Price City Press Release
The Price Business Improvement District committee put on the first Music Meals Mingle event on Thursday, May 2 and, judging by the crowds and comments from people who attended, it was a huge success. Kids dancing, a swing band in the Price Civic Auditorium, a half dozen food trucks lining Main Street, a bouncer, chalk drawings, a Price fire truck that kids (large and small) could sit in and more brought home the fact that Price’s Main Street is alive, well and a lot of fun to visit.
One of the highlights was a mural that was drawn on Main Street in front of the Miners Memorial. It was designed and painted by members of the Utah Chapter of the American Planning Association that was having their spring meeting in Price that week.
According to Molly O’Neill Robinson, who headed up the project, the primary goals of the project were twofold. First, to present the completed project as a gift to the host community while building local interest and participation in planning and urban design. Second, it was to build tactical urbanism capacity amongst conference attendees in order to implement similar processes and projects in their home communities. A “tactical urbanism toolkit” or how-to manual is being developed for the conference attendees and the City of Price. The toolkit will include the step-by-step instructions, sample permits, materials list, and other information on how to plan, design, and execute similar projects.
The resulting project was a painted crosswalk and “parklet.” The design is a series of rings and circles that appear to extend beyond the limits of the crosswalk. It is an interpretation of the molecular structure of carbon—as the power behind the local economy—which is surrounded by a bike gear, representing the growing recreation-based economy. The colors were inspired by the bright sky, vivid signage and other elements found along Main Street. The oversized rings are intentional and meant to inspire the local community to continue the design through the entire intersection, where Main Street and civic spaces meet.
The design and implementation was a collaborative effort of a group of conference attendees, including professional planners, architects, landscape architects and others. Volunteers hailed from around Utah from Roy to Park City to Wellington. In addition, Price City Councilmember Boyd Marsing helped paint the mural. Materials for the project were provided by the APA Utah Chapter and the City of Price as part of their conference sponsorship.
Robinson, a Planning Manager in the Planning Division for the Department of Community and Neighborhoods for Salt Lake City Corporation, noted the project was organized by members of the Utah Urban Design Committee, a collaboration of architects, planners, landscape architects and other design professionals from Utah. UDU’s goal is to elevate design consciousness and culture in Utah by advocating for the qualities and design details that make memorable places and livable neighborhoods for people.
The Music Meals Mingle will become a regular event this year with another being held in conjunction with a number of the Culture Connections that have been a mainstay in Price for many years on Thursday nights. The next Music Meals Mingle is tentatively set for July 11 and then another in mid-September.
