Nation's Cities - January 30, 2012

4 NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
January 30, 2012

NLC’s City Showcase Highlights Innovative
Infrastructure Programs

by Sandi Burtseva
The City Showcase exhibition, held
annually at NLC’s Congress of Cities
and Exposition, shines a spotlight on
some of the most successful and creative
programs from cities and towns across
the country. City Showcase winners
host display booths at the Congress of
Cities, giving attendees the opportunity
to explore the details of offering innova-
tive solutions and implementing great
city programs.

Highway 10/Highway 25
Intersection Upgrade - Big
Lake, Minn.

The City of Big Lake, Minn.,
Highway 10/Highway 25 intersection
improvement project has revamped both
the mobility and aesthetics of the city’s
downtown area. The city was able to
meet its primary goal — making the
high-traffic intersection safer — by add-
ing dedicated turn lanes and widening
lanes for truck traffic. The walkability
of the downtown area was improved
through streetscaping and upgraded
crosswalks.
Additionally, the city improved the
aesthetics with a new urban park, elec-
tronic reader board for community
events and façade upgrade assistance for
downtown businesses. The $2 million
project was first designed in 2008, and
construction was completed in 2011.

The Virtual Interactive Planner in Cary, N.C., is an online tool that breaks down Cary’s development
process into easy-to-follow steps. The program was featured in NLC’s 2011 City Showcase.

The Gallery Night Trolley in Coral Gables, Fla., featured in NLC’s 2011 City Showcase, takes resdi-
ents and visitors to the city’s art galleries’ front doors.

Katie Larsen, senior planner for
the City of Big Lake, explained that,
through coordination between city plan-
ners and engineers, Big Lake was able
to take the project to another level and
truly make it a “downtown revitalization
project,” implementing the city’s down-
town design ordinance to “create a sense
of place.”
While realigning the entire intersec-
tion to the East, Big Lake planners were
able to create open space and focus on
a complete streets policy, emphasizing
pedestrian safety, streetscaping, street
lighting and benches.
City Engineer Brad DeWolf noted
that, even though the intersection car-
ries some 45,000 vehicles per day, the
construction improvements were done
during traffic, eliminating the need for a
detour that might have limited access to
downtown businesses or buildings like
City Hall, which occupies one corner of
the intersection, establishing it as a core
for Big Lake’s downtown.
De Wolf also pointed out the innova-
tive funding sources tapped — includ-
ing the Department of Transportation,
the Statewide Health Improvements
Program and local auxiliary organiza-
tions — ensured that the project did
not impact the general fund tax revenue
of the city, which was important to the
city council.

Town of Cary’s Virtual
Interactive Planner (VIP) -
Cary, N.C.

The Town of Cary, N.C., developed
its Virtual Interactive Planner (VIP)
with both “right-brain” and “left-brain”
learning types in mind. The online
tool uses animated flash programming,
green-screen video, printable forms, use-
ful links and flowcharts to facilitate
interactive decision-making by breaking
down Cary’s development process into
easy-to-follow steps and, in the process,
highlighting opportunities for the public
to provide input to the town.

Gallery Night Trolley - Coral
Gables, Fla.
Coral Gables, Fla., is home to the
region’s original Gallery Night, which
was started more than 20 years ago and
see page 8, column 1