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Old Posted Jun 4, 2010, 2:25 AM
Johnny Ryall Johnny Ryall is offline
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Plough Cleanup Reaches Milestone
ERIC SMITH | The Daily News

The trees being planted along Plough Boulevard – the road leading into Memphis International Airport – represent the first tangible signs of the city’s aerotropolis initiative. Crews on Wednesday morning will plant the 300th tree along Plough during a ceremony to commemorate this milestone, dubbed the “greening of the gateways,” giving the public a glimpse at one of the benefits of aerotropolis funding. The event will be held at Signature Flight Support, 2488 Winchester Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Plough Boulevard, built in 1974 with millions of cars passing along it each year, serves as the front door to Memphis International and is integral for the aerotropolis initiative. A concept that public and private officials have touted for the past four years, aerotropolis is a civic emphasis on the airport serving as the economic engine for the entire region with other transportation assets complementing it. The Greater Memphis Chamber even trademarked the tagline “Memphis: America’s Aerotropolis. Where Runway, Road, Rail and River Merge.” The bold statement isn’t hyperbole. John Kasarda, the University of North Carolina professor who coined the phrase, said Memphis had the nation’s most developed aerotropolis because of the importance of the airport to the local economy, coupled with other transportation and distribution advantages. While an aerotropolis is anchored on an airport, it also relies on the development of successful businesses – and appealing corridors – surrounding the airport to reach its full potential.

The Plough beautification project was jumpstarted by $1.6 million in funding from the City Council as part of an aerotropolis resolution approved last fall, and the city contracted landscape architecture firm Ritchie Smith Associates to transform Plough. Planting trees is part of the project’s phase one, which calls for new streetscapes and landscapes along the entire stretch of Plough from Interstate 240 to the airport. “The tree-planting initiative on the parkway leading into the airport is consistent with one of the primary tenets of ‘Memphis: America’s Aerotropolis,’ namely the environment and beautification,” said Arnold Perl, chairman of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority. “It also reflects the successful collaboration between the public-private partnership, evidenced by the decision of the City Council to authorize funding for this significant improvement.”

The aerotropolis concept has been difficult at times to convey, and because of confusion surrounding it the council decreased its allocation of funds from the original request of $2.2 million. But the $1.6 million was something substantial, and aerotropolis proponents quickly saw the need to enhance the entrance to Memphis International because that’s the first thing so many business leaders see when they arrive in town. The project is broken into three phases of landscaping activity. Phase one addresses the front of the airport, namely the Plough-Winchester cloverleaf at the airport’s entrance. Phase two includes the long stretch of Plough to the Airways Road interchange with Interstate 240. And phase three will involve welcome signs along the corridor for anyone arriving at or departing from the airport.

The aerotropolis initiative’s gateways and beautification committee approved the Plough Boulevard Master Plan as one of its first priorities for furthering the aerotropolis initiative. City Councilman Kemp Conrad, who serves as economic development chairman of the council and the council liaison to the airport authority, said he is “keenly aware that our airport is the engine that powers our economy.” “The airport is also the ‘front door’ to our community and the first and last impression for those traveling through our city,” said Conrad, president of Commercial Alliance Management LLC. “I was thrilled to sponsor and gain the support of the administration and my council colleagues so that our formerly shabby front yard will now be a welcoming tree-lined boulevard to greet tourists or executives looking to open or expand a business in Memphis. At the end of the day this is about growing our economy and all about more good-paying jobs for our people.”

Another benefit of the beautification of Plough is it will be completed by the time hundreds of airport leaders from around the world descend on Memphis next spring for the Airport Cities World Conference & Exhibition. The conference, which wrapped this year in Beijing, will mean all eyes are on Memphis for the next 10 months. “The timing is fortuitous in that Memphis, in April 2011, will host the Airport Cities World Conference & Exhibition,” Perl said. “What better time to make a strong statement on beautification and the environment for world leaders to observe than that.”
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