Collegetown may seem like another world compared to North Campus’ freshman residence halls and program houses — it is a city in itself and home to many of Cornell’s upperclassmen.

Each person’s vision of Collegetown is different. For some, it is a place of natural beauty; for others, a noisy nuisance; for others still, a boozy vision of beer-soaked college nights. The Collegetown Vision Task Force is a committee that is part of the City of Ithaca Common Council charged with formulating a vision for Collegetown. In February, the Task Force presented a statement that summarized its findings after a year’s work spent assessing the area’s weaknesses and strengths.

Collegetown is a central component of both Tompkins County and the Ithaca community. “Where else does such a large group of people, all more or less under the age of 23, live in such a close proximity?” said Sarah Boxer ’07.

“Collegetown forms a social and commercial focus for the most densely populated neighborhood in the city,” said Task Force Member Mary Tomlan MA ’71 (D-3rd Ward).

In the 1990s, various representative groups in the community, including the Common Council, recognized the need for an encompassing analysis of Collegetown with a focus on its future direction and development. This recognition has served as the foundation for recent developments, such as Cornell's master planning process to evaluate the area’s potential growth and relationship with its surroundings.

“There is no better time to be looking at the future of Collegetown, especially from a student perspective,” Boxer said.

“The task force brings together as many constituent groups as possible with vested interest in Collegetown - people who care what it will look like in 10, 15, 20 years,” said David Gelinas ’07 (D-4th Ward), who was elected by the group to chair the Collegetown Vision Task Force.

“When you create this mono-culture of undergraduates, business is only sustainable nine months out of the year, and this has led to significant closings of long-standing businesses,” he said.

Since the beginning of this semester, a Starbucks has opened at the corner of Dryden and College Ave.; the Mango Café, a pan-Asian restaurant, and City Style Salon, a full-service salon and sake bar, have opened on Eddy St.

The vision statement set forth a series of recommendations, and focuses on five different categories.

Regarding business, the statement suggests the organization of a merchant group, the encouragement of academic use, a resolution to address the parking shortage, and the ability of students to take advantage of existing annual events traditional to the Ithaca community, like the annual Apple Harvest in the fall, Ithaca Festival in the summer and important University events.

Improvements to neighborhood infrastructure and the reduction of traffic and speed limits were also recommended, along with the accommodation of pedestrian and cyclist traffic and additional parking.

The vision statement did not neglect the social and cultural aspects of Collegetown. It suggested merging artistic programs on campus and in the community “with the street life.” Additionally, the statement encouraged the preservation of older buildings, structures and dramatic features, like the Fall Creek Gorge and extensive views.

Tomlan, who has lived near Collegetown since 1979, said, “Collegetown was much different [in the past]. College students working hard, socializing, those kind of things will always be the same. The underlying student culture will always be here.”

The strengths highlighted by the statement were “the youth and diversity of student residents impart the exciting, vibrant, urban quality that characterizes Collegetown,” the tradition of long-standing businesses and consistent stimulation of new enterprise, a varied and successful food and beverage sector, strong demand for real estate and the neighborhood’s close relationship with the University.

The vision statement also states Collegetown’s weaknesses: design and quality of the environment, an “un-friendly” pedestrian atmosphere, limited space for public congregation, unfulfilled business potential, a critical parking shortage and inadequate usage and maintenance of public infrastructure. The statement also notes the prominence of trash and broken bottles, which are often attributed to the college students.

“Collegetown is the gateway for Cornell,” Boxer said.