for public art, live events and artists; offering funding to community members so residents have access to quality arts instruction; obtaining funding to remodel the Grand Theatre; and creating state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor venues.

The live music part of the plan calls for conducting a feasibility study of venues, regulatory environment and support infrastructure; supporting and nurturing local organizations focused on live music, music education and performance; building a volunteer network to provide free music lessons to Conway's kids; and developing a public space for a sound garden.

Public art goals include hiring a director of arts and culture; creating self-guided arts tours with QR codes, a map of art locations, and education on the meaning of installations; and connecting Conway arts to state agencies for tourism and heritage.

PLACES OF CONWAY

The seven priorities selected for the Places of Conway goal set are beautification; bicycle paths and trails; downtown business district; land use and planning; parks and recreation; public transportation and streets; and sidewalks and drainage.

"Folks feel safe in Conway; they like the direction we're going, but they still want to see more improvement on the streets and their drainage," Castleberry said during a recent interview.

Roundabouts will continue to be prioritized for Conway's future, as well as a comprehensive drainage plan to protect from flooding, according to the goals.

The other goals include ramping up litter prevention; developing a Conway "brand" standard for signage; developing a beautification team; creating a communitywide beautification master plan; hiring a full-time bicycle and pedestrian coordinator; establishing a funding stream to build and maintain more paths and trails; certifying Conway businesses as bike-friendly by the League of American Bicyclists; developing a boutique hotel with conference space and rooftop bar; and creating a wider variety of housing options.

The city's parks and recreation will be revamped to include new indoor/outdoor tennis courts; a new aquatic complex; facilities to host large tournaments for soccer, tennis and competitive swimming; a new soccer complex; and an indoor multisport facility.

The city needs infrastructure and charging capacity for electric vehicles at all major population areas and thoroughfares, according to the plan. The goals also include creating a traditional public transit system as well as driverless public transit and a network of electric bikes and scooters.

To create a walk-friendly community, the plan calls for the city to have connecting trails for parks, schools, shopping, dining and other amenities. Design standards and streetscape plans will include underground utilities and more natural design elements in roadway and sidewalk construction.

"We have a lot of blocked ditches around town that have fallen in. We're going to start on those this year," Castleberry said. "Our goal is to cap as many of those as we can to not only make them safer, but to allow folks to walk through their neighborhoods."

THE FUTURE

Nearly 700 community members have said they are willing to volunteer to help bring the plan to life.

The website dedicated to the plan -- www.Conway2035.org -- lists ways residents and businesses alike can contribute to each individual priority, and each page also has a form to submit for them to volunteer.

On Thursday, about 300 supporters filed into the Reynolds Performance Hall on the University of Central Arkansas campus for the plan's unveiling. Community and business leaders pledged their support for reaching its goals.

Last month, more than 50 leaders met at the Rockefeller Institute to strategize on how to accomplish the goals and what partnerships were necessary.

From here, 14 committees will be formed to support each priority, and volunteers will be assigned.

"We'll go on a roadshow, of sorts, to all the civic clubs and other venues," Lacy said. "Then we will get down to the nitty-gritty and decide who is in charge of what."

Some issues will be assigned to the chamber, to city government or to the Conway Development Corp., Lacy said, while others will be more difficult to place.

"Homelessness and poverty, for example, that's more of a complex issue. It has to have a health care component, a mental health component," Lacy said. "Some of these aren't going to have just a single owner."

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