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Shopping center planned for eastside By Jessica Smith Future southeast Medford residents won�t have to travel far to find a drug store, card shop or hair salon. In fact, some people might even be able to walk to their destinations. At least that�s the idea a group of Portland architects has for a planned 46-acre commercial center on East Barnett Road, near North Phoenix Road. "We heard from the community that this is what they want," said Bill Lennertz, who heads a team of consultants working to design a "Village Center" that is the heart of the Southeast Medford Plan. The ambitious Southeast Plan aims to reduce traffic and make better use of 1,000-plus acres set aside for as many as 10,000 residents in the urban growth boundary by blurring the lines between commercial and residential neighborhoods, consultants say. In May, Lennertz and his team worked with city leaders, eastside land owners, transit officials and others to develop more than a dozen concepts for the proposed commercial center. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Scottish Rite Lodge, 955 N. Phoenix Road, the community is invited to take a look at the consultants� recommended design. Included in the plan is a "main street" design concept that attempts to mix commercial, public and residential uses of the land. The commercial center is intended to keep residents from traveling out of the area for goods and services. The Village Center plans call for pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined sidewalks, park lands along Larson Creek, restaurants and an elementary school. There�s also room for a bank, post office and transit station. Consultants included limited street parking in the designs, but most cars would park in plaza-like lots hidden behind store fronts. The consultants also recommend the city realign Barnett to allow for commercial development on both sides of the street. Park-like medians are suggested for the road as well. Consultants say the medians could be removed to accommodate future traffic. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA