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will make it feel like a downtown more than a commercial strip), and create
<br /> memorable places. It is in these elements that downtown Monticello truly
<br /> becomes a part of the community, and it does so by building on the character
<br /> that already exists here. •
<br /> To function well as a downtown, people must be able to move more freely in
<br /> their cars, have parking available and be surrounded with an environment that
<br /> is interesting, comfortable and encouraging for pedestrians. Pine Street must
<br /> be recognized as the route used for moving through Monticello. Other down-
<br /> town streets can then be developed with a character that is more fitting for the
<br /> community. Cross streets form a connection between Pine Street and Walnut
<br /> Street, leading to visible and accessible parking that serves an expanded down-
<br /> town along Walnut Street-- a street with capacity for development and an abil-
<br /> ity to handle additional local traffic.
<br /> Legibility (the ability to decipher that a place is Monticello's downtown and
<br /> that its development pattern is one that allows for ease of movement) is one of
<br /> the key ideas of a well-conceived downtown. Shopping malls are great exam-
<br /> ples of legibility --a good shopping mall is always providing clues to help vis-
<br /> itors move about and the connections between anchors is always clear, direct
<br /> and interesting. Modem shopping districts are not always so legible: a district
<br /> at Weaver Lake Road and I-94 in Maple Grove is easily recognized as a shop-
<br /> ping district, but even frequent visitors have difficulty finding their way from
<br /> one destination to another.
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<br /> The creation of a fixed boundary for the downtown area will lead to wise choices hi the use of available land and afford
<br /> some level of assurance to nearby neighborhoods that commerdal uses will not overtake them.
<br /> Issues of density, organization and pattern need to be resolved to make
<br /> Monticello's downtown feel like a downtown. The presence of a defined
<br /> boundary is critical: it forces wise use of limited land resources; it avoids the
<br /> sprawl of commercial uses that diminishes true pedestrian qualities; it protects
<br /> nearby residences from the ill affects of commercial uses (noise, lights, park-
<br /> ing), and the possibility of declining property values as a result; and it keeps it
<br /> possible to create a downtown that is compact enough for people to choose to •
<br /> walk rather than drive between destinations.
<br /> 1
<br /> • A New Bridge
<br /> - Revitalizing Monticello's Downtown and Riverfront
<br /> Page 3:10
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