M2M - Great Streets

Final Public Open House Announcement

Please join us for the M2M: Main to Mississippi Plan Final Public Open House and Presentation on Tuesday, June 14 at 5:00 pm at the First Baptist Church, 107 N. Truman Boulevard. 

The City of Festus and Crystal City will be sharing the plan’s recommendation before proceeding with the approval process. Also, we will be sharing a collective brand for the district.

The Glass District, a name developed in partnership between businesses and stakeholders in both Festus and Crystal City, pays homage to the history of the two communities. Crystal City was the town with the furnace and the forge that made the glass and Festus is where the factory workers sought entertainment and services. Festus and Crystal City are bound together by this history and common interests. Our futures are forever intertwined. 

The goal of this new brand is for regional marketing. Glass is a wonderful visual and substance that can used creatively and incorporated into signage, wayfinding, websites and other media to direct visitors to the two unique and connected districts. 

Your feedback is vital to this process! Please join us on June 14th and take the branding poll. 

Did you miss the open house on May 16th? Download a copy of the displays.

Share your feedback by submitting comments to m2m@rdgusa.com. 

Your feedback is vital to this process. Please join us on June 14th or if you cannot make it please take the branding poll at this link Future Branding for Downtown Festus and Crystal City Survey (surveymonkey.com)

You can also attend the FINAL Open House on Tuesday, June 14th to review the final publication The Cities of Crystal City and Festus were awarded a grant for Great Streets Initiative planning assistance by East-West Gateway Council of Governments. This Great Streets project seeks to fortify Main Street, Bailey, and Mississippi between the two city halls and improve connections among the neighborhoods. This is truly a unique opportunity to author a strategy for reimagining our downtowns for a brighter reality!

About the Great Streets Initiative

The Great Streets Initiative challenges communities to envision streets as more than spaces for automotive travel, but as integrated conduits for moving people, improving connectivity, enhancing local economies, improving ecology, and creating attractive, interesting places – in brief, building stronger communities and rethinking the relationships between streets and their social and economic objectives.

Both communities will engage in group discussions to fully identify the context, challenges, opportunities, and options before the detailed plan document can be developed. We will share public engagement opportunities along the way throughout the project.

Goals of the project are to:

• CREATE A STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE. Support the long-enduring, positive relationship between Crystal City and Festus, which will include a vision and identify for the traditional commercial centers.

• LEVERAGE PAST PLANNING INITATIVES. Incorporate past planning initiatives, including the comprehensive plans for Crystal City and Festus.

• ENHANCE IMAGE. Improve the image of both downtown districts to embrace practical function, longevity, and ecological best practices to create an inviting and enduring public space.

• BRANDING. Coordinate a branding strategy that reinforces the unique identities of Crystal City and Festus.

• ECONOMIC MARKET ANALYSIS. Analyze the different market realities and challenges driving both Festus and Crystal City and the need for a long-term stewardship of both local economies within the context of each other and region.

• MOBILITY FOR ALL. Optimize better connections to neighborhoods, open green spaces, and other assets of the two communities, for all modes including pedestrians, cyclists, and people with mobility impairments.

• ENHANCE TRANSITIONS. Explore better transitions between downtowns, including the functional and aesthetic possibilities.

• PARKING. Assess parking - its use (pedestrian and vehicular), impact on adjacent neighborhoods, and impact on storm water and other environmental systems – within the context of long- term land use and development recommendations.

• DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS. Explore redirections for underused areas, including infill development and reuse, and preservation strategies.

• ACCESS TO MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Look for ways to provide direct free public access to the river.

• East-West Gateway Council of Governments fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Nondiscrimination Complaint Form, see www.ewgateway.org/titlevi or call (314) 421-4220 or (618) 274-2750. EWG is committed to ensuring that all meetings are both ADA and LEP accessible. To request a reasonable accommodation for a meeting please contact EWG’s Title VI Coordinator at least 48 business hours prior to the meeting at (314) 421-4220 or titlevi@ewgateway.org.

The public is encouraged to attend the final public open house on Monday, May 16 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the First Baptist Church, 107 N. Truman Boulevard. The City of Festus and Crystal City will be sharing the final recommendation for the plan and gathering public feedback. Your input is vital to this process and hope you will join us to share your comments!

 The final plan will be completed by June 30, 2022.