German students offers suggestions to improve Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN — A group of planning students from a German university provided a list of suggestions today to improve the city, particularly along its downtown riverfront area.

The proposals include an art galley, cafe, a bike and walking path at the B&O Station area; turning the vacant Wean United Building into an indoor sports facility and a skating, skateboard and BMX bike area outside it; a farmer’s market with urban garden, cafe and park to the west of the Covelli Centre; and an industrial heritage park to the east of the center.

Also on the proposed list is a paintball course on a vacant industrial site on Albert Street, an outdoor movie theater near Crab Creek, and turning old railroad bridges into a restaurant, a park with retail shops, and a pedestrian walkway.

The group of 13 students from the Technical University of Dortmund unveiled the proposals at the conclusion of a German Marshall Fund of the United States’ program, Policies and Strategies in Shrinking Cities: The Case of Youngstown, Ohio.

The students didn’t discuss the expenses of the proposals.

For the complete story, read Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com