The Discovery District was highlighted in the travel section of The Philadelphia Sunday on July 18, 2010. Check out the story at http://www.philasun.com/news/678/29/Cultural-Columbus.html

Please plan to attend a media event with Mayor Michael B. Coleman and Health Commissioner Dr. Teresa C. Long to officially kick off Columbus Art Walks!

Thank you for your participation in creating Columbus Art Walks. The project continues to be a success with the Discovery District map printed in June and the State House and Arena District maps coming this fall.  Your participation was instrumental in highlighting great art, history and stories about our city of Columbus!

When: Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 2 p.m.

Where: State Auto Insurance Building 518 E. Broad Street

             Mural of A Street Called Home by Aminah Robinson

             at Washington Ave and Boone Street

A recent article in the Toledo Blade highlights Discovery District attractions including The Columbus Museum of Art, Thurber House, Columbus College of Art & Design, Topiary Park, Kelton House, Columbus Historical Society and a new Discovery District cell phone walking tour. To read the full article, go to http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100617/ART16/6170315.

The Columbus Public Health Department has recently published a walking map of public art attractions in the Discovery District. Click here to view the newly released map or contact the Discovery Special Improvement District at 614-645-5256 to request hard copies of the map.  

The map was created with support from the Columbus Landmarks Foundation, Neighborhood Design Center, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Discovery Special Improvement District, Create Columbus Commission, American Institute of Architects Columbus, and the Columbus Historical Society.  

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) determined many years ago that the spaghetti which constitutes our current 70/71/670 downtown freeways is massively underperforming and a huge safety hazard for drivers traversing their way near and through the City's central core.

Their solution?  A complete overhaul of miles of  freeway "trench," and on and off ramps, the reworking of collector and distributor streets (sounds absolutely sterile doesn't it?) and 13, count 'em, 13 new bridge crossings. 

This construction is huge.  Big in money - $1.7 billion, as of this printing, and rising - and big in time - Phases 1-6 to take as long as 10 years into the future.

The neighborhoods to the east and south of downtown will be most affected and that means thousands of people will be inconvenienced, hassled and, minimally, rerouted for the foreseeable future.  I can see the road rage now.

But this is not simply an attempt by ODOT to re-build a system that has outlived its usefulness (a system designed 50 years ago to move up to 125,000 cars daily now contends with more than 175,000 cars and spawns as many as 3 or 4 accidents daily). This is an opportunity as well. 

"An opportunity?" you say.  "Yes," resoundingly.

Listen up -  $1.7 billion is going to be put into the infrastructure serving our downtown.  What we do now will affect the face of downtown for generations to come.  So, now is the time to hang on every word that ODOT and the City say about this construction.  Now is the time to make downtown more accessible, more walkable, more inviting.  Now is the time to reconnect the downtown to neighborhoods that were severed by the construction in the 60's in the name of urban renewal.  Now, folks, is the time to pay attention and get involved.

To date, many affected downtown residents and workers are making themselves heard through individual organizations (of which there are many) and their specific needs.  But who is championing the cause of downtown as a whole?  Who is sitting at the table with ODOT to make sure there will be a commitment to comprehensive, high quality improvement throughout?  Who is trying to garner every single dollar possible for this project?

You may answer the City.  And you would be right.  The development department, the public safety department, and the parks and recreation department, as well as City Council, all have a hand in shaping the construction and its effect on downtown - whether for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transit..

And the City is doing its job.  But, the City shouldn't be alone in negotiating with ODOT and that is why the Discovery Special Improvement District has formed a new Neighborhood Advisory Group, comprised of representatives of over 10 area groups to address the neighborhood issues raised by this construction.

The group's mission: to keep the neighborhoods informed of ODOT's progress; to focus on what is achievable, to get as many resources from ODOT as possible to make the street improvements desirable and not just "traversable";  and to ensure that the improvements are consistent and comprehensive throughout all affected neighborhoods.

I believe ODOT and the City want to do the "right thing"   Conversations had with many people suggest that.  But because money and time are constant constraints, trade-offs will need to be made.  We want to have an input in the multitude of choices that come with a construction of this magnitude.

Look for more information in the coming weeks and months about the specifics of the construction - What are the "Urban Avenues?"  What are Complete Streets?   Will they be inviting, pedestrian and bicycle safe, with slow moving traffic?  Will the reconstructed bridges look like the CAP over High Street leading to the Short North?  What are the implications of such an improvement on the historic districts surrounding downtown?   The questions are endless; the answers, yet to be determined.

The big question?   Will the result of $1.7 billion and years of planning and construction just look like another plate of spaghetti?

Let's hope not.

One month into our tenure as 2010 DDDC officers, and 'hit the ground running' only begins to describe the experience!  It's an exciting time to be a part of the Discovery District, and we plan to share our thoughts and impressions with you throughout the year.  While the website itself is designed to promote the District, this blog category will focus on the Development Corporation membership organization.  So, keep checking back and if something we write resonates with you, let us know!

With the new website, you can now post information about your upcoming events.  There are two ways to do this:

1. On the Who We Are page, click on Members Area and Submit an Article (you must be registered on the site to do this). 

2. Email info@discoverydistrict.com with your event information, dates, and website and we'll post the article and add the event to the calendar for you.

We look forward to hearing from you!

This year, the Discovery District Special Improvement District and the Discovery District Developmental Corporation hope to engage members and trustees in a creative "visioning" process for the district. From streets lined with topiary bushes to dashes of red splashed throughout the district, the sky is the limit on what the Discovery District can do if we put our great minds together. Comment on this blog to let us know your creative ideas for bringing a sense of identity and community to our district of arts, culture and knowledge...