High Density Residential Could Breath New Life into Downtown

The last few weeks I’ve talked about transportation options for Elizabethton’s future, but one major element of the conversation has been left out -- land use. Land use is a term used in the planning community which tells us how specific pieces of property are being used by our citizens and businesses. For example, I would categorize most of the Blackbottom neighborhood as a single-family residential land use or the West Elk Avenue area as a retail commercial land use.

Land use gives us an idea of what types of uses the property currently is and commonly a descriptor lets us know what the density or category it is being used as. Land use is critical to transportation. If there is a high density residential land-use, for example, cities need to create wider streets for more cars, wider sidewalks for more pedestrians, and bike lanes for people to bike.

As we look to the coming year, the Planning Commission has shown interest in moving forward with creating higher densities in and around the downtown area. This type of density would allow for small condo buildings, townhomes, and apartments. Unlike other parts of residential we’re encouraging in downtown, this area will be strictly residential. With higher densities of people come the need for more and better sidewalks, the installation of bike lanes, and the need to make our streets more user friendly for multiple people, not just cars. Even golf carts can have a role to play in helping create this higher density residential district.

This type of land use will impact the types of transportation infrastructure we, as a city, offer and could result in narrower roads with different parking arrangements for Elk Avenue and E Street, the addition of bike lanes to Sycamore Street and Main Street, one or two transit bus stops in downtown, and don’t forget the addition of golf carts.

Now, all of this will certainly not happen at once and it may even take a decade to put all of the infrastructure in place. But higher density residential areas can bring a lot of positives to our community. The more people who live here, the more ways the city taxes are split, the more ways utility infrastructure costs are split, and it can help bring life back to our downtown buildings and businesses. Let’s talk about it!