Everything you need to know about the Great Streets project
In early 2017, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced South Robertson as the recipient of a GREAT STREETS grant, with specific focus on the area between Cadillac and Kincardine, just south of Hamilton High School. South Robertson was one of only three submitted projects to win a BUILD grant. The opportunity for change on South Robertson is strong, and our community has been asking for this kind of attention to South Robertson for many years.
If you are interested in the transformation of South Robertson Blvd, and would like to stay on top of developments, please sign up for emails now at http://soronc.org/updates and follow SORO NC on Facebook and Twitter.
In the meantime, here are some frequently asked questions and answers.
It’s important to understand that the Great Streets projects is about coming up with a feasible, actionable vision for the street with cohesive community input from all stakeholders including residents, businesses and organizations in the community. Implementation will be a separate project.
Pop-Up Grants are for communities that are just starting to think about their work and want to try out some ideas. Pop-up grants allow communities to try out some inexpensive or semi-permanent ideas as they begin their work.
Build Grants are for areas that are further along in the process and have the organizational capacity to make a strong case for a more permanent fix. These grants provide up to $13,000 in starter funds for community outreach to come up with a shared vision, together with in-kind services provided by technical consultants, City partners and more. Build grant projects are expected to result in not only a strong community vision for the street, but also one that has been vetted and refined for feasible implementation by the City.
When we’ve brought our best game and worked as hard as we can to create a vision that takes into consideration the needs of all our community, then we hope the City will throw its weight behind making our vision come true.
- In the first phase, March–September 2017 we will be convening a number of community meetings to get our ideas in order. Please see below for more details.
- In the second phase, October–February 2018, these ideas will get a working over by the consultants and experts at the City and we will refine and shape them with their input.
- Moving into the summer of 2018, we hope to see the beginnings of some of the ideas come to fruition on the street. Remember, the City’s initial investment of $500,000 will likely only get the ball rolling. We’ll need to find City, County, State and Federal funding for the larger, more expensive ideas, so this project is something we will be working to fully implement for years to come.
Emails and social media sign up
The easiest way to keep track of what’s happening and the single most important and simplest thing you can do. We’ll be sending emails and posting about progress on Facebook, as well as sharing links to input surveys etc. If you sign up, you can be in the loop.
Sign up for email updates on the project at http://soronc.org/updates
Follow SORO NC at http://Facebook.com/SORONC
Tweet us at http://Twitter.com/SORONC
Download and print the meeting flyer, and tape it to your refrigerator.
I definitely want to learn more and I’m willing to attend a couple of meetings to share my opinions
Super! We’ll be hosting a series of large public meetings and workshops to help develop the concepts. You can download a flyer for all the meetings and pin it up on your refrigerator! We’ll also be using regular community events to offer input opportunities. We’re currently anticipating the following schedule of meetings:
Sunday May 21st, 1-4pm
Kickoff and Workshop #1: Visioning & Design Opportunities at Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 Roxbury Drive, 90035
Sunday June 4, 11-4pm
SORO Festival Great Street Booth, Robertson Blvd.
Friday June 30, 6-7:30pm
Displays at Council President Wesson’s Movies in the Park at Reynier Park
Sunday June 25th, 1-4pm
Workshop #2: Preferred Concept Development at Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 Roxbury Drive, 90035
August 15-30 (Date(s) and location TBD)
Community Meeting to prioritize improvements
Wednesday September 27th (Location TBD)
Final Design Demonstration
It’s hard for me to attend meetings in person
No worries. We will be distributing community surveys as the process moves along, seeking your input, and we’ll also be running various activities on Facebook such as polls, Facebook live events etc. Make sure you sign up to follow SORO NC on social media as outlined above
Robertson Revitalization Committee meetings
SORO NC’s Robertson Revitalization Committee and Outreach Committee will be also be hosting regular committee meetings to share updates on this project. Like all SORO NC meetings, these will be open to the public, and we encourage you to come along. All committee meetings and agendas are always posted 72 hours in advance at soronc.org. We’ll also do our best to send emails and cross-post to Facebook and NextDoor so that you will know when meetings are coming up. Make sure you’re following us on one of our channels.
I want to attend meetings and I’m willing to commit to rolling up my sleeves and doing work. I’m so excited about this!
Hurray! You’re our kind of people. Drop an email to volunteer@soroblvd.com and we’ll chat more about this.