Covington using high tech for Madison Avenue feedback

The City of Covington and the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission (NKAPC) will be using a high tech approach to get citizen feedback on the proposed Madison Avenue form district overlay.

At a pair of meetings to be held February 27 at Holmes High School, the public will be able to take part in a visual preference survey, using an Audience Response System from the METS Center to rate alternatives for building types, streetscapes, parking and transportation.

The 65-question survey will take 35 to 40 minutes and will deliver results almost instantly.

The METS Center, which is a public service extension of Northern Kentucky University, will give technical assistance and will help tabulate the responses.

The proposed overlay district would cover the street from 12th Street/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to the KY-16/17 split.

As part of the Madison Avenue Corridor Redevelopment Plan, the district is designed to lead to a more walkable, pedestrian-friendly street.

But according to Melissa Conway, senior planner with the NKAPC and project manager for the study, part of planning involves engaging the public in the process.

"So far we have heard only from city staff and the Steering Committee," Conway said.  "They alone cannot speak for all those who have an interest and opinion about what happens along Madison. We need the input from the citizenry to guide us and help gauge what we are proposing to do."

The survey will be posted online from February 27 to April 1, and the study is expected to be completed by July.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Melissa Conway, NKAPC
Photography by Scott Beseler