Despite the gravel and traffic noise, the crowd at the vibrant #50501 protest in mid-July already understands that the area beneath the 30 Crossing Bridge is a great place to congregate for civic engagement. However, it might be difficult for the remainder of Little Rock residents to picture the area at all, and bringing up the 30 Crossing Greenspace is likely to provoke a strong, Hold on, where is that once more?
Not surprisingly, the south underside of the Arkansas River bridge was a large, somewhat cramped parking lot, framed by raised ramps for traffic, shaded by the bridge above, and only apparently occupied when there was a major event at the Museum of Discovery or the Clinton Presidential Center. Additionally, Little Rockers and tourists alike mostly forgot the region was a construction zone throughout the years-long project to rebuild the I-30 interchange.
The Downtown Little Rock Partnership is now working to make that difference. To give locals a preview of what a permanent park would look and feel like, they are actually relocating the city’s yearly Downtown Food Truck Festival and Main Street Food Truck Festival to the area beneath the bridge.
According to Kyle Leyenbergers, director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, the green space created by 30 Crossing Park gives our community the chance to establish a flagship park in the center of downtown. The timing is deliberate; the city’s long-delayed Downtown Master Plan includes an expansion of green space as part of its vision, which is a lone bright spot in the projected 30 Crossing project for locals who had little to commend the project in its previous stages.
City directors recruited a design firm called Sasakito to create a plan for the park, which spanned 15 acres. Last October, the idea—an addition to the city’s initial master plan proposal—was accepted.At the September 21 food truck festival, Sasaki’s drafts will be released, allowing guests to take a virtual reality tour of the proposed plan and provide feedback on what they would like to see developed in the neighborhood, according to DLRP’s press release.
Therefore, stay for the crowdsourced feedback session and come for the food trucks. Sasaki has ambitious goals:
According to Sasaki Principal Joshua Brooks, the 30-Crossing Park Space offers a chance to establish a genuine civic meeting area in the center of the city. Where roads once separated the city, there will now be a vibrant new public space that welcomes people of all ages. Strategic links to the surrounding fabric, including the River, the Clinton Library, the new Central Arkansas Library, and downtown, will be established in addition to the new areas and events. This project is an example of downtown’s recent progress.
“We hope it will bring energy and excitement to this project just as the draft plan for a more permanent park is unveiled. This is an opportunity to show tens of thousands of people what this space could be,” Leyenberger said.
The Downtown Food Truck Festival is scheduled for Sunday, September 21 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Although there isn’t a precise address, we suggest using your GPS to find the Clinton Presidential Center, Buenos Aires Grill & Cafe, or the Museum of Discovery, and then continuing toward the bridge overpass. (You’ll get there if you follow the aroma of fried food and confidence about urban development.)Learn more about it here.
It’s dragon-slaying time!
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