If you’ve driven down Grand Avenue in West Duluth and thought the area looked a bit neglected, you aren’t alone – city planners from Duluth have noticed also.

As part of the Imagine Duluth 2035 program, preliminary planning is now underway for the revitalization of West Duluth’s Spirit Valley neighborhood, and the city wants to hear what residents have to say.

“We want to just work with the community here and find out what things do they need and how can we help provide some direction for folks as they’re making decisions about things in the future.” Says Kyle Deming, a senior city planner for Duluth.

As part of a planning process, Deming and other city planners wanted to hold an information session for community members to share their thoughts, concerns, and feedback on what they feel the reinvestment in Spirit Valley should look like. But, instead of a typical meeting in a city building, Deming decided to host a “Spirit Valley Stroll” – a community information event on foot where Duluthians could look at and see the actual area in question.

The first stroll, held on October 2, was the first ever held by the planning team. Deming and his team, along with citizens and other city officials, took an hour walk down Grand Avenue, stretching from Central Avenue to 59th Avenue West, stopping several times for citizens to make comments and ask questions of the planners.

“I’m really excited how the city is trying to bring in community comment and community vision into this because in the past roadway projects, city infrastructure projects have been too centric oriented toward what the engineer thinks, what the city staff thinks, and they don’t take in the community as a whole.” said Adam McGill, a resident of West Duluth, who feels that the design of Grand needs to change.

“I would love to see this as a community pedestrian center, community main street or neighborhood main street oriented area that is not first a car corridor. All we really need is to get cars through it. I’d like to see it to be a vibrant people place, not a car place.”

The city will hold a second walking tour on Thursday, October 3 at noon. The second Spirit Valley Stroll will take residents down Central Avenue instead of Grand. The event begins at the Veterans Memorial Park on the corner of Central and Grand Avenues, just in front of Laura MacArthur Elementary.

To comment on the city’s planning process, or find out more information, visit the city of Duluth’s website.