January, 2006
Welcome to the monthly Prairie Trail newsletter! The objective of this newsletter is to keep you informed about Prairie Trail with relevant information and insights.
Prairie Trail is a significant development for Ankeny and for Central Iowa, and our goal is to communicate with our stakeholders and partners on a regular basis.
Community Vision for Prairie Trail Completed
The City of Ankeny recently completed a community visioning process for the development of Prairie Trail. The purpose of the visioning process was to meet with Ankeny residents and businesses and get their thoughts and expectations on development of Prairie Trail. The meetings with the 14 groups resulted in 17 common community-desired themes for Prairie Trail. The themes reflect Prairie Trail as an active place for the community to interact, connect and socialize.
The number-one theme stated at many of the meetings was that, “Prairie Trail helps preserve Ankeny’s sense of community as the population increases.” There is an overwhelming desire for the community to have places and opportunities to stay connected as the community grows. With this in mind, the meeting participants gave many ideas on what features Prairie Trail should have and what people should be able to do in Prairie Trail.
The master planning process for Prairie Trail has begun in January and will be completed in June of this year. The vision for Prairie Trail that was expressed by the residents and businesses of Ankeny will be included as important input as master planning gets under way. This vision should make Prairie Trail a better project and ensure that the community will benefit from its development for many years. The complete community vision is available at www.prairietrailankeny.com/resources/vision.
Master Planning for Prairie Trail Begins in January
The City Council approved a contract with Urban Design Associates on December 19 to conduct the master planning process for Prairie Trail. The master planning process has begun in January with analyses of the environmental, utility and storm water issues; market research for residential and commercial development; and analysis of traffic. A major planning session will be held in March, followed by the development of the detailed master plan that will be completed in June of 2006.
