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EPA to Host Green Street Design Workshop in Joplin, Mo.

Release Date: 06/17/2013
Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557, [email protected]

Environmental News

NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY

(Lenexa, Kan., June 17, 2013) - EPA will host a green street design workshop and meetings that will provide Joplin, Mo., with technical assistance to consider “green complete street” options for the city’s 20^th Street Corridor from Main Street to Highview Avenue.

The first workshop, for city leadership, will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., June 18, at Joplin’s City Council Chambers, City Hall, 602 Main Street. Follow-up meetings for the general public will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., June 18, at Harmony Heights Baptist Church, 2025 Indiana Avenue, and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., June 19, in the City Hall Basement.

The focus of the project is the development of a sustainable streetscape plan for a two-mile segment of 20^th Street from Main Street to Highview Avenue. Much of this corridor was destroyed during the 2011 tornado and is a focus of redevelopment efforts by the city.

EPA will help start a local conversation based on street management strategies, with an emphasis on demonstrated results that have worked in other communities. The workshops are designed to engage key stakeholders, including property and business owners, neighborhood groups and city officials.

EPA is partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to transform 20^th Street from Main Street to Highview Avenue into a “green complete street.” A green complete street can be safely used by pedestrians, cyclists, transit and cars, and manages stormwater in an environmentally appropriate manner. The 20^th Street Corridor is presently primarily used only by automobiles.

Joplin has embraced sustainable development through the efforts of the Citizens’ Advisory Recovery Team (CART) and other local stakeholders and much of this technical assistance takes these efforts into consideration.

After the workshop and public meetings, EPA will provide recommendations for redesign of the 20^th Street Corridor to have it become an attraction for business development. Objectives in this key corridor could include widening sidewalks and seeding with native plants and other green infrastructure to minimize stormwater runoff while removing pollutants.

WHAT: Green Complete Street Design Workshop and Meetings

WHEN and WHERE: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., June 18, 2013, at City Council Chambers, City Hall, 602 Main Street; 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., June 18, at Harmony Heights Baptist Church, 2025 Indiana Ave.; and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., June 19, in Joplin’s City Hall Basement, 602 Main Street.

WHO: EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks, Joplin city officials and other EPA staff