Gray’s Lake Named a Great Place

The American Planning Association’s (APA) flagship Great Places in America program “celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Places are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow.

APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America’s truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.”

Gray’s Lake Park in Des Moines was named one of ten great public spaces this year. According to APA, “The 1.9-mile walk around Gray’s Lake is known as “doing the loop,” and for some residents it’s a daily ritual that even prairie grass burns, trail repairs, and flooding won’t stop. Such dedicated use of the park is just one example of how important Gray’s Lake Park is to everyday life in Des Moines. The city’s best-known and most-visited recreation area, the park has qualities and features that attract visitors regardless of the time of day or season of the year. The iconic, 1,400-foot-long Kruidenier Trail pedestrian bridge over the lake is the park’s most distinguishing feature.”

An Apartment Search from Walk Score

On Monday, Walk Score unveiled its Apartment Search, which allows you to search for apartments by commute time. The app lets you select driving, public transit, walking, or biking as your preferred mode of transportation. Apartment listings from Craigslist are automatically sorted by estimated commute time and also can be filtered by Walk Score, price, and size.

REAP Assemblies Approaching

From the Iowa Department of Natural Resources:

Mark your calendar to help shape the future of Iowa!

Your opportunity to shape Iowa’s future is right around the corner.  Iowa’s premiere outdoor recreation and conservation funding program (Resource Enhancement and Protection, REAP) is holding the biennial regional assemblies to hear what Iowans have to say about the future of outdoor recreation and conservation.   So mark your calendar because an assembly will be near you between September 20th and October 27th!   For a full schedule, please visit the REAP Assembly webpage.

This year we will be having a REAP Open House ahead of each assembly from 5:30-6:30 where you can learn about the many ways REAP positively impacts your region and mingle with those that are responsible for making REAP projects happen in your area.  The REAP Assembly will then be held from  6:30 -8:00.

The REAP Assembly enables you to work with your neighbors and friends to recommend improvements to make REAP (and Iowa) better. You will also elect delegates to the REAP Congress in Des Moines on January 7th. Please plan to join us and continue to help make REAP the premiere outdoor recreation and conservation program for Iowa.

In its 22 year history, it has funded over $260 million worth of parks, soil, water and habitat improvements, roadside prairies, historical development and conservation education.

The famous REAP formula  distributes funding to farmers, conservation organizations, educators, cities, counties, historians, and state projects. Funding comes from gaming revenues and sales of natural resource license plates.

I look forward to seeing you all there and please encourage others to join you!

2011 REAP Assembly Schedule
Open House with Displays at 5:30-6:30, 6:30-8:00 Assembly

CITY	DATE	LOCATION	COUNTIES IN REGION
Cedar Falls	9/20	Hartman Reserve Nature Center 657 Reserve Drive, Cedar Falls 3 blocks north of Rainbow Drive	REGION 7:	Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy
Monona	9/21	Community Center 104 S Egbert St. 1 block east of N Main Street	REGION 1:	Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, Winneshiek
Coralville	9/22	North Ridge Pavilion 2250 Holiday Rd. Coralville, IA 52241	REGION 10:	Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Washington
Maquoketa	9/27	Hurstville Interpretive Center 18670 63rd St., North of Maquoketa on Hwy 61	REGION 8:	Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson
Mason City	9/28	Lime Creek Nature Center 3501 Lime Creek Road, less than one mile north of Mason City on Hwy 65, then take Nature Ct. Rd	REGION 2:	Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Mitchell, Winnebago, Worth
Marshalltown	9/29	Grimes Farm and Conservation Center 2349 233rd St., West of Marshalltown From the west, take Exit 181 from Highway 30. Turn left at Highland Acres Road and head north for about half a mile. Turn left again on 233rd Street. From the east, take Exit 182 (Highland Acres Road) and turn right. The road will make a peculiar little jog as it goes over Iowa Avenue, but keep on going north for another half a mile or so. Turn left on 233rd Street.	REGION 6:	Hardin, Marshall, Poweshiek, Tama
Correctionville	10/4	Correctionville Community Center 312 Driftwood (Hwy 31)	REGION 4:	Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Woodbury
Spencer	10/5	Clay County Regional Events Center 800 W. 18th	REGION 3:	Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Sioux
Fort Dodge	10/6	Bob Heuen Shelter at Kennedy Park 1415 Nelson Ave., approximately 5 miles north of Fort Dodge on 15th street or County Road P56	REGION 5:	Calhoun, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Webster, Wright
Muscatine	10/10	Environmental Learning Center 3300 Cedar St.	REGION 9:	Muscatine, Scott
Burlington	10/11	City Auditorium – Banquet Room 200 North Front Street	REGION 16:	Des Moines, Henry, Lee, Louisa
Fairfield	10/12	Fairfield Library 104 West Adams Avenue	REGION 15:	Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren, Wapello
Shenandoah	10/18	Shendoah Chamber and Industrial Association 100 S. Maple	REGION 13:	Fremont, Mills Montgomery, Page
Council Bluffs	10/19	Council Bluffs Public Library 400 Willow Avenue	REGION 17:	Pottawattamie, Harrison, Shelby, Cass
Carroll	10/20	Conservation Center at Swan Lake State Park Southeast of Carroll	REGION 12:	Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Sac
Moravia	10/24	Honey Creek Resort State Park 12194 Honey Creek Pl.	REGION 18:	Appanoose, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne
Creston	10/25	Southwestern Community College Performing Arts Center/Multipurpose Room 1201 W. Townline St.	REGION 14:	Adair, Adams, Clarke, Decatur, Madison, Ringgold, Taylor, Union
West Des Moines	10/27	Raccoon River Park Lodge 2500 Grand Avenue	REGION 11:	Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Marion, Polk, Story, Warren

Amsterdam’s Amphibious Tour Bus

Yes, you have undoubtedly seen tour buses rolling through various cities. You have seen boats floating down waterways. But have you seen an amphibious tour bus? In Amsterdam, the Floating Dutchman began service last month. The New York Times reports that the amphibious tour bus travels through the city center on highways before entering the water near the Nemo Science Center. Do you think a similar tour bus would be successful in the greater Des Moines metropolitan area?

Community Energy Transition Planning Event to Be Held

Slide to the Train

Slides typically are not thought of as a mode of transportation. However, at the newly renovated railway station Overvecht in the Dutch city of Utrecht, a slide has been installed next to a stairway to allow travelers the opportunity to quickly reach the railway tracks. Officially called a ‘transfer accelerator,’ the slide has made the city more playful and has generated positive externalities in the disadvantaged area, according to Pop-Up City.

Save the Date: RPSD Project Launch

For more information about the project,
please visit the MPO’s sustainability page!

MPO Participates in Capitol Hill Briefing

On Monday, July 11th, Smart Growth America and the American Planning Association hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program. The event featured Shelley Poticha, Director of HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Community Development as well as representatives from three grant recipients, including the Des Moines Area MPO. MPO Executive Director Todd Ashby and Associate Transportation Planner Bethany Wilcoxon traveled to Washington, D.C., for the event. For more information, please visit Smart Growth America’s website.

DART Hosts Public Meetings This Week

DART is releasing its recommendations for a completely redesigned transit system this month and is in the midst of hosting a series of meetings to allow the public to review the recommendations and to provide feedback. There are numerous meetings scheduled around the metro area this week; please see the schedule below for the remaining meetings. For more information, please visit www.ridedart.com/dart-forward-2035.cfm.

TUESDAY, JULY 19

• 3 p.m. – 5 p.m., Des Moines Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, Des Moines
• 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Des Moines South Side Library, 1111 Porter Avenue, Des Moines

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20

• 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Northside Senior Center, Park Fair Mall, 100 East Euclid Avenue, Suite 107, Des Moines
• 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Merle Hay Mall, 3850 Merle Hay Road, Northside Meeting Room, Des Moines

THURSDAY, JULY 21

• 11:30 p.m. – 1 p.m., Des Moines Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, Des Moines
• 5 p.m. – 6 :30 p.m., West Des Moines Community Center, South Dining Room, 217 5^th Street, West Des Moines
• 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Urbandale Public Library, 3520 86^th Street, Urbandale

Strong Growth in Urbandale Since 2000

Over the past decade, the City of Urbandale was the state’s second fastest growing city. Though city officials expected growth between the 2000 and 2010 Census counts, the rate of increase actually experienced was unprecedented. In just a decade, the city grew 36 percent, from 29,072 people in 2000 to 39,463 people in 2010. In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Urbandale Director of Community Development Paul Dekker noted, “We’re about 10 years ahead of where we really expected to be.”