A plan for the streetscape of Ingleside and Lakeside Village’s Ocean Avenue is taking shape.
The Ocean Avenue Association launched a “community vision" project last month to allow business owners and staff, residents, property owners, students and visitors to relay what they would like to see implemented on the avenue.
"Our goal isn't simply to ask people what they want; it's to build a shared vision for Ocean Avenue's future and use that vision to guide our work in the years ahead,” said Megan Catmull, the association’s executive director.
The association, a nonprofit organization authorized by City Hall to manage the Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District, collected feedback at its Summer Fun Day block party on July 25. On Aug. 3, it held an open house at its office near Faxon Avenue. Catmull said an online survey will be coming soon.
Open house participants were encouraged to review six foam boards and vote on items they wanted to see happen by placing stickers on each.
Three boards, such as the art and beautification, events and activations and greening of public spaces ones, focused on arts and culture projects like pocket parks, community gardens, family fun days, maker’s/farmer’s markets, and a Unity Plaza refresh, among other options.
The other three centered around clean, safe and well-maintained infrastructure and business support and advocacy. Proposed projects included vacancy attraction, small business assistance, bike repair stations, vibrant crosswalks and security camera installations.
Ronnie W., a Plymouth Avenue resident for four years, stumbled on the open house. He shared that he engaged most with items like corridor decorations, sidewalk sweeping and washing and parking solutions. He also shared that he’d be most interested in seeing a night market happen on Ocean Avenue since it reminds him of his Taiwanese culture and of events he’d frequent as a kid.
“I just wasn't expecting this amount of engagement,” Ronnie W. said.
For Westwood Park resident Bill Hoskins, who grew up in the neighborhood, beautification projects like painted utility boxes and graffiti removal piqued his interest, along with live music and performances. But what he was most pleased to see was how proactive the nonprofit was with gathering feedback.
“It’s good to see that there’s a lot of ideas and energy and there seems to be a leadership that can actually see these through to fruition,” Hoskins said. “I have a feeling that instead of just throwing ideas out there, they can actually take these and run with them and make them happen, so it seems to be a really serious effort going on.”
Some participants added post-it notes that included projects like adding information plaques to greenery-filled areas that explain the plants and species, creating a community bulletin board, having Sunday Streets events that close down one side of Ocean Avenue, and finding a place for a dog park, among other ideas.
The association will compile the results, identify common themes and then share the results with the public. Selected projects will be funded and led by the nonprofit through grants, city partnerships, and other funding opportunities. The cost and timeline to implement each project will vary, Catmull said, but having an idea of what the public is interested in helps prepare them for when funding opportunities arise.
Ocean Avenue Association Board Chair Kath Tsakalakis said the feedback will be used in the nonprofit’s strategic plan.
“The last strategic plan was 2021,” Tsakalakis said. “We’ve got a draft for 2026, and this is a very big input from the community to make sure we’re focusing on the things that people really care about.”
