About 45 folks gathered last week to help a team of professionals design a Festival Street for the heart of Georgetown. The design workshop was a four hour long engagement between those who hold Georgetown near and dear (mostly business owners, employees, artists and residents) and the professional team of designers and engineers who needed the community’s input on the project.
On this project the community is defining the scope and nature of what will be done – in part because what makes a great street for holding festivals depends on what the community wants. Festival Streets are, after all, a non-arterial street that is “designated for recurring temporary closure to vehicular traffic use for the purpose of pedestrian-oriented special activities” – such as the Georgetown Carnival and Honkfest.
The Georgetown Community Council, the Georgetown Merchants Association and the United Artists of Georgetown are all involved in, and enthusiastic about, the project. An eight member citizen advisory group, formed in February, will continue to meet with the project team to select an alternative and to refine the design over the next year. The project is expected to be built in 2015.
The Georgetown Festival Street was one of just 12 projects selected by the Bridging the Gap Oversight Committee to receive Neighborhood Street Funds last year. The project will also benefit from the One Percent for Art program, with the selection of Georgetown artist extraordinaire Chris McMullen in the project.