By J.B. Smith

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Dozens of grown-ups sat down this past week with colored Sharpie markers and let their imagination for the Brazos and Bosque River corridor run wild.

They included suits from City Hall, a hardware store owner, a Baylor University rowing club member, a barbecue man, major landowners, professors, the prominent and the obscure.

Together, with a professional artist and officials from the National Parks Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, they sketched out a vision of a river that’s ideal habitat for both wildlife and human beings.

The vision will be part of an official Brazos-Bosque Corridor Plan that will guide future development and help the city in future grant applications.

This aerial photograph shows where the Bosque River (bottom) intersects with the Brazos River (top) on the northwest edge of Waco, then flows as the Brazos (right) toward downtown. City leaders and citizens last week brainstormed ideas for an official Brazos-Bosque Corridor Plan. (Rod Aydelotte photo, file)

Waco city planning director Bill Falco presents his sketch for the Brazos River of the future. At left is Natalie Forbes of Baylor University. (Duane A. Laverty photo)

Drawings by City Manager Larry Groth show Brazos River improvements such as fountains on the old bridge piers next to the Suspension Bridge. (Duane A. Laverty photo)

They imagined a river that’s clean enough to swim in, full of water taxis, kayaks, canoes, sailboats and college rowers. They imagined trails stretching from Lake Waco Dam to Loop 340.

They imagined blighted Elm Street transformed into a hip cultural district with markets and blues and jazz clubs. They imagined Barron’s Branch transformed from a collapsed drainage tunnel to a miniature San Antonio Riverwalk.

The visioning sessions last week, which were several hours long, followed a months-long survey process that netted about 800 responses. In the surveys, Waco residents said they want to preserve the corridor’s natural beauty while offering more attractions and trails — and, above all, they want the trash picked up, said Parks and Recreation director Rusty Black.

Today is the deadline for the survey, which is available on the city’s Web site, www.waco-texas.com.

Kathryn Nichols, a National Parks Service official from San Marcos who is helping with the master plan, said she shares the community’s excitement about the possibilities for the river corridor.

“I think Waco, for its population and size, has more potential on its waterfront than anywhere I’ve worked in Texas,” Nichols said. “To have Cameron Park here is a great resource. The river seems underutilized, even though people know it’s the heart and soul of the community.”

She said the innovative sketching sessions organized by the Corps of Engineers helped draw out people’s imaginations.

“This is the first time where we’ve had people draw their vision,” she said. “The thing that’s impressing me most is the energy that’s created when people draw instead of write what they want.”

The event leader, James Waddell of the Corps of Engineers, said the overall vision that emerged from the workshops looked something like European river cities he has seen, with lots of parks, cafes, art and pedestrian interaction with the river.

“This is a very powerful articulation of some great ideas,” he said.

“Let me ask you: Do you want to attract people to Waco?” Waddell asked a group Thursday afternoon. “Because if people saw what you’re talking about here, you’d have people flooding here. Are you ready for success?”

Chris McGowan, urban planner for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce and a workshop participant, said much of the river plan will be incorporated into an even bigger planning process that begins next year for the greater downtown area. He said it also dovetails with the massive riverfront vision of developer Rick Sheldon and Baylor University’s expansion plans.

Elizabeth Smith, executive director of the Cooper Foundation and a downtown resident, said her vision involves people living closer to the center and using their cars less.

“We’re still in a ’60s and ’70s suburban mind-set,” she said. “We’re just now shifting toward a more urban vision. A person who lives 10 miles out is probably going to watch TV instead of coming down to the riverwalk.”

Roane Lacy Jr., who owns 130 acres of cropland at the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers, said he wants to create an “urban village” there where cars are de-emphasized in favor of walking and boating.

“We’ve got to tame the cars,” he said.

Mason Yarbrough, an East Waco resident and former member of the City Plan Commission, said he would like to see an elementary school built on the east bank of the Brazos.

“I’d like the kids to be more exposed to the river,” he said.

Linda Pelon, a McLennan Community College anthropology teacher, presented a vision of restoring the natural beauty of Barron’s Branch and using it as a pedestrian link north from the river. The creek area could include pedestrian-friendly development such as bookstores and coffee shops, and the now-dormant Taylor Museum of Waco History could become an anchor.

City Manager Larry Groth’s drawings showed fountains built on top of the old Interurban bridge pilings in the Brazos River.

Many participants envisioned boating opportunities, but Brian Reed, member of the Baylor Rowing Club, was more specific. He said Lake Brazos would be an ideal place for college rowing teams from across the country to train if the city could clear some snags around bridges and build one more dock.

Other ideas that came out of the work sessions included restoring native vegetation on the riverside, moving Baylor’s football stadium to the Brazos near LaSalle Avenue and creating pedestrian links between Waco Riverbend ballparks, the Waco Mammoth Site and Lake Waco.

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5752