By Dean Hybl, Executive Director, Ten at the Top
As the next step of the Connecting Our Future initiative to develop a regional vision and actionable strategies for enhancing mobility, transportation and connectivity across the 10-county Upstate region, Ten at the Top is inviting interested stakeholders to share their ideas during the Connecting Our Future Idea Exchange. The workshop is being held on Monday, March 19th from 1:30-4:30 pm at the Michelin Conference Center (517 Michelin Road, Building 18, Greenville, SC 29605).
Born from the Shaping Our Future Growth Scenarios Analysis, Connecting Our Future was launched last fall as a collaborative effort to bring together the various organizations, businesses and local governments who have been working individually on some component of moving people and goods across the Upstate. The Connecting Our Future partners have contracted with Kimley-Horn to create a regional vision and actionable strategies to enhance current and future mobility in the region.
The Connecting Our Future Idea Exchange will be an opportunity for interested residents and community leaders to share their ideas and insights around a number of topics related to mobility in the Upstate. The topic areas include: commuter travel, bicycle & pedestrian, transit, freight movement, workforce access, strategic infrastructure, land use & development and innovation & technology.
“When we first convened stakeholders around transportation and mobility, it was quickly recognized that everyone is working on important elements of moving people and goods across the region, but that most work was being done in a vacuum when in actuality there was an opportunity and need for greater connectivity and collaboration,” said Dean Hybl, Executive Director of Ten at the Top. “The ultimate goal of Connecting Our Future is to increase access to transportation, reduce congestion and improve connectivity across the Upstate. However, without a clear vision and actionable regional strategies, we would continue to struggle to create clarity and synergy on how to accomplish those goals.
“The Idea Exchange on March 19th is an important step in the process as we want to hear and understand the ideas and concerns of stakeholders from across the Upstate,” Hybl added.
Michelin is serving as the host for the Idea Exchange and is one of four Steering Level partners for Connecting Our Future. The others are Duke Energy, Hollingsworth Funds and the Jolley Foundation. In addition other businesses, local governments and non-profits have come together to support this regional initiative. A full list of the coalition partners as well as more details about the entire initiative can be found on the Connecting Our Future website, www.connectingourfutureupstatesc.org. The final vision and strategies, along with next steps, will be unveiled later this summer.
The Connecting Our Future Idea Exchange is a free event, but advanced registration is requested. For more details and to register, please go to www.connectingourfutureupstatesc.org or www.tenatthetop.org.