Print edition: 
The draft master plan for downtown Wichita is less a set of marching orders than an elaborate invitation to a future downtown full of people and places for them to work, live and unwind.
Boston-based consulting firm Goody Clancy has provided the inspiring framework for what might be. Now, Wichitans must help shape the final 20-year plan and get going on the downtown of their dreams.
The crowd of more than 350 people at Monday's rollout of the draft plan was an excellent start, and in keeping with what Goody Clancy principal David Dixon called the "profound degree of cooperation and collaboration" that Wichitans have shown so far.
The consultants shared their vision of a downtown, from the west bank of the Arkansas River to Old Town, with more river access, hotel rooms, apartments, office space, retail, restaurants, nightlife, parks and parking, with everything linked by more Q-Line bus access.
Several of the reimagined locations were special sights for sore Wichita eyes, with the old Henry's store reborn as offices and with a park and loft apartments where the Allis Hotel once stood; with new housing, dining and river-related offerings north of the Broadview Hotel; and a retooled Union Station with dining, retail and offices and perhaps access to regional transportation.
Wichita learned that it has some special assets when it comes to downtown redevelopment, including availability of historic buildings suitable for conversion, a historic tax credit program, riverfront land owned and controlled by the city, and a citizenry interested in making downtown a welcoming and walkable place for all kinds of people.
Going forward, Wichita will need strong civic leadership, especially from the business community. The community should take Goody Clancy's advice to invest tax money only for public benefit, such as for infrastructure or public parking. The public dollars and tools must ease the way, rather than pay the way, for private developers.
The next step comes with today's workshops at Bank of America Theatre, 100 N. Broadway, devoted to "Enabling Downtown Development" (8 a.m.), "Creating Transportation Choices" (3:30 p.m.) and "Creating Unique Places (5:30 p.m.). The public will have more input into the final master plan at neighborhood meetings July 7-21, before the final plan is delivered in September.
Those who love Wichita and would like to see its core offer as much as its fringes should get involved and let their ideas be known.
