The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - By compiling ideas from residents, business owners and the Dougherty Landscape Arcitechts, the Dayton Development Task Force has a real picture of the possible future of Commercial Avenue.

David Dougherty's group from Eugene, Ore., was hired recently to help revitalize Commercial Avenue in Dayton. Last Wednesday, the task force and community members got to hear a presentation and see sketches of what Commercial Avenue could be if the effort continues. The ultimate goal is to create a master plan for Commercial Avenue and begin tackling projects to carry out the plan.

"I like the part where we just can dream," said Marcene Hendrickson, a member of the task force.

The team of architects was in town Oct. 2 though 5 and spent the first half listening to the community about what it would like to see and the other half planning and drawing.

"We have been drawing up until the last minute," Dougherty said.

The task force is looking at the corridor on Commercial between the Touchet River and the Seneca plant. Its goal is to make it a historical extension of Main Street that has more community and living space.

At Wednesday's presentation, Dougherty and his team talked about adding elements like signage, public art, lighting, parking and community gathering places to Commercial Avenue. He said through listening to residents and business owners, the city wants to enhance downtown's economic viability, create strong visible and social connections to Main Street, beautify the corridor, create large and small gathering places and encourage family activity.

Mary Bosch with the team said the city will need to do some marketing to bring in more visitors and potential residents to see economic results.

The biggest shock to the audience was Bosch's statement that Dayton "is not a retirement community," as community members had voiced at previous meetings. Bosch said of the 2,526 Dayton residents the majority of residents are age 19 and younger. She said the task force should keep that in mind as it makes a master plan.

Dougherty presented his drawings halfway through the presentation to show in full color all of the ideas combined. The team focused on three places, the area around the Dayton Historic Depot, the new playground and the city parking lot at the corner of First and Commercial. He described plans to add more street lights, plant trees and put in diagonal parking that would double the amount that the parallel parking currently allows.

At the playground, he added a plaza for playing, fencing to keep children away from the street and alley, a restroom, seating and a bike rack.

The parking lot behind Dingle's is a great place for a sculpture park with benches and a performance space, he said. Or, the city could add a basketball court for teens or an open pavilion with a canopy for music events. Another option for that land is to clear it and sell it so a company could build on it, Dougherty said.

On the north edge of Commercial Avenue where there are homes, he said trees should be planted in the city right of way to create an edge to the corridor and deemphasize the mismatched buildings.

The Depot wouldn't be changed much, but he said the task force may want to remove trees between the courtyard and the new sign restoration project so the community can enjoy the artwork more.

Dougherty extended the vision a bit to include the Columbia County Courthouse. He said he would like to see groupings of trees added to the corners of the courthouse property, a new connection to the steps on the north side of the courthouse and even a fountain on the north side.

"It could be another gem on Commercial Street," Dougherty said.

Also, he said there is strong community support for re-establishing the gallows on the courthouse property to honor its history.

"There is something intriguing about it," Dougherty said .

At the west end of Commercial, he liked the historic schoolhouse and planned garden, and said he would like to see an overlook of the river and eventually a pedestrian and bike path from the alley between Main and Commercial across the Touchet River.

With the first drafting stage complete, Bosch said next the team will combine the input and edits of the drawings into a conceptual master plan.

She said the task force should get this master plan in one month.

The community will need to initiate phase two, she said, which is to prioritize projects in the corridor and get all of the necessary construction documents. Phase three is the completion of the projects.

"The project has been a lot of fun and there's lots of energy," Dougherty said.