“These are not plans that are set in stone. They are more like quick ideas, quick concepts,” Anderson said, adding, that accompanying budgets could be used to help develop future projects.
The firm was hired to develop a series of options presented in low-, medium- and high-cost options. The range of costs was around $2 million to $8 million.
Patrick Titterington, city service and safety director, said he would anticipate that council would end up selecting concepts from each of the options for basically a fourth option.
Decisions on the nature of upgrades were needed because the streetscape theme is being extended along West Main Street from Cherry Street west to Short Street to include the Miami County Courthouse complex.
The West Main Street reconstruction phase one is underway with work heading toward this area. Contractor Double Jay Construction will need the concept to ensure proper materials are obtained for that area, Titterington said. Design of the overall streetscape is expected to be done in 2023 with construction in 2024.
“We need to start making some decisions sooner rather than later,” Titterington said.
There will be several safety-related projects as part of the overall upgrade. One of the biggest complaints heard about the downtown, particularly the Public Square area, is the need for safer pedestrian crossings.
Among issues with the current streetscape is the cracking and crumbling of landscape bricks, sidewalks and curbs and mismatched landscape brick because the original no longer is available.
All three options included proposed refuge islands at pedestrian crossings to, as the name indicates, provide a safe haven midway through the crosswalk. The crosswalks also would be colored to differentiate that area from asphalt.
Curb bump-outs also were suggested, particularly at the Public Square. These bump-outs have the curbs closer to the edge of the street so when pedestrians are crossing, they have a shorter distance to go than if they attempted to cross mid-block, Anderson said.
The pedestrian refuges would replace planters in the middle of the street. The refuges offer a curbed area for pedestrians to stand in mid-street while vehicle(s) go by, he said.
Among preferences for the streetscape project indicated by council were:
** Stamped concrete vs. pavers; incorporating a dark brown color in stamped concrete to reflect colors included in new Courthouse Plaza installed a couple of years ago.
** Adding knee-high seating/physical barriers around the Public Square, but not near crosswalk areas.
** Maintain curbs in quadrants of the square vs. adopting a curbless format with bollards and other barriers to traffic. The curbless format would be more pedestrian-friendly for activities held on the square, including the annual Strawberry Festival, Anderson said.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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