Page 6 - Explore Lonoke County 2020

6SS SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2020
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE • EXPLORE LONOKE COUNTY
CODY GRAVES/THREE RIVERS EDITION
The Downtown Lonoke Support Committee is in the process of becoming Main Street Lonoke, an organization that will be dedicated to improving many features of the city.
BY CODY GRAVES / CREATIVE SERVICES WRITER
As the seat of Lonoke County, the city of Lonoke has potential to become a haven for those who like small-town living with lots of activities. One group of locals is working on ways to help the city become a bustling community.
e Downtown Lonoke Support Com- mittee, which has operated through the Lonoke Area Chamber of Commerce, has rejoined the Main Street Arkansas program with a goal of revitalizing the city’s down- town area. e committee will also rename itself Main Street Lonoke.
“As [the committee] has grown the past couple of years, one of our goals has been to become a Main Street Arkansas community again,” said Natalie Biles, a committee mem- ber and a local business owner. “We really believe in their program, in what they do and that their program works.”
Natalie, who is on the committee with her husband, Ryan Biles, said Lonoke was a part of the program in the 1990s, but its requirements were “a whole lot for a small town.” Now Main Street Arkansas has pro- vided an avenue for smaller communities with smaller budgets to participate and re- ceive benefits of the program.
Rejoining Main Street Arkansas was actually the first recommendation made during an evaluation of the city that was conducted in 2016. rough the University of Central Arkansas’ Center for Community Development Institute’s Advanced Year program, a group of program graduates evaluated the city and presented recommendations known as Kick Start Lonoke. e recommendations include goals in areas such as beautification and recreation, branding and marketing, downtown and retail development, housing and real estate, and infrastructure.
Janette Boyles, chairman of promotions for the committee and a local business own- er, said one of the biggest challenges is creat- ing a nightlife scene in the city. She said that currently, the city basically shuts down after
As [the committee]
has grown the past couple of years, one of our goals has been to become a Main Street Arkansas
community again.”
— NATALIE BILES,
DOWNTOWN LONOKE SUPPORT COMMITTEE MEMBER AND LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER
5:30 p.m. is means that people who work don’t get to experience the downtown area.
One challenge the committee is work- ing on is finding a way to connect Lonoke’s downtown area with Interstate 40, which is about 1.5 miles from downtown. Ryan said this separation almost creates two different Lonokes. e area by the interstate exit con- tains mostly fast-food restaurants and gas stations, which means a traveler who stops might not get the chance to experience all of what Lonoke has to offer. He said that one idea that was suggested was to install electric- vehicle charging stations in the downtown area. is would allow drivers traveling through the area to explore downtown while their cars are recharging.
e committee is also looking at ways to rebrand downtown. One idea is to put down- town Lonoke “Front and Center” because it’s the area at the intersection of Front and Cen- ter streets. Ryan said almost every neighbor- hood in the city is close to one of those streets and is relatively flat, so the goal is to improve walkability and promote downtown events such as the Pumpkin Run 5K and the spring and summer farmers market.
“As we continue to draw attention to and celebrate those things, it reminds those of us who do live here that this is a place where we could actually hang out and do things,” he said.
‘FRONT
AND CENTER’
City of Lonoke joins Main Street Arkansas program