John Branston
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s Riverfront Task Force (RFT) wants to know what you think of the riverfront and what you’d like to see there as the group has launched a new online survey.
Strickland launched the task force last month to guide the next stage of development for the riverfront. The move came after the Riverfront Development Corp. (RDC) hired Studio Gang, a Chicago-based consulting firm specializing in “architecture, urbanism, interiors, and exhibitions” to develop the “Riverfront Concept Plan.”
That plan will come thanks to donations from the Hyde Family Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. But those donations come with promises that the RDC will raise $350,000 to implement portions of the plan and that the city of Memphis sign on as a plan partner.
The task force’s survey was announced Tuesday. It asks basic questions like — How often do you visit the riverfront and how do you get there? What needs the most improvement on the riverfront? The task force’s survey also asks participants’ age, ZIP code, and race.
The survey specifically asks what participants think of the area’s green space, access to the river, Mud Island access, parking, historical landmarks, access to Downtown and nearby attractions, family areas, current festivals, outdoor activities, safety, and landscape.
“Our riverfront is one of our most important, significant, and historic assets,” reads a quote from Strickland on the page. “It is crucially important that we create an interconnected riverfront that reflects our community as a whole and showcases Memphis to the world.”
The page also includes a full list of those on the Riverfront Task Force. Here they are:
• Task Force Chairman: Alan Crone, special counsel to the mayor of Memphis Jim Strickland
• Berlin Boyd, District 7 representative and chairman of the Memphis City Council
• Jared Bulluck, director of community and alumni engagement, Leadership Memphis
• Carol Coletta, senior fellow, American Cities Practice, Kresge Foundation
• John Farris, chairman, Riverfront Development Corp.
• Maria Fuhrmann, grants and partnerships, city of Memphis
• Jim Holt, president and CEO, Memphis In May International Festival
• Kevin Kane, president and CEO, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Rachel Knox, program associate, Innovate Memphis
• Mickell Lowery, president, Downtown Neighborhood Association
• Laura Morris, former executive director, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy
• Bill Morrison, District 1 representative, Memphis City Council
• Terence Patterson, president, Downtown Memphis Commission
• Ray Pohlman, vice president, AutoZone
• Lauren Taylor, program director for Livable Communities, Hyde Family Foundations
• Diane Terrell, vice president of community engagement, Memphis Grizzlies; executive director, Memphis Grizzlies Foundation
• Paul Young, director, city of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development
