Bowling Green planners are headed back to the drawing board after a proposal to improve the downtown square was roundly denounced.

The proposal called for widening streets around the Pike County Courthouse by eliminating several feet of grass between current parking places and the sidewalk.

But the city shelved the plan after county commissioners heard from residents who objected to the 600 thousand dollar cost, the difficulty in moving utility lines and what they saw as an unnecessary aesthetic intrusion.

The goal for the city remains correcting years of problems with parking and surface water drainage.

Now, officials will look at options that include asking business people to give up sidewalk space, repairing the four intersections around the square and changing the angle of parking.

A final decision has not been made.