Cottonwood, HV see plans for growth

COTTONWOOD NOW: Cottonwood’s Main Street facing Fourth Street was a target for improvement by the LGC.

COTTONWOOD TO BE? With the addition of mixed-use development and drawing the structures close to streetside, Zykofsky of Local Government Commission said Cottonwood could develop a more cohesive downtown atmosphere as the population grows.

COTTONWOOD TO BE? With the addition of mixed-use development and drawing the structures close to streetside, Zykofsky of Local Government Commission said Cottonwood could develop a more cohesive downtown atmosphere as the population grows.

HAPPY VALLEY NOW: As it stands, Happy Valley Road was called "bleak" by presenters from the Local Government Commission.

HAPPY VALLEY TO BE? With the addition of bike lanes, trees and refurbished buildings, Happey Valley could support growth and maintain its rural character, said Zykofsky of LGC.

Community members from Cottonwood and Happy Valley reacted positively to a presentation of how the neighborhoods could look in about twenty years. The presentation involved the feedback of community members who discussed what priorities they had for the future of their neighborhoods.

The computer-aided crystal ball provided by the Local Government Commission showed pictures of Main Street in Cottonwood and Happy Valley Road in Happy Valley with the virtual addition of trees, flowers, bike lanes, and redesigned buildings.

The various additions, according to presenter Paul Zykofsky, are “obviously not something that happens overnight. It can take five, ten or twenty years.”

“I liked the work they put into it,” 11-year Happy Valley resident Ermel Jones said. “I liked the widening of the roads, the coloring of the asphalt for bike lanes . . . It’s the future. I think it’s great they’re starting to plan now.”

Both Happy Valley and Cottonwood had different priorities, based mostly on the higher population density in Cottonwood. The presenters nonetheless focused on connectivity for both towns. Cottonwood community members asked for more trails and the maintenance of its western rodeo theme in the downtown. They also specified that they wanted to see an end to truck traffic on Front Street.

For Happy Valley, the presenters highlighted many dead ends that could be extended to meet with other roads, thus relieving traffic density on the few main roads. The presenters also recommended roundabouts on Happy Valley Road to slow traffic. To that end, they also proposed wide, pigmented shoulders for use as bike lanes.

Results of the visioning sessions for both communities are getting added to a final report to be released in February, 2009, according to Project Manager Josh Meyer. Both Supervisors Les Baugh and Mark Cibula expressed interest in seeing the results from their districts before the report is presented to the rest of the board of supervisors and county planning officials.

The planning efforts, sponsored by Healthy Eating Active Communities, are to be presented to county officials before the onset of the county’s General Plan update in 2009.