Murray City is actively crafting a comprehensive blueprint for the future of its downtown precinct, officially dubbed the Downtown Murray Strategic Plan. Designed to serve as a roadmap for rejuvenating and redefining the city’s core, the plan has been gathering momentum and community input through a series of open houses held in August and September. These events have provided the city with a wealth of resident perspectives, feeding into what the overarching vision for Downtown Murray should ultimately entail.

“The Downtown Murray Strategic Plan will serve as our roadmap for shaping how Downtown Murray should look and feel,” Zachary Smallwood, senior planner with Murray City Planning Division said. “To formulate this plan, we have constituted a steering committee. This committee is a diverse blend of local residents, architects and property owners, all of whom contribute insights to ensure that the final plan is comprehensive and realistic.”

As part of this developmental process, the city recently held a visioning open house. This event was specially designed to collect the views and suggestions of Murray residents and business owners. “Our primary aim with this open house was to inform potential changes downtown,” Smallwood said. “It’s essential for the community to know that we are not making decisions in isolation. Therefore, this event served as a platform for them to voice their thoughts.”

The approach of the open house differed from conventional public meetings. It was not focused on delivering set presentations or showcasing pre-determined development concepts. “The open house was set up as a listening session,” Smallwood said. “Our primary goal was to gather thoughts and ideas from the community. This input will be valuable as we move forward with developing the plan.”

Smallwood highlighted that Downtown Murray faces several challenges that the strategic plan aims to address. “Our citywide survey from last year gave us an idea of where people want to go with downtown development, but it also made us realize that some aspects still need deeper exploration,” Smallwood said. “These include design standards, parking, fostering a sense of community, and accommodating various modes of transportation. The visioning process allows us to delve into these details, making sure that no essential issues are overlooked.”

When asked about the community’s response to the initiative, Smallwood said, “The turnout at the open house and the response to the survey exceeded our expectations. This tells us that the community is genuinely concerned and interested in the future development of Downtown Murray.”

Smallwood also outlined the next steps in the strategic planning process. “After gathering all the feedback, our immediate task will be to work on a draft document. This draft will outline the next steps and strategies for implementing the vision that we have collectively developed. In essence, our goal is to convert what we have learned from the community into a concrete action plan,” Smallwood said.

Concerning the integration of community input into the final version of the Downtown Murray Strategic Plan, Smallwood emphasized its importance. “We are committed to incorporating the feedback obtained from the open house directly into the final plan. We are in the process of analyzing all the input we’ve gathered and are aiming to provide the community with an updated draft later this fall.”

Participants at the open houses reviewed options regarding what other communities have done with streets, buildings and neighborhoods. Through structured steps, such as open houses and surveys, the city is hoping to ensure that the final plan is not just a document but a reflection of the community’s aspirations for Downtown Murray. With several more months until the release of the updated draft, it remains to be seen how the plan will ultimately shape the city’s central district.  λ