About the Area Action Plan
The Westdale Area Action Plan follows similar planning initiatives already completed, including the Czech Village/New Bo Area Action Plan, College District Action Plan, Mt. Vernon Road Corridor Action Plan, 6th Street SW Corridor Action Plan, and the Northwest Neighborhood Action Plan. These plans take the concepts identified from the City’s comprehensive plan, EnvisionCR, and develop action steps and goals tailored to a specific geographic region.
City Council adopted the Westdale Area Action Plan at their December 20, 2022 meeting. And update summary and table were added March 2024:
WESTDALE AREA ACTION PLAN
The Westdale Area
The planning area, as shown above, is bordered by Edgewood Rd SW on the east, Williams Blvd and Hwy 30 on the south, 80th St SW on the west, and 16th Ave/Johnson Ave/1st Ave SW on the north. Included in these boundaries are Delaney Park, Ladd Library, Summit View and Grand View mobile home parks, and large undeveloped tracts of land. The area is one of the most diverse areas in Cedar Rapids with larger concentrations of immigrant communities and businesses. Additionally, the 2020 Derecho severely impacted the area with many buildings suffering extreme damage. These factors led City staff to initiate the area plan.
October Open House Materials
On October 19th, Community Development hosted an Open House at the Ladd Library to review the draft goals and action steps for the action plan. The boards will remain displayed at the library until the week of the 24th. The public is encouraged to review and comment on the materials at the library or, if they're unable to make it there, they can provide comments at the link below
DRAFT GOALS AND ACTION STEPS
Boards from the October 19th Open House showing attendees prioritization of draft action steps, illustrating a clear priority for action steps related to connectivity improvements.
For the PDF versions of all of the boards displayed, use the links below.
Open House Boards (English)
Open House Boards (Swahili)
Open House Boards (French)
Open House Boards (Spanish)
Existing Conditions
Linked below is a Story Map that highlights analysis of the existing conditions of the study area. Staff various data for analysis including: demographic, land use, character/visual, observational, and public comments. The Story Map is an interactive tool that allows the viewer to move and manipulate many of the maps and images included.
EXISTING CONDITIONS STORY MAP
Outreach
The Community Development Department has completed its first round of community outreach. To get resident feedback, Community Development attended Feed Iowa First food distributions at Westdale Court and Glenbrook Apartments, rode CRtransit and spoke to riders, spoke with neighborhood business and property owners, consulted with the neighborhood association, and provided a digital survey that was made available at the Ladd Library. Below is a synthesis of comments that we received
- More recreational and green space is needed in the area.
- The area is rich in racial and ethnic diversity, for many the area serves as a 'first home' in Cedar Rapids, and it should be celebrated.
- Walking in many areas, particularly along major corridors, is difficult or dangerous.
- Residents and visitors appreciated the diversity of commercial options (small ethnic stores and restaurants and big box stores) in the area.
- Greater awareness is needed around resources available to residents and make sure that it is available in multiple forms and languages.
- Some safety concerns were brought up around Delaney Park.
- Many noted that more mobility options and improvements(transit, biking, or pedestrian infrastructure) are important for the immigrant communities in the area that might not have driver's licenses.