Ambler Vision Plan

Client:  Ambler Borough

Location:  Ambler, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Team:  Carter van Dyke Associates, Inc., Planners/Landscape Architects Urban Partners, Economic Planners Brown & Keener, Urban Design Carroll Engineers, Civil and Transportation Engineers

 

Carter van Dyke Associates lead a team that prepared the Ambler Vision Plan, in cooperation with the Ambler Vision Steering Committee.  The Plan called for a commitment to strengthening the Borough by reinventing the Rail Corridor as an employment center, and rejuvenating the downtown by emphasizing its cultural and commercial uniqueness.  Activity anchors and phasing strategies were identified to enable the Borough to proceed with a realistic and doable plan.

 

Recommendations included a relocated train station, new parking structures, 180,000 SF of housing, offices, new restaurants, a non-profit art cinema, new retail anchors, a full-service grocery store, and streetscape enhancements.  A number of street realignments were proposed, including making Maple Avenue two-way with a signalized intersection and enhanced with an esplanade; Chestnut Street would be terminated at its south end with a landscaped island cul-de-sac to deal with the current “one-way” nature of the street.  Design guidelines for the study area were established, as well as economic strategies to increase retail vitality.  An important point of the Vision Plan was the need to control property speculation that could inhibit a coordinated redevelopment plan.