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WBNS wrote
Downtown Street To Get $8 Million Makeover
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
City council agreed Monday night to spend more than $8 million to transform three blocks of S. Front Street into a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly thoroughfare.
Construction work is expected to begin within a few months. Updated sewers and wheelchair ramps, decorative street lights and granite curbs are included in the work, which will involve the block between W. Town and W. Rich streets.
As part of the transformation plan, S. Front Street will also become a two-way street. The street will remain open to traffic during construction.
Comments
- cheap: i highly recommend the Millersport sweet corn festival of course,the cor
- Jimmy Mak: Thanks for the write-up! Just to clarify - this is the third year we've do
- Briana Henry: Well, eventually they plan to add more bands from the region...gotta start
- bucki12: I like the business model, but the internet sales part seems like something
- racheltb: I don't see the Ohio Shrimp Fest on the list. It is truly a good time. h
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South Front Street Revamp News & Updates
By: machew
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That block won’t be empty for long. Those parking lots are disappearing quickly. That’s going to be residential soon. It’s definitely going to be a drastic transformation.
I’m all for seeing improvments in the River South district, but $8 million for one block? There’s really nothing along that block either. There is parking lots on both sides of Front Street between Town and Rich. I don’t see the logic here. Maybe pick a block that already has businesses or empty buildings that could be filled with businesses.
“Lifestyles” has a big housing project planned there. Reports suggest they are going to aim for reasonable cost condos and appartments
Why is the city so willing to spend millions of dollars to add amenities to streets (see Gay street and now this one), but they are so reluctant to spend money on a streetcar?
3 years to complete? I never understand this. How big is this section? Even if you were to rip out the entire street and start from scratch I could see it being done in 8 – 12 months. Maybe other stuff is planned for it that I dont know about.
quite possible the entire infrastructure needs redone to accomodate residential. underground electric and updating plumbing/sewage etc etc
Well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to put in nice new sidewalks and things (which are indeed city property) only to have them get wrecked by heavy construction equipment.
I am guessing the timing is planned along with the building and excavation work.
Well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to put in nice new sidewalks and things (which are indeed city property) only to have them get wrecked by heavy construction equipment.
I am guessing the timing is planned along with the building and excavation work.
Agreed……I thought about that right after I posted.
+1 for front street becoming two-way
+1 to your +1
I wish it were two-way the whole way from Livingston to Nationwide, but this is a good start. :D
Oh, and I updated the original article as it was incorrect from the source (10tv). The two-way conversion is three blocks from Broad to Rich. It sounds like the streetscaping improvements may only be between Town and Rich though (1 block).
Or at least I didn’t think that was made very clear in the original article.
Many more great details. Also discusses the current work on Town Street, and what’s coming next with extending Front two-way down to Mound Street.
By EILEEN RYAN
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Front, between Broad and Rich streets, will be converted to a two-way road as part of the first phase of the RiverSouth Roadways project.
Changes to the area will affect pedestrians as well as drivers. The plan for the project includes wider sidewalks with bio-retention planters, benches, trash cans and updated wheelchair ramps. For cyclists, the plan includes nine bicycle racks.
Decorative streetlights, landscaping and granite curbs also will help create an environment that Councilwoman Maryellen O’Shaughnessy said would make people want to stay Downtown — and spend money there.
The area included in the first phase of RiverSouth Roadways also includes Ludlow and Wall streets between Town and Rich streets and Rich Street between Ludlow and Wall Streets.
Apartments and condominiums in the Lifestyle Communities development, scheduled to be completed by late 2009, are expected to generate major pedestrian traffic there.
As part of the revitalization effort, builders will make the old new again, recycling 5,455 square feet of brick pavers, salvaged from the old Main Street Bridge, to convert the area Wall Street into a brick street. The area of Front Street will feature a brick center turn lane.
The plan also includes improvements under the surface, such as a new water main and sewer work.
In the second phase of the project, with cooperation from Franklin County, the two-way portion of Front Street will extend to Mound Street, Kelsey said.
Kelsey said the Town Street rehabilitation between High Street and Civic Center Drive is a precursor of this project and Phase 2 on Front Street. Town Street is now a green, narrow, two-way, two-lane street, he said.
The pedestrian-friendly changes to Town Street also include wider sidewalks, granite curbs, and landscaping.
READ MORE
Seems like we’re getting ped/bike-friendly two-ways where developers are wanting to build. Why not be a little proactive and slow down current two-ways that are 35MPH to attract urban development? As for this Front St conversion, eh, it’s going to be an isolated stretch well before the whole thing is fixed. And there’s nothing in the area now or in the near future that would attract visitors, not even those decorative streetlights or granite curbs. Front St from Gay to Nationwide is what needs to be changed the most, since there are currently no really bike-friendly roads to travel between Downtown and the SN or AD. I’d rather the improvements be less flashy and focus more on function: the more ped/bike-friendly our Downtown, the more business-friendly our Downtown will become. I don’t see there being much pedestrian traffic once residential buildings are complete, since people will be driving to places, unless a decent network of bike-friendly roads become available.
^ You have a knack for seeing positive developments in a negative light.
You’ll be a fun old guy to be around someday.
i was recently in athens, ohio and they have two bicycle lanes going in opposite directions on one of their streets. athens is a very pedestrian and bicycle friendly town. maybe columbus could adopt that idea aswell and put biking lanes on the streets…just an idea.
also, the whole makeover is a good idea…but its too bad they couldnt do front street all at once, it would make the street A LOT more uniformed. (in a good way).
…i hope there will be some nice dense building going on down there in the river south district sometime soon-ish. that alone would make downtown A LOT nicer. even nicer than it already is. :)
also, the whole makeover is a good idea…but its too bad they couldnt do front street all at once, it would make the street A LOT more uniformed. (in a good way).
…i hope there will be some nice dense building going on down there in the river south district sometime soon-ish. that alone would make downtown A LOT nicer. even nicer than it already is. :)
See the Bikeways Plan :D
http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14742
oooohhh, good…I think it kind of needs it! :-P
What can I say? For a half-assed city we sure like to take our sweet time. Not when it comes to resurfacing and repainting Broad St though, but you’re right, at least when I’m 30 half of Front St Downtown will be fixed. I’ve already got horrible puns to go with the crankiness, so I’m pretty much there.
Why dont they spend 8 mill repaving some of these terrible roads around this town.
That would be better than improving some area of town nobody likes :D
^^ Between this, the new development and riverside mile, I think the plan is to make it a lovable area.