Youth Meeting
The County held a virtual Teen Center Visioning Meeting through Zoom on January 13, 2021 which focused on gathering input from specifically from students aged 11-18 on their vision of the two downtown districts. Councilor Robinson specially requested this meeting so as to include a younger cohort that may have unique needs and desires for the direction of downtown Los Alamos and White Rock. The event was attended by approximately 30 students ranging from ages 12 to 16.
The meeting began with the project team providing an introduction of the Downtown Master Plans & Code Update project, followed by a brief presentation on the history of planning and downtown placemaking strategies. A short survey was conducted using Poll Everywhere to gather basic information and visioning topics from the students including age range, where they are live within Los Alamos County, downtown vision, favorite space in downtown, how they travel to downtown, and some ideas on how to make downtown more attractive to young people.
Lastly, students were divided into two breakout rooms where they were led through a discussion around favorite cities visited, favorite spaces downtown, centers of activity, and missing places/activities.
Group 1
The discussion for Group 1 spanned issues ranging from safety and walkability to event programming to the need for social spaces specifically for young people. While existing social hotspots for the youth within downtown were identified like Ashley Pond where events often take place, the group emphasized the need for additional social spaces that are geared specifically toward their demographic. Indoor entertainment venues such as arcades, bowling alleys and food courts, or a skate park were high on the list of desired venues. The group highlighted the need for expanded and more convenient bike parking and safer and better-connected pedestrian facilities. The students also agreed on a need for more restaurants and food options that were affordable and accessible to pedestrians in both downtowns, with definite preference for ice-cream/ milkshake bars.
Comments were recorded through an online ‘white board’ platform. Throughout the workshop webinar, participants could ask questions, leave comments and share their thoughts through a question feed. Questions and comments were discussed as appropriate. The comments and questions are recorded and provide additional feedback.
Group 2
In Group 2, nine students participated with grade levels ranging from seventh grade to tenth grade. Many spoke of traveling to cities where there were small shops and restaurants laid out in a walkable pattern. Many students identified Starbucks Coffee, Sonic, Ashley Pond, the Library, and the Skate Park as favorite places to hang out in Los Alamos. In White Rock, favorite places included Smith’s, Pig & Fig Café, the Youth Center, the Skate Park/Rocket Park, and Pinon Park. Students listed a variety of places and activities that were missing for young people. Small shops with outdoor seating, especially coffee shops and restaurants, were a desired element of the downtown fabric. Students identified the CB Fox building in Los Alamos and the area along Longview Dr that was demolished in White Rock as places to add small shops with a pedestrian-friendly walkability. A range of youth-centered activities was suggested for the old Smith’s site in Los Alamos including a bowling alley, movie theatre, laser tag, and arcade. The area behind Smith’s along Longview Dr could also be an ideal location for more small businesses like coffee shops. Ashley Pond could utilize a few food carts that sell smoothies or hot dogs. The Skate Park in Los Alamos was described as lacking protection from non-users crossing through to the adjacent playground. It could see more use if there was fencing or it moved to a new location. A public art alleyway was mentioned by a student who saw this as an outdoor creative outlet for the artistically minded. One comment included the need for more housing in the downtowns in order to protect natural surroundings from development.
Overall, the students of Group 2 envisioned a downtown that was accessible for young people with more shops and restaurants and more places to hang out. Shops could include more outdoor seating and renovations to the old Smith’s site could include a youth-centered entertainment focus. Activities could include an improved skate park, festivals with food trucks, a bowling alley, an arcade, a movie theatre, and laser tag.
View the Youth Meeting presentation:
Los Alamos County Downtown Master Plans – Youth Meeting PPT