Madison Board of Education, City Council envision future enhancements for Madison
MADISON – Are you old enough to remember dogearing pages in the Sears catalog ‘wish book’ for Christmas gifts that you wanted?
In more serious, business-oriented terms, municipal and education leaders envisioned their wishes for enhanced roadways, landscapes and recreational properties, as reported by Mayor Ranae Bartlett in her “Madison Weekly” update.
“This week we held two work sessions with the City Council. The first session on (June 16) included the Madison City School Board. We took a deep dive into our Comprehensive Plan,” Bartlett said.
That discussion included ideas for two of the city’s busy corridors: Madison Boulevard and Old Madison Pike. ‘Before’ and ‘after’ renderings showed the current conditions on these streets and a proposal for ways that entrepreneurs, the city and property owners could enhance their land and lots.
The ‘before’ photo shows Madison Boulevard’s current composition with numerous billboards; large signs for fastfood franchises; a web of lines for electricity, telephone and other utilities; and scarce landscaping. In the ‘after’ photo, the reimagined layout for Madison Boulevard would have low-profile signage; sidewalks; underground utilities; and small trees and large arrays of annual and perennial flowers in medians and at businesses lining the roadway.
In addition, Bartlett provided a current photograph and a potential rendering for Old Madison Pike. In the current image, this road now has an unattractive mishmash of business storefronts, some in disrepair; billboards; practically no landscape plantings; and parking lots with potholes. The reimagined Old Madison Pike would see a conversion to attractive, livable spaces with a unified look for businesses; outdoor seating that offers a comfortable break from shopping; and tree-lined sidewalks with beds of annual flowers.
Then on June 17, the council and school board focused on Madison’s parks and recreation options. City staff stated their wishes, wants and needs with the council:
• Covered pickleball courts in Town Madison – Enhanced game space for the wildly popular sport.
• Palmer Park – Add more baseball and softball fields and upgrade existing fields. In addition, a field would accommodate Miracle League play for children with disabilities.
• Dublin Park – Construction of a new aquatic center to meet the intense growth of Madison’s swimming community.
• Brown’s Ferry Road – Add an archery range, especially to accommodate growing interest of school teams.
• Huntsville-Brownsferry Road – Build a neighborhood park complex, west of County Line Road, featuring soccer fields, dog park and green space.
• Neighborhood parks – Complete upgrades to existing properties.
“We are so excited about the potential and are looking at long-range planning to make these ideas a reality,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett encourages residents to enjoy America’s 250th Birthday with the Children’s Parade at the Sounds of Summer Concert in Home Place Park on June 25, along with vendors, entertainment and fireworks exhibition at Dublin Park on July 3.
