University students present massive riverfront plan

A jury of about 50 people filled the Superior Court courtroom Friday and their verdict was overwhelming: Great ideas, let's get the community behind this.

The case had no prosecutors and no need for defenders. The presenters were N.C. State University students and Prof. Kofi Boone, from the school's College of Design, and they delivered a comprehensive plan for development centered on the Neuse River.

Maps and drawings lined the front of the courtroom while students explained their ideas for turning the river into Kinston's "front door."

"The county is rich in historical tradition," Boone said. "Our plans enhance that tradition."

Students have been working on the plans for weeks, culminating in ideas to connect the river to downtown, school and shopping areas.

Boone said their objective was to make the riverfront healthy, diverse and accessible to everyone.

"It's not always necessary to build new things," Boone said. "These plans do not demolish any existing buildings."

The sketches show, among other things, Queen Street divided by a median, and planted with tall trees; the Nature Center with ponds, gardens and camping areas; houses built on raised foundations near flood zones; Tiffany West Park expanded by closing Herritage Street between King and Caswell streets; luxuriant streetscapes; a bridge across the Neuse River; an amphitheater in the bend of the river; an off-site branch of Lenoir Community College, and so much more.

"This is not a wind blowing; this is a storm," Riverfront Task Force Co-Chairman Tommy Pressly said, referring to the ideas storming the courtroom.

Dr. Lyn Turner, the task force's other co-chairman, said if the plan were not a case for grant money, nothing ever was.

The ideas will be collected into a book and turned over to the Pride of Kinston for further investigation. Pride Director Adrian King said the project may be too large for his group and probably will require its own special organization to set priorities and arrange implementation.

King and Pride first proposed the Riverfront Task Force several months ago. The study was initiated by King, and has been guided thus far by him, Pressly and Turner.

Friday's presentation followed two community workshops during which residents proposed development ideas, and several smaller meetings.