Boy, that graphic was huge, but it was filled with more than just trees and street names and shaded buildings.

In Tuesday's paper, The Citizen ran a six-column color graphic that outlined the city's proposed downtown streetscape improvement project. The vision, generated through Auburn's planning department and with the help of citizen input, was all there in great detail, right down to the brick trim along most of the inner business district roads.

This was six columns of optimism, of the potential for one of central New York's quaint downtown business districts.

And it is a continuation of what has been completed on West Genesee Street and at the State Street Mall.

There would be tree-lined sidewalks all along downtown, with enhanced street corners complete with flowers, shrubs and ornamental trees. The brick trim would help set off the sidewalks from the curb, frame the trees, and add color to Genesee, North and South streets.

And the most significant development in the graphic was the rebirth of the Exchange Street Pedestrian Mall, which would include the return of a working fountain.

If the Exchange Street project turns out half as nice as the State Street Mall, it will do wonders for that otherwise desolate corridor.

While the master plan has yet to be officially finalized, the graphic in Tuesday's paper was a vivid reminder that there are people in City Hall who have big ideas for the future of the city, and are working hard - often unnoticed - to improve our quality of life and the quality of our experience downtown.

Unfortunately, the news coming out of City Hall is often filled with petty politics and tax increases, but master plans like these from the city planning department offer a ray of sunshine and excitement about the future for Auburn.