Gaines Street Transportation Charrette

Gaines Street Corridor Consensus (Foresight, Spring 1997)

Road projects often are one of a community’s most divisive issues. Recently, 1000 Friends of Florida helped facilitate a citizen participation process that shows much promise for resolving such difficulties.

Dissatisfied with transportation alternatives for the Gaines Street Corridor, the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department decided to use a consensus-building approach to determine how traffic would be handled south of downtown. They hired Genesis Group, a planning firm, to develop a charrette process to allow citizens of Tallahassee to guide the road improvements for this industrial corridor. 1000 Friends of Florida was retained to assist with the facilitation and to prepare a report on the significant historic resources in the corridor.

Planning Director Wendy Grey emphasized that the desired land uses, rather than the transportation issues, should shape the planning process. After a day-long design charrette, with broad-based community input, participants reached near consensus on a plan that redevelops this industrial area while accommodating increased traffic demands and avoiding negative impact on significant historic resources. Pleased with the results of the charrette, Grey noted, "This process will serve as an outstanding model to reach consensus on other road projects in our community. Planning staff is now working with major affected parties to affirm commitment to the plan."

Historic Preservation Along the Gaines Street Corridor (Foresight, Spring 2000)

In assisting the City of Tallahassee develop its plan to revitalize the Gaines Street Corridor, the planning and design firm of Wallace Roberts & Todd retained 1000 Friends of Florida to provide historic preservation information. Gaines Street, located south of the Florida State University and once the center of Tallahassee's industrial district, is slated for widening by the Florida Department of Transportation. The City wants to promote more intensive infill along the corridor, while at the same time protecting remaining key historic resources and enclaves. 1000 Friends has prepared a report outlining the significant resources in the area and identifying strategies to protect them. This spring, in cooperation with the City and the Gaines Street Vitalization Committee, Wallace Roberts & Todd is finalizing a redevelopment plan to restore life to this important but neglected section of the heart of Tallahassee.