Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Not long after Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher gave her annual “State of the City” address, Springfield aldermen approved a big piece of it.

Aldermen Tuesday night approved a downtown “Master Plan” for city development.

It’s expected to connect downtown with the city’s Medical District nearby.

“The city has committed, in that plan, to fixing downtown roads,” said Buscher, prior to Tuesday’s council meeting.  “We’ve also committed to working on cultural and arts with Downtown Springfield, Inc. … more events for culture and arts in our downtown area.”

Buscher says the plan also commits to better wayfinding signage in the downtown area, and will also look at making the intersection of Jefferson and Madison safer.  She says right now, it’s dangerous for pedestrians.

Buscher said she’s also re-starting an initiative called “Springfield Green.”  It was started when the late Tim Davlin was in office.

“Mayor Tim Davlin started Springfield Green, and I’ve been wanting to do beautification,” said Buscher.  “I called his family and said, ‘May I use the name again?’  And they said, ‘We would be honored.  One of the family members is on the board, and we’re bringing it back.”

Buscher says if you want to be on the board, call her office. Meanwhile, she says fundraisers will be used to pay for Springfield Green.

Buscher says she’s hoping to make the permitting process for city construction projects as easy as ordering a cheeseburger from DoorDash.  She says she’s working to make the city’s website more accessible with a new blog and other information.  And that includes being able to get things like building permits.

“Online permitting is being started right now.  We have an engineering firm that’s testing that for us.  We also have a construction firm testing that for us.  We hope to have the online permitting to be available by June,” said Buscher.

Buscher says people will still be able to come to the Municipal Center and apply for permits in person, but she says it should be more convenient online.

The city also is going to implement a system called “SeeClickFix” to report things like potholes and other problems.  It’s also still being worked on.