The city of Nolanville held an open house on urban planning Monday afternoon at City Hall, in order to give residents a chance to provide their input on several different plans presented.
City economic development coordinator Gloria Rodriguez said, “We partnered with Texas A&M University (students) and their cornerstone project … their big projects will be posted in City Hall for people to look at and provide feedback on which ones they want implemented in their city.”
Thirty-one students worked on the projects, all of whom are part of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning program. Students were divided into teams of three to four students each, and presented nine different projects, each with several different variations, with Nolanville community members coming in after the students’ presentations to vote on their favorites.
The projects included urban planning ideas for improvements to the J.W. Sims Community Center, fitness and wildlife trails, and ideas for smart city designs, which City Manager Kara Escajeda said, “had to do with including autonomous vehicles into future designs … non-Newtonian speed bumps … and smart street lamps.”
Community members voted by putting their names on sticky notes and placing those notes on the plans they liked the best, along with any comments they wished to add.
They could also put additional notes on other plans, such as what they liked that they would like to see on future plans.
The Rev. Patricia Warden, a Nolanville resident, said, “There are plenty of choices … this is just amazing.”
— KILLEEN DAILY HERALD