Counterpoint: Harrisonburg is becoming a strong town
A subscriber responds to my reasons for not filling out a nomination form by pointing out some progress and accomplishments that I overlooked.
A subscriber emailed me in response to my recent post, Why I couldn’t nominate Harrisonburg for the Strongest Town Contest, challenging my claims that Harrisonburg wouldn’t be competitive for the Strongest Town Contest. I’m open to being proven wrong, so I’m reconsidering my position.
With their permission, I’m reposting those points here. I’ve added some bold font and links. These are all reasons why Harrisonburg is making progress to becoming a strong town:
The Downtown 2040 plan. I’m sure it’s not perfect, but it does highlight diverse local businesses and the need for more active sidewalks. Some of the language in this document is sorely needed in other communities that probably wouldn’t even take the time to look at the PDF, much less write up their own.
You could probably amplify and celebrate the fact that there are no off-street parking requirements in the downtown CBD. That’s a big deal. There’s constant controversy over parking garages and extra lots in/near our downtown here in Annapolis.
What about community engagement initiatives and collaborations that are happening in downtown and beyond? It seems like every year when I come back for a visit, there are another few often busy local shops that have popped up in and around downtown - the place looks 20x more vibrant than it did when I first moved to the Burg in 2013. The emphasis on arts seems consistently strong. I also think Harrisonburg was designated as Virginia’s first culinary district, right?
Anecdotally - Some of my friends in the downtown area live pretty car lite in Harrisonburg, opting to walk or bike to their daily outings as much as possible and only drive once or twice a week. That is something I did not think would be feasible way back when I started grad school at CJP. Also - supporting small business feels pretty easy when I come back for my yearly visits - places like Thai Flavor, Parentheses books, The Farmer’s Market are just a few that come to mind.
Some quick Google searches also led me to check out the Stormwater Improvement Plan, the Community Connectors Project, and the Urban Forestry Management Plan. Again, I’m sure these are not perfect, but they might be worth some credit or celebration.
These are all valid points, and they recognize many years of work from community advocates and city staff. The city has come a long way in the past decade or so. For example, 13 years ago I was one of 150 local residents that packed the council chambers in support of building the city’s first shared use path, the Northend Greenway.
Now the city has three paved trails. I’ll concede that my reasons for believing that Harrisonburg would not be competitive are influenced by my belief that we are not going far enough or moving fast enough. But municipal ships turn slowly, and Harrisonburg is turning.
I’m interested to hear your thoughts. What is the city doing right? Where can we improve? Is Harrisonburg on our way to becoming a strong town?
I appreciate the secondary opinion compared to your initial article. I personally find myself somewhere in between the two opinions. While I understand Harrisonburg isn’t making the strides it should in certain areas, I do believe when you consider the situation Harrisonburg was in a decade or so ago it’s made enough progress, especially in downtown, to be candidate for Strongest Town. Now, this isn’t saying I think Harrisonburg’s current position is great. I just believe the last decade should be one viewed positively enough, that we’re on our way to becoming a “strong town”. Great article as always Brent!