Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor
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Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor City of Lafayette City of West Lafayette A Project of The Wabash River Enhancement Corporation NOVEMBER 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Mayors Executive Summary Vision Goals Sustainable, Integrated Planning From Planning to Action Plan Priorities Plan Reaches Public Participation Process Project Goals Existing Conditions and Site Analysis Historic Context Historic Sites Site Analysis A Graphic Primer on Stormwater Management Identification of Reaches Market and Economics Identification of Investment Reaches, Enhancement Areas, and Risk Levels of Investments Risk of Suitability of Investment by Floodplain Elevation Zone Issues and Opportunities Summary of Existing Conditions Key Considerations Plan Development Alternative Development Scenarios The Preferred Plan: A 20 Vision for the Wabash The Central Reach The Northern Reach The Southern Reach Phasing General Approach Phasing Plan Partnerships Credits About WREC Project Credits TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER | Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER | Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor Letter from the Mayors 4 TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER | Wabash River Enhancement: Central Area Plan Report DRAFT 5 To the Citizens of the Wabash River Valley, We both serve on the board of WREC with our Tippe- canoe County and Purdue colleagues and have been Over the past several years, we have had privileged to lead and participate in the planning effort the privilege of working with many of that produced the vision and plan in this document. you to develop a vision: Two Cities, One Under the guidance of WREC’s Executive Director Stanton River. Supported by local philanthropy and Lambert, the planning process produced city, county, and regional plans. As elected officials and citizens, we guided by the Wabash River Enhancement are proud of the 20-year vision in Two Cities, One River. Corporation (WREC), we now have a plan We stand ready to help promote the enormous potential to leverage one of our region’s greatest as- of the Wabash as a source of economic and environ- sets—the Wabash River. mental invigoration for the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette—improving water quality, removing barriers to waterfront access, adding public waterfront recreation, Historically, the Wabash River was a bustling channel of removing derelict waterfront uses, and adding sustain- commerce for the City of Lafayette, which was laid out able development to valuable waterfront property. by river trader William Digby in 1825. However, as the railroad gained national prominence in the 19th and 20th Through a process of broad community participation, centuries, shipping and development turned their backs with focus group meetings, a series of public input on the Wabash River. Successive shifts in the economy workshops, and presentations of the vision, the two sides left a natural resource with great potential just waiting to of the river came together to support goals that will be tapped. Enhancement of the Wabash River corridor continue to guide the implementation of the plan. These was identified in Vision 2020—a Lafayette-West five overarching goals are to: Access the river from both Lafayette/Tippecanoe County community visioning cities; Cultivate healthy ecosystems and create a healthy process completed in 2001—as the most important balance between economic development and environ- multi-jurisdictional community development project mental management; Engage the whole community; facing the region. A restored river ecology and new Connect the cities to each other; and Elevate the area to recreational amenities can ignite a new regional create a sustainable place of choice. These words serve economy that values quality of life. as the outline of a story yet to unfold—a story that we believe paints a bright future for our citizens: Building on recent successes our cities and Tippencanoe County have had with orienting new development to the Our work does not end with the publication of this river and providing access to and along the river’s edge, a document. Rather, the vision is a starting point for community coordinating committee led by North Central continuing dialogue and specific actions, which we Health Services (NCHS) was formed to identify a success- believe are the keys to realizing the Wabash River’s ful strategy to accomplish river corridor enhancement. sparkling potential. It lays out a framework for public Meeting Two: review of plan alternatives. Image | Stanton Lambert Building on the river’s beauty, the plan seeks to restore spaces and growth that can help us continue to prosper a healthy river ecosystem, create recreation and related well into the 21st century. amenities, and sustainable economic development to create a unique quality of life and make the region a place of choice for all, especially those in the region’s identified growth sectors of high technology and the Tony Roswarski John Dennis bio-life sciences. Mayor, City of Lafayette Mayor, City of West Lafayette President, Wabash River Treasurer, Wabash River Enhancement Corp. Enhancement Corp. TWOTW6 CITIES, ONE RIVER Introduction 1 Executive Summary Vision Goals Sustainable, Integrated Planning From Planning to Action Plan Priorities Plan Reaches 2 TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER | Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER | Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor 3 TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER VISION Two Cities, One River, is not just an SUSTAINABLE, INTEGRATED expression of our two cities’ desire to PLANNING US 52 Bridge connect to the river, but also a vision of the The broad experience and multi-jurisdictional perspec- WREC’s strategic plan includes a long-range goal of ex- future where the River is transformed into tive of the WREC board and staff led them to recognize tending the project into adjacent Warren, Fountain, and the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to Carroll counties. A multi-county extension of the project a healthy, beautiful centerpiece of a whole, WEST would require corresponding additions to project leader- interconnected community. LAFAYETTE understanding the conditions and opportunities of the region. Therefore, WREC undertook development of a set ship and changes in organizational structure. With these This vision informed the following conceptual plan to of plans at the different scales necessary to address inter- changes, further corridor enhancements in those coun- enhance the urban corridor over the next 20 years as related issues of the cities, county, and region. This plan, ties could be undertaken. resources and opportunities arise. The plan sets forth Two Cities, One River, for the urban reach of the Wabash comprehensive enhancements for the Wabash River cor- within Tippecanoe County is one of that set, which also FROM PLANNING TO ACTION ridor as well as short term priority projects. includes: Government entities and stakeholders within Tippeca- noe County have demonstrated great effectiveness in While the residents of the region and WREC are sensi- Master Plan for the Wabash River Greenway conceiving and implementing large scale plans, as with tive to current financial challenges, river enhancement is Addresses public access and land management along the the $186M Railroad Relocation Project completed in viewed as an essential investment in making the region entire length of the Wabash River in Tippecanoe County 2003. Based on the stakeholders’ experience in effecting more economically competitive. Building on the river’s and calls for a creation of a Wabash River greenway. positive change, the Corporation board and advisors beauty, the plan seeks to restore a healthy river ecosys- have emphasized feasibility, environmental best manage- LAFAYETTE tem and create recreation and related amenities to create The Region of the Great Bend of the ment practices, cost-benefit analysis, and alignment with a unique quality of life and make the region a place of Wabash River Watershed Management Plan potential funding sources in developing these project choice—especially for attracting and retaining employ- US 231 Bridge Targets water quality improvement and education within proposals. ees in the high technology and bio-life sciences sectors. the Wabash River watershed encompassing much of Tippecanoe County and portions of surrounding coun- ties. This effort is being done in conjunction with Purdue University’s Living Laboratories on the Wabash, an inter- disciplinary research center. Collectively, the plans call for coordinated action that better manages and enhances GOALS the resources of the watershed, the cities, the river, and During the early stages of community outreach and input, the community identified 5 widely each river corridor site. supported goals that guided development of the plan. Each plan recommendation is framed in support of these goals and expresses a desire for an environmentally and economically responsible approach to effecting change along the Wabash. t(PBMAccess from the cities to the river, and create a healthy balance. t(PBMCultivate healthy ecosystems. t(PBMEngage the whole community. t(PBMConnect the cities to each other. t(PBMElevate the area to a sustainable place of choice. 4 TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER | Master Plan for the Wabash River Urban Corridor Executive Summary 5 THE NORTHERN REACH – US 52 BRIDGE TO HARRISON BRIDGE The Northern Reach includes significant recreational resources, of great value to the TWO CITIES, ONE RIVER region but still underdeveloped. In several key areas,