Centennial Hall Planning Comments Public Meetings, 9/19/2011 General Comments Space/Location Too tight. Acquire more space (Women s Club?) Is there a more central visitor center site? Site very important for resident access to view and waterfront. Like campus. Too many pieces? Suggests that fill worth studying. Congestion concerns. Perhaps shift museum away to downtown? Sheldon campus for library? Like campus elements. Let s all work together. Totem Square could re-gain central focus. OK to study shifted functions. Start working on getting fill permits. Landscaping Greenscape more important than parking. Support for grass in front of Centennial. Involve tree and landscape committee earlier, will be an asset and draw. Replant large trees that need shifting. Insure that public seating is integrated in greenscape and plaza. Trees promote good behavior on site. Try to find way to integrate more plantings near Centennial. Perhaps study greenscape options, bigger variable. Canoe is a key attribute. Parking Worth considering second parking level. Parking is critical for harbor operations. Manage parking better lot s always full. Explore more in/out points for parking lots. Consider additional parking structures, new money is available. Emphasize parking management, perhaps lessen paving emphasis. Dead vehicles need to be managed. Should busses be highest priority? Vendor and drop-off for Centennial is key. Concern with busses turning. Allow or consider future double parking. Be smart about utilities. C-4 is very safe for pedestrian use, bus pick-up. Centennial parking critical for fishing and charter business.
Boat Ramps Boat ramps on this side of bridge. Concern over boat ramp service, decrease of trailer space. Boat ramp possibly good for kayaks. Address actual boat ramp options shifted or not? Keep boat ramp, or add one close by. Need ramp close to this harbor, supporting fisheries. Bollard solution probably works. Seawalk Seawalk key element along water. Seawalk too wide at 9-10. Seawalk may not be used. Seawalk is key to locals very key. Concerned about Seawalk traffic impacting library and Centennial Hall. Access Provide good community transit both sides of Harbor Road. Stress safe pedestrian routes. Covered bike racks. Provide ample covered bike racks. Improve ADA access to building. Direct traffic to town center. Concern with library entrance congested by vehicles entering site. Try to open up space at entry of Centennial and library, make attractive. Study better links to O Connell dock. Facility Buffer good views out from stage, careful with tables. Provide good performer support. Careful analysis of energy options existing baseline and incremental improvements. No flat roofs. Consider old library for museum. Library funding easier to get. Focus on low operations and maintenance costs. Support for alternative energy. Shades and lighting for concert use. Option Comments Option C1 Disjointed seawalk at harbor shelter. Do not like separate museum building. Less black top more green. Loading area in back of hall accessible for vehicles. Keep the trees and greenspace. Keep the green belt. More vendors out of parking lot.
Sea Walk on street side of the library please. Put library here. Like this type of bus parking. Since space is limited, really should go 2-story for library. Build the Library up - use an elevator and leave front of CB alone. Use part of greenbelt for bike path along Harbor Drive. Covered drop off in front of Centennial. (Drop off Seniors etc. ) Move Museum out of this area, put it on Lincoln St or under bridge. It is a non profit, not a city Department. No Sea Walk in front of library - please. Option C2 Don't put busses in front of everything. They are ugly and make the space less accessible. Like option 2 if more green space is included. Working Crescent Harbor! Having no boat launch will FRUSTRATE fishing people SOOOO much! Keep the trees and green spaces. Maximize / retain green space in any design. Keep the green space. Mirror Centennial Building. Less concrete more green. City shouldn't pay for Museum it isn't a city issue. Move museum away from the "campus" - free up some space for grass and trees. Put this boat ramp are on the C4 plan - Visitors to Sitka appreciate the "working town" Sitka is and having a working boat ramp is an important part of this - we need a working boat ramps with our... Option C3 Green - trees - so important - putting it behind building doesn't compensate. Keep the trees and green spaces. Less black top more green. Option C4 Please fund the heating at the buildings in the area with renewable energy services such as ocean heat pumps, like the Maritime Heritage building on Japonski. Please leave the canoe in the area - this is especially important b/c of the recent removal of the totem pole from Totem Square. We need more presence of Native art in downtown Sitka instead of less. Lots more green space please, fewer parking spots - plan for a future of fewer cars and more bicycles. I agree w/ buying Women's Club and expanding library that way. If possible C4 is best. Keep as many of the fruit trees as possible. Keep them all! Planting them was a lot of effort and money and supports our climate action plan.
More harbor parking could be developed by putting Pac High near / adjoined to SHS. In the 'foyer' of the Library - heated floors and place to leave muddy boots / shoes. Heated floors in children's areas. Buy the old "00 Club" from the Women's Club and increase Library that way. Direct more office through town. Place "Baranof" on castle hill. Canoe in Totem Square and begin Sea Walk at east end of shelter. Add a few more parking spots at small lots by Harbor ramp and Handicap spaces at ramp. If we need more green areas, lets do it behind Centennial Building. Keep greenscape in front of Centennial Hall with Baranof Statue. Develop parking where Baranof School is. Keep boat launch ramp. Keep greenspace in front of substantially there love the Sea Walk. Would funding pay for boat launch to be moved? Possibly out SMC past NSRRA? Move Museum to a location downtown - Arrowhead Transfer Building? Do not build a sea walk in front (on the seaside) of the library. The green space that a paved seawalk would take up is precious and needs to be kept grassy. On summer days the view from inside the library would be blocked by tourists, even if the walk were lowered or put at a different level and the green space left would be made less useful to those trying to enjoy it due to the proximity of walkers. Keep the trees and greenspace. Add green space to beautify buildings at corner of Lincoln and Harbor. Can we move bus parking in C4 towards the intersection? Support concept 4 0 Museum & Visitor Center attached. Library in same place view preserved. Canoe / Baranof moved - Totem Square? Don't like sea walk from bridge to Centennial Building. Okay from Crescent to Totem park. I very much like the idea of a park and sea walk in front of the Centennial Building. Please provide covered bike racks. Also I like the idea of reviewing access to the boat ramp; except for kayaks, maybe. Sealing cove provides adequate access for boat launching in the central area of town and there is enough going on in the Centennial Building area already. Make island by bus parking as narrow as possible, shift parking lot toward Harbor Drive and create more plaza right in front of Centennial. Boat ramp becomes Kayak launch. I think having tourists walk through parking lot to get to Centennial Building is not a good idea. Current situation seems better. Buses park in front of Centennial Building. Keep Ramp please. Use of bus parking as public space during "off season" (e.g. "bricked Area" which could be converted using portable plantings, art pieces, etc. Into gathering place for local activities. Less blacktop more green. Move Pacific High to another building or vacant office space. No sea walk in front of library or Centennial Hall. Maybe move canoe and cover to Totem Square. Build multi-level parking on Baranof School lot. Move canoe and shelter to Totem Square. Need more grass and trees in all options.
This sidewalk only. Preserve parking for local biz on other side. Don't mix large bus and car/small vehicle entrance off street in front of Centennial Building. As shown its too narrow. No fill. Think green. Keep the views. Move canoe to Totem square. It was built there. Move museum and visitor center to new location. Increase green space to 40%. My main concerns were with parking and ramp access. C4 takes these into consideration. Green space is not a concern for me. Any direction you look here - you see green! Handicapped parking needs to be located nearer to library door. Really? Do we need to surround the library with sidewalks? The green space on ocean side is a HUGE gathering space. Let's keep it. I like the separate parking areas. Option C5 More green less parking. Keep the trees and green spaces. How does bicycles work on the path. Bike path along harbor. Poor bus location. Bike path along Harbor Drive. Please keep boat ramp option for post cruise ship season! Bus staging seems tricky in this one. Move Pacific High to new location - add parking. During summer months use Baranof School bus area. Looks like 9 more parking spaces along Harbor Drive by restrooms than Option 4? If so, I vote for Option 5. If equal # parking, I like option 4. At the least, please retain the 2 large spruce trees, row of fir, and the gnarly bull pine. Their value is higher than parking. City should acquire women's club property for library expansion or parking. Please don't diminish what is left of Crescent Beach and library green space seating (path should go up to, but not through.) Option C6 Keep parking outside library please. Don't sacrifice the trees and beautiful setting to add 15 parking spaces. Use the bus drop off at building full time. Cruise ship passenger #'s are going down. Underground parking. Keep boat launch open or find another location near town - funding? Parking will not go away as an issue. Work toward under ground parking - double the space. Landscape washes too small in parking area. Heat pumps to ocean for long term cost effective heating. Keep the trees and greenspaces. Make Crescent lot parking drop off only. Parks are just as important. No flat roofs on any buildings on any plans please. No underground parking. This is an area of fill and it would be below high tide.
Centennial More green space, keep the Baranof Park. I second this. Keep the boat ramps also no walk waterside of library. Museum is non-profit - not a city department. I like C6 for more green space. Opposed to closing boat ramp to cars. Tourist like the working waterfront - Also need access to back of building. I don't think we need to move museum. We need a boat ramp in our working harbor. Library I support the library expansion in the existing location. Expand in place, expand up.