About 150 Citizens in Zone 2 (neighborhoods along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue) turned out for a public input meeting to voice their opinions about the New Plan for Mobile. The meeting was held at Florence Howard Elementary School. This was the first meeting for Zone 2 and the second meeting held this by EDSA, Inc., the Baltimore planning firm designing the new plan. The third meeting will be held for Zone 3 on Thursday at Craighead Elementary School.

Citizens brought up a wide range of ideas from increased police protection to new restaurants in the area. Housing was also a hot topic.

After an introduction, the citizens went into breakout sessions so that all more interaction could take place. Representatives from each phase of the planning process, including business and housing solutions, lead the smaller groups. At the end of the meeting, every gathered together to discuss the concerns and desires brought up in the breakout sessions.

The next meeting for Zone Two citizens is tentatively scheduled for June. The total planning time for this project is about nine months.

This article was added on Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008