Changing Merrillville from a series of standalone developments into a cohesive community is one of the needs identified during the town's comprehensive planning process. RDG Planning & Design has begun meeting with residents, as it starts working on the Merrillville Momentum plan for the town.
A common theme in those discussions has been building community, according to RDG Principal Martin Shukert. "The way that the town developed over time, people would get a piece of ground and develop it for housing, as if there would never be anything around it," Shukert said Friday.
One idea is to start by connecting three destinations that are relatively close together but hard to walk to: the Dean and Barbara White Community Center, Merrillville High School and Hidden Lake Park. "The idea being that we use Broadway, at least between 68th and, really, 61st, as a demonstration corridor, as hopefully what could be a more complete and model street," Shukert explained.
New pedestrian paths could gradually be extended to Andrean High School, the Oak Savannah Trail and other schools and parks around town.
The former Star Plaza site is one of the areas that will get a more in-depth look, as the planning process continues. Shukert said residents felt Merrillville lost one of its main gathering spaces when the Star Plaza closed. He expects that some sort of public space and possibly an outdoor performance venue could be incorporated into the site's future plans.
"The other thing is that it can be an economic catalyst for, if not major commercial, at least some commercial that's more walkable, a little bit more atmospheric," Shukert added.
There could also be some residential development and a connection to the nearby C&O trail. RDG also expects to review the existing plans already developed for the site.
South of U.S. 30, a big goal is to fill some of the missing links between subdivisions to create a connected grid. Meanwhile, NIPSCO's power line corridor could potentially be used for an east-west trail, in an area that doesn't currently have designated park space.
Shukert said they'll also be looking at potential sites along U.S. 30 for pedestrian overpasses. "One thing that we know for sure is there have got to be safe ways for pedestrians to get across it — and also along it, but especially across it," Shukert said.
Residents interested in offering input on Merrillville's plans for the future can take an online survey or comment on an interactive map on the Merrillville Momentum website. There's also still space for residents to serve on the Momentum Community Committee.
