While Ann Arbor city officials begin to consider a redesign of Liberty Plaza, experts point to the areas outside the parks boundaries as catalysts for the plaza's improvement.

Mayor John Hieftje told AnnArbor.com there are plans in the works to redesign the park, including potentially bringing the park up to street level instead of having a two-tiered sunken design. While the changes may bring some improvements, experts believe the areas right around the park play a bigger role in any future improvement.

Amy Kuras, the citys park planner, said the development around any urban space is what determines the success or failure of the space. Kuras said the immediate area around Liberty Plaza the Liberty Square building and the Kempf House is not a foot traffic generator. Whether the new underground Library Lot, and whatever development eventually is built atop it, changes the number of pedestrians at the corner remains to be seen.

Without establishments bringing in different groups of people, Liberty Plaza becomes a spot with a crowd of regulars who may not look kindly on outsiders, according to Kuras.

I would love to see it used more by all kinds of people, Kuras said. How we arrive at that, Im not sure what the answer is at this point. Its not just changing the configuration of the park.

Kuras compared Liberty Plaza to Sculpture Plaza, another concrete plaza at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Catherine Street. She said one of the reasons Sculpture Plaza has become a successful and popular area is because of the restaurants and shops that draw customers who utilize the space.

Kirk Westphal, an Ann Arbor documentarian who studied the city from a pedestrians point of view for a masters degree in urban planning, said Sculpture Plaza is the ideal situation thanks to the businesses surrounding it.

Liberty Plaza has what Westphal calls a key ingredient to success: Foot traffic along Liberty Street. However, there are not enough people actually going into the plaza.

Any urban space that lacks foot traffic through it can be problematic, and the key is getting a diversity of users, Westphal said. Its not about keeping unemployed people out, its about making sure there are enough people in total using the space.

When the park was completed in 1978, there was a restaurant in the 330 E. Liberty St. building next door, along with a book store in the bottom floor. Kuras said this brought more foot traffic into the plaza, but there were still problems from the start.

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Liberty Plaza: Experts say rethinking ways to get more people into park is more important than redesigning it