Greening Lincoln

A three-day "Greening Lincoln" workshop focused on neighborhood improvements for an area south of the State Capitol began today at St. Paul United Church of Christ, 1302 F St. The program will brainstorm street design options to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and comfort, add more street trees, and incorporate green infrastructure elements such as rain gardens to manage and treat stormwater runoff  inside a focus area along 11th Street from A to J streets.

Lincoln was one of five cities chosen to be part of the Greening America's Capitals program, an initiative of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation.

I'll admit it: I'm a public meeting junkie. But you don't have to be a public meeting wonk to show up. If you have a bike or pedestrian habit, an interest in city street-scapes, or an affinity for neighborhood or environmental issues I'd encourage you to attend or all sessions at St. Paul's church  free of charge.

Today's sessions were largely a series of listening sessions for neighborhood concerns and interests. Tomorrow is a design work session to mark up maps and street-scape sketches. Day three wraps up the series with a presentation of the workshop outcomes.

The three-day schedule is as follows:

Tuesday

• 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. -- Welcome and project overview
• 1:30 to 3 p.m. -- Breakout sessions on small businesses and new technologies; the environment and sustainability
• 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. -- Breakout sessions on history, art and culture; schools
• 5:30 to 7 p.m. -- Neighborhood association meeting

Wednesday

• 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- Open house and team work day
• 5:30 to 7 p.m. -- Public meeting

Thursday

• 11 to 11:45 a.m. -- Presentation of workshop outcomes