Oxford takes steps to revitalize town

Officials in the small community of Oxford have some big ideas to freshen up the town and attract more people and businesses.

Penny Jenn, the city clerk and co-chair of the Oxford Visioning Committee with Crystal Pirkl, submitted an application in October 2013 for the town to take part in Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning Program.

'You have to start somewhere,” said Jenn of the conceptual designs that will be available Tuesday for public viewing. 'We're proud of our town and we'd like to see people come in.”

Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning Program offers communities with populations of less than 10,000 people professional aid in design and landscape planning. The program is a collaboration between the Iowa Department of Transportation, Trees Forever and Iowa State University's Department of Landscape Architecture.

'When we were selected, we were really happy,” Jenn said. She explained that the number of individuals, both within the town and around the county, who are helping with the plans has continued to grow over the last couple of months. Meetings to pinpoint areas in the town that needed changes or new ideas began to take place in March, with workshops that had volunteers go out with GPS devices to locate specific areas that could possibly see improvements.

'I have been amazed at the commitment this community has shown toward this effort,” said Oxford Mayor Gary Wilkinson, who noted that this has been a 'community driven effort, not a city driven one.”

Jenn explained that there is no start date for any of the conceptual plans, which include improvements to streetscapes, sidewalks and lighting, a new bike trail and new entrance signs to the town. Cost estimates also have not been made. These items will be addressed in coming meetings.

The Tuesday public viewing session will allow for feedback, as none of the concepts created through the help of Iowa's Living Roadways Visioning Program are finalized, and look to next steps in the project.

'The next thing we start is actually making it happen,” Wilkinson said. He said that officials will select which projects are a priority and take it one piece at a time.

Oxford was one of ten communities selected this year by Iowa's Living Roadways Visioning Program.

l Comments: katelynn.mccollough@thegazette.com