At what point do ideas become a concrete plan?
That’s what many Chattanoogans may be wondering after what was called a new master plan for the city’s riverfront was revealed at the Tennessee Aquarium Tuesday.
The One Riverfront Plan includes an array of proposals, including making the river end of Broad Street more of a pedestrian corridor, but it does not address funding, does not factor in AT&T Field because the Chattanooga Lookouts may or may not stay there, suggests news uses of many current parking lots but does not specify where the daily occupants of those lots would park, and foresees more restaurants in an area in which many have come and gone over the last two decades.
The master plan, 18 months in the making, drew suggestions from more than 2,000 people, according to Emily Mack, president and chief executive officer of River City Co., the downtown nonprofit redevelopment group.
We’re not against any of the proposals because, with the exception of the Broad Street plan, they don’t seem fleshed out. Indeed, we agree that nearly 20 years after former Mayor Bob Corker redeveloped the riverfront in what was known as the 21st Century Waterfront Project, the area needs freshening.