DUNCAN — The Duncan planning Committee for the 2010 comprehensive plan got to show off their progress Thursday as the group hosted an open house for the public at Duncan Middle School.

Diane Binckley, senior planner member for Ochsner Hare & Hare (OH&H) greeted each person as they entered the room Thursday and explained what all would be happening during the evening presentation. She pointed to three different areas in the room and explained that each of the areas were for different areas of the plan that would be addressed. There was one for land development, one for housing and one for transportation.

Each area had maps and representatives from OH&H or participating affiliates to give information pertaining to that specific topic. Residents, city officials and other area representatives moved from place to place to take in as much information about the ongoing project as possible.

There was also an area displaying the illustrations and possible plans for what Binckley called the city’s “first impression.” These consisted of welcome signs at the north, south and east entrances into Duncan as well as a possible archway over the entrance to downtown Main Street.

Duncan Community Development Director Dana Schoening said after the public got their first looks at these “first impressions” he got several phone calls from residents who liked what they saw.

“There were however a few people that thought that didn’t represent what they thought Duncan should represent,” Schoening said. “But that’s OK. We want to hear from the residents and the community about what they want.”

The open house hosted Thursday night boasted close to 60 people, and Schoening was very pleased with the turnout from all aspects of the community.

“There’s a good representation of the community here,” Schoening said. “There’s some here that have been involved from the beginning and some that are maybe just now getting involved in the process.”

Binckley gave a short presentation outlining what the committee had already done and what direction they were taking with certain topics.

“This is meant as an introduction to what we’ve been doing if you haven’t been participating with us yet,” Binckley said.

Binckley explained that OH&H has had representatives and surveyors in Duncan that analyzed every street, property and alleyway in the city. They rated all housing on a scale of 1-4, one being excellent, and four being a dilapidated structure. Through their surveys, they found areas in Duncan that have houses that rank in the 3-4 range. Those neighborhoods are being strongly looked at by the housing plan for possible re-development.

Jim Townsend, an associate aiding OH&H with the comprehensive plan, described Duncan’s transportation plan, something Schoening previously said hadn’t been done in many years. Townsend said the committee is developing a plan that will protect the community and will make people safer while they travel from point “A” to point “B” within the city.

“We want this to be a tool so we know what the community wants in terms of mobility in Duncan,” Townsend said.

Binckley then wrapped up the presentation portion of the open house and encouraged those attending to visit the different areas more and discuss what they want to know about the different plans and what they think should be done with those plans.

Schoening said the next step in the comprehensive plan is to move forward with economic development, public facilities and other areas of planning, as well as fine tuning the details regarding everything discussed at the open house.

“Once we get everything worked up we’ll take it to the planning committee, and then it will go to the city council who will give it the yay or nay,” Schoening said. “We hope they approve what we come up with though.”

It’s unknown when the committee will meet again to discuss the next phase of the project, but the committee hopes to have the entire plan ready for presentation later this year.



— Kevin Kerr is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354 Ext. 147 or by e-mail at kevin.kerr@duncanbanner.com.