On a warm Thursday evening, residents drifted toward the river with folding chairs, strollers, and a long list of ideas. The city is beginning a new round of planning for the waterfront, and the first meetings have been less about a finished drawing than about listening.

People asked for a continuous walking path, better lighting, places to sit, and programming that does not require a festival to bring neighbors downtown. Small businesses nearby said the riverfront works best when it feels like part of the daily routine.

The planning team expects to publish a draft framework later this year. Until then, the question is deliberately broad: what would make the river a place residents visit because they want to, not only because an event brought them there?