Executive Summary
This document proposes a street improvement program for Snohomish’s historic downtown. Below is a discussion of the proposal’s key aspects.
WHY undertake a street improvement program for Snohomish’s Historic Downtown?
Snohomish’s Historic Downtown already is one of western Washington’s most historically intact and architecturally attractive downtowns. And renovations on the eastern margin, planned riverfront development to the west, and new tenants on upper floors of downtown buildings all point to a brighter economic future. However, the quality of the downtown streetscapes—with poor lighting, broken pavement, lack of pedestrian amenities, and a need for directional signage—all detract from the business district’s image and hamper revitalization efforts. Therefore, an effective, organized program of street improvements is needed to turn the downtown’s most visible liability into an asset.
WHAT kinds of improvements are recommended?
The improvements recommended in this study are all part of an integrated concept and designed to work together to help the district function more efficiently and be more attractive.
y New street lights will increase safety and reduce maintenance costs.
y Intersection improvements on First Street will facilitate pedestrian movement, reduce
speeding and cut-through traffic, provide space for wayfinder signs, landscaping and
amenities, and turn the least attractive aspect of the downtown’s streets into attractive focal
points.
y New street lights, pavements, landscaping and signs on the alphabet avenues will better
integrate side street businesses into the downtown and help the small buildings work better
for retail and office uses.
y Second Avenue improvements, especially a traffic signal and intersection improvements, will facilitate circulation and create a more attractive district edge.
y Extending First Street improvements and landscaping east to Maple Street will add important new buildings to the district.
y A system of wayfinder, directional, and gateway signs will help visitors reach their
destinations and will upgrade the area’s image.
While the study’s parking analysis found that, overall, the district has adequate parking, some areas are underserved, while other areas have a parking surplus. Therefore, the plan recommends a set of parking management strategies, including improvements to the public lot, better use of on-street stalls, joint use of underutilized lots, and off-site employee parking areas.
WHEN will these projects be initiated?
Because funds are not available to initiate all projects immediately, the study recommends a phasing strategy, with general time frames indicated in the chart below.
TIME FRAME (Years)
|
0-2 |
|
2-5 |
|
5-10 |
|
y y y y |
Initiate a parking management program. Improve the parking lot. Install wayfinder signs. Install gateway signs. |
y y |
Install new street lights. Repair portions of First Street’s sidewalks and add street furniture and landscaping. |
yyy |
Improve the intersection at First Street and B Avenue. Improve the alphabet avenues. Improve Second Street. |
|
|
|
|
y |
Install directional signs. |
Major street and sidewalk replacements should be timed to the storm sewer separation, which is at least 15 years away.
WHO will undertake these actions?
This program will require a collaborative effort between businesses and property owners and the City. Generally, the City will need to take an organizational role, but active participation by all parties is essential for success.
HOW will this ambitious program be accomplished?
Since public money is currently in very short supply, this effort will require combining funds from outside grants, City programs, and business and property owners’ contributions. One useful mechanism for public/private funding is called a Local Improvement District, or LID, in which property owners are assessed for a portion of the costs, based on increased retail sales and rent revenues. This type of funding is most effective when such assessments are seen as an investment towards long-term economic gain for business and property owners.
Given that the streetscapes are currently its weakest physical aspect and that the district appears poised for new opportunities, the proposed street improvements appear to be a wise investment for the downtown and the city as a whole.
Introduction
Background
The City of Snohomish has one of the most historically intact and architecturally attractive downtowns in western Washington. The City, local businesses and interested citizens have worked hard to preserve the district’s character; and it shows. Not only is the downtown an important historic resource, its location on the Snohomish Riverfront and its connections to the Riverfront Trail make it a recreational center as well. Visitors from throughout the region come for casual shopping and dining, bicycling or to just enjoy the small town ambience.
The downtown’s future looks just as bright. With new renovation of important historic buildings just east of downtown, new upper floor tenants adding economic energy and the City’s planning of a new mixed-use riverfront development west of Avenue D, the downtown seems poised to achieve even greater levels of vitality and prosperity.
However, there is the perceived need to upgrade downtown streets to provide a more adequate setting for business development and civic activities. Several problems or limitations currently affect the general tenor of business activity and the downtown’s image in the region, including:
y First Street’s streetscape quality is diminished
by poor intersection design, broken pavements
and substandard lights.
y Cut through traffic on First Street reduces
pedestrian safety and comfort.
y The perceived lack of parking is thought to
inhibit businesses.
y The poor visibility of businesses on the “alphabet avenues” limits the number of walk-by
customers to their shops.
y There are no clear entries to the downtown and a general lack of directional signs. Second Street seems separate from the rest of the district.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
Purpose: Objectives
The purpose of this plan is to recommend an integrated and achievable strategy for upgrading the historic downtown’s streets as an attractive setting for businesses, historic preservation activities, and civic functions. Furthermore, because of the City’s fiscal limitations, improving the downtown’s streets must be a cooperative effort between the City, local businesses, and property owners. Therefore, a second objective of this project is to build a public consensus for action. 
Process
MAKERS and the Project Team kicked off the project at a meeting on December 3, 2004 to discuss the planning process, problems, potentials and strengths of the Snohomish Historic Downtown. During the first project team meeting (January 18th) MAKERS illustrated examples of what streetscape improvements can do, introduced a series of considerations to maximize the benefit of the project and presented an urban design analysis and a preliminary project scheme. The Project Team discussed the phasing of the project and planned the first open house.
Business owners and other stakeholders were invited to the first open house (January 28, 2005) to analyze and discuss the various raw elements of the future streetscape plan. Although all the elements of the streetscape plan are interrelated with each other, for each one of them, one or more alternative improvement were proposed and discussed. Open house participants had a chance to evaluate and comment on parking management, design features (pedestrian bulbs, side street improvements), traffic calming and pedestrian safety, signage, and circulation. 
RATING
Affects me and I wouldparticipate
Affects me and I might participate.
Affects me and I would not participate.
Does not affect me.
|
Great |
Okay |
Bad Idea |
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PARKING |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parking management program |
12 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
|
Signs and lights for public lot |
11 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
|
|
|
New lot acquisition |
3 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
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FIRST STREET |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New street lights |
9 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
Extension of downtown to Maple |
12 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
Avenue B intersection |
8 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
Avenue D intersection |
7 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
Improvements to Seaf’d Grotto sidewalk |
4 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
4 |
|
Misc. landscaping and clean-up |
12 |
2 |
|
9 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
ALPHABET AVENUES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New lights and pavers |
11 |
3 |
|
9 |
2 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
Directional signs and murals |
12 |
2 |
|
7 |
3 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
SECOND STREET |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trees and lights on both sides |
10 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
|
3 |
|
Gateway and directional signs |
11 |
4 |
|
5 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
Avenue A intersection improvements |
8 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
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OPEN SPACE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Plaza or terrace at Kla-ha-ya |
10 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
Park at Union south of First |
5 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
2 |
Figure 1. One of the questionnaires used in the first Open House with rating of the proposed improvements.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
The Project Team discussed the results of the questionnaires and surveys obtained during the first open house during the February 11th meeting. The proposed options and alternatives were reviewed and simplified, highlighting the preferred choices (see Appendix A). The MAKERS team implemented more detailed proposals for the preferred options and returned to the public to present the work in progress during the second open house (March 11, 2005) where stakeholders were given another chance to review and comment on the streetscape plan.
All the material of the project is organized in this final report; it will be presented to the city council for adoption and implementation.
Figure 2. One of the proposed improvements (pedestrian bulb) is presented in two design alternatives at the first open house.
Current Conditions
Figure 3. Project area.
The core of the Historic Business District is traditionally concentrated on the portion of First Street that goes from Union to Avenue D, where most of the antiques and restoration business are located. One of the goals of this plan is to help this attractive and vital district grow and improve its accessibility/visibility and to maintain and develop its identity. It is vital that in doing so, the adjacent streets (the “alphabet avenues” and Second Street as the main arterial to access the district) share the benefits and contribute to the development of the Historic Downtown. For these reasons the project area includes the Snohomish Historic Business District area from Second Street to the river and from Avenue D to Maple Avenue.
Figure 4. First Street features well-cared-for historic facades and examples of good signage.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
The current land use configuration reflects the historic evolution of the area. The majority of the retail businesses are concentrated along First Street, and a mix of retail, office and historic residential fills the space between First and Second Street. The businesses on First Street provide an interesting streetscape, with the majority of the buildings being two stories or more and a diverse mix of building types facing First Street. Most business and offices north of First Street are located in ex-residential/single family buildings, while along Second Street there are a number of new, bigger commercial and office buildings, some of which are two stories high. Except for along First Street, the density of the area is not very high, leaving space for parking lots and a few private backyards.
Figure 5. Land use map evidencing building use and height.
The river side defines and characterizes the south edge of the district. The presence of the river is both a great opportunity (the river trail, Kla-Ha-Ya Park) and a constraint (the lack of parking or access from the south side of First Street creates more congestion on the north side). The river is also a great element of identity of the district and its presence contributes to the uniqueness of the area.
Traffic in the area primarily uses First Street and Second Street. Second Street is a 4-lane arterial which is intended to serve as the main throughfare. However, because Second Street has signalized intersections and can become congested, there are a number of vehicles that cut through a side street and proceed along First Street. This creates potentially unsafe conditions for pedestrians on First Street, as cut-through traffic typically exceeds the posted speed limits when trying to shortcut to their destination and drivers may tend to ignore pedestrians as they wait to cross the street.
Visibility of pedestrians by drivers is restricted by on-street parking along First Street in particular. First Street has diagonal on-street parking, and when large trucks, common to this area, park along the street, drivers along First Street have very limited views of the corners. In addition, large street trees planted at the corners make it difficult for drivers to see pedestrians as they step off the curb to cross First Street or one of the side-streets. Older ramp designs and long crossing distances further add to the potentially unsafe features of these pedestrian crossings.
Figure 7. Parking areas.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
An informal parking study was conducted which included a manual count of existing parking availability and a calculation of parking requirements based on current land-use. The results of this study are shown in Figure 7, and reinforce the need for improved signage directing vehicles to available parking. Two other issues came up when reviewing parking in the downtown area: the need to get employees to park “off-site” and the need to improve lighting and perceived safety in existing parking lots.
Figure 8. The parking study analyzes the deficit/surplus ratio between parking demand and offer per subareas; while areas along Second typically have an excess parking capacity, First has more demand than offer. The overall capacity, though, is exceeding the demand.
Figures 7 and 8 summarize the results of the parking analysis. Figure 7 indicates the quantity and location of existing on- and off-street parking. The large numbers in Figure 8 indicate the surplus (+ numbers) or deficit (- numbers) in the individual sectors as compared to standard parking demands for particular uses. As Figure 8 indicates, overall there is sufficient parking in downtown; i.e., the quantity of parking generally meets expected demand, according to industry standards. However, some sectors within downtown, most notably the areas along First Street, are short of parking, while other areas have a surplus. The parking strategies described in later sections are directed toward alleviating this condition.
Concept
The strategic concept for downtown Snohomish’s streetscape plan is driven by the project’s business revitalization, safety, and district identity objectives. Each of the plan’s elements depicted in Figure 9 and described below addresses specific challenges or opportunities facing the downtown. Because the individual elements build on and support one another, taken together they maximize each other’s benefits. Even though the various improvements may be accomplished over time, they should be considered as a unit, with later projects building on previous efforts.
The recommended improvement concept was also shaped by the downtown’s subsurface conditions and long-term need for sanitary/storm sewer separation. Because many of the sidewalks are built over old areaways (basements built under the street right-of-way) and because the street subsurface complicates pavement reconstruction, a full replacement of First Street pavements would be expensive. Also, it will likely be replaced 10 to 15 years in the future when the sewer lines are reconfigured. Therefore, major pavement replacement appears to be ill advised at this time. Because of this, the streetscape concept emphasizes cost-effective measures that can achieve immediate benefit in terms of pedestrian safety and comfort, business performance, and design quality.
The recommended elements of the plan’s concept are:
1. Upgrade First Street with new lights and intersection improvements.
While First Street is a lively, pedestrian-friendly “main street,” the poor lighting leaves the street dark and uninviting during the night and winter afternoons. Also, the angled parking and broken pavement at intersections reduce pedestrian comfort and safety. New street lights and intersection improvements, including sidewalk extensions (bulbs), landscaping, street furniture, and wayfinder signs, will turn this street’s least desirable features into positive assets.
Participants at the workshops noted that speeding and cut-through traffic on First Street are a problem. One or more “speed tables” (raised intersections) are recommended to discourage speeders looking for an easy shortcut.
2. Upgrade streetscapes on the alphabet avenues.
Businesses on the “alphabet avenues” suffer from a lack of foot traffic and visibility. In addition, the streetscapes and older homes appear to be more residential than commercial. To address these issues, the plan recommends installing pedestrian lights to match those on First Street and unit paving in the planting strips to make access to and from parked cars easier. To compensate for the businesses’ lack of visibility, the plan recommends wayfinder signs on First Street and post-mounted or directional signs in or near the street right-of-way so they can be seen by visitors looking up the street from First Street.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
Figure 9. Concept plan.
3. Extend downtown improvements on First Street east to Maple Avenue.
The restoration of the library and Eagles hall will add significantly to downtown, so the street improvements should be extended to “capture” this emerging activity center.
4. Upgrade Second Street.
Second Street forms the northern edge to downtown and acts as a visual barrier between the business district and the historic neighborhood to the north. Improved street trees, signage, and pedestrian crossings would demark the downtown and also connect it more effectively to the residential neighborhood.
5. Install gateway and directional signs.
Gateway signs at key entry points would help to advertise the downtown and upgrade its identity. Directional signs pointing to parking areas or shopping streets would also benefit local businesses.
6. Provide riverfront trail access and open space.
The new riverfront trail will be an important resource, attracting visitors from throughout the region. New connections at Kla-Hay-Ya Park and North Avenue D will provide access. There is the potential to improve these areas with lights and other amenities. Additionally, the City should consider improvements to the Kla-Hay-Ya Park, perhaps with an upper level deck or terrace to provide open space directly off First Street.
7. Develop a coordinated parking improvement program.
Parking is considered a prominent issue in the downtown. Even though the number of nearby parking stalls meets normal standards for downtown businesses, parts of the downtown are underserved locally. In addition, a number of stalls on First Street are commonly occupied by business owners or employees. The public parking lot on Avenue C is conveniently located but is dark at night, not well signed, and would benefit from landscaping and maintenance.
To address these challenges, the plan recommends a comprehensive parking strategy consisting of the following actions.
a. [Immediately] The City should identify a range of specific actions and then convene a meeting of local business and property owners to evaluate parking issues and strategies. Consider a variety of actions, including:
y Providing employee parking away from businesses.
y Arranging for deliveries when businesses are not open.
y Revising on-street parking signs for different times and perhaps to allow loading
zones during certain hours of the day. y Better utilizing private lots through lease arrangements or sharing.
-
b.
-
[Near-term] Add directional signs and lights to the public parking lot.
-
c.
-
[Mid-term] Arrange for parking on First Street west of Avenue D.
-
d. [Long-term] Develop another public parking lot.
- MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
Elements
Lights
Replacing the historic street lights of First Street and extending the lighting program on the alphabet avenues received a very high priority from participants at the March 12 presentation. The City has considered the need for more effective lights for a number of years.
The new street lights should feature the following characteristics: y Good optical performance: At least 1 foot-candle minimum on the street
surface and more at the intersections. y Durability and easy maintenance. y Appropriate scale: Approximately 12 to 14’ mounting height above street
grade.y Historic character alluding to the current lights.
y Low life-cycle costs.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
While the selection of a preferred light manufacturer should be based on further study, the following light specification is provided as a benchmark to evaluate other products. y Manufacturer: Lumec y Luminaire: L-50 Acorn Globe and SFO collar y Lamp: High-pressure sodium, high cut-off (SE), 70 watt y Pole: 14’ high, fluted and tapered with bracket arms for flower baskets or banners
The Lumec line has proven to be durable and versatile in a number of northwest cities. The high pressure sodium lamp gives the greatest energy savings and lowest lamp replacement cost. The cost of underground trenching, conduit and wiring should be considered in any cost estimate.
It is recommended that the street lights be extended to Maple Avenue in order to bring that block, along with the planned renovation of two historic buildings, into the downtown.
The roughly 70’ to 80’ spacing of the lights works out to 8 lights (both sides) per block on First and Second Streets and 10 lights per block on the alphabet avenues.
Privately initiated façade lighting is also recommended as an effective way to brighten dark evenings. Light from display windows is particularly attractive and useful to pedestrians.
First Street Intersections
Improving First Street intersections is a key strategy in increasing pedestrian safety and comfort, providing space for alphabet avenue signs, and slowing and discouraging through traffic. The solution preferred by participants at the January 18 open house and ratified at the March 12 work session featured landscaped curb bulbs, raised and textured crosswalks, and directional signs as illustrated in Figures 11 and 12 below. The bulbs will increase pedestrian visibility, reduce travel distance across the street and provide space for landscaping, directional signs and street furniture. Such pedestrian curb bulbs are particularly valuable on streets with angle parking because the diagonal parking takes up so much of the street width. The raised and textured crosswalks will slow traffic slightly and let motorists know that they are in a pedestrian area.
The illustrated intersection improvements are not inexpensive because they require pavement demolition and relocation of storm drain inlets. Nevertheless, they provide several important benefits and turn what is currently the street’s least attractive aspects into an asset. It is recommended that the City undertake a demonstration project at First Street and Avenue B to test the concept. Avenue B is recommended for the first test because it is central and would provide a useful space for celebrations.
Traffic Calming
One of the issues raised by participants at the workshops is speeding and cut through traffic on First Street. Among the proposals to address this specific issue, the speed table was considered among the most desirable. “Speed table” typically refers to a raised crosswalk or raised intersection, that discourages speeding in favor of a more pedestrian friendly environment. In a speed table the elevation, color and texture of the materials all contribute to discourage speed in a more subtle way than other devices (as speed bumps i.e.). In the case of this project the traffic
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
calming device is well combined with the other sidewalk extensions (bulbs) envisioned for the intersections of First Street and the alphabet avenues (diagram above).
First Street and Avenue B in particular offer a good opportunity for such a device; the extra room freed by the speed table could help in creating a focal point along First Street, maximizing the already available public space on the south side of the street. Developing speed tables along First Street would also discourage cut-through traffic, as vehicles would be forced to decrease speed repetitively in the corridor.
Another element that could help with traffic calming would be installation of speed limit or radar signs. While this does not necessarily fit into the historic character of downtown Snohomish, it might be a valuable addition at the ‘gateway’ to the downtown area.
Alphabet Avenues (Plus Union and Glen Avenues)
As noted in the Concept discussion, businesses on the alphabet avenues suffer from the lack of visibility and sometimes difficult access from car to the sidewalk. The recommended improvements for the alphabet avenues illustrated in Figures 14 and 15 will help to remedy that situation. Historic lights on both sides of the street will add warm glow to the area on dark, wintry evenings and unit pavers in the planting strips will facilitate movement from parked cars to the sidewalk while allowing water to penetrate into the earth. It is recommended that the light poles include banner arms that could be used to hold signs for the businesses and the plan includes suggestions for post signs in the front yards of the old houses that now accommodate businesses. Mid-size flowering street trees (flowering pears might be a good choice) are recommended where business owners want them.
Because improvements to the alphabet avenues are predominantly directed toward improving business activity and property values, constructing them should involve a partnership between the City and local business and property owners. It is recommended that the City identify the level of contribution from local business and property owners that is necessary in order to initiate the upgrade.
Second Street
Second Street lies at the edge of the downtown, but participants at the two open houses felt it important that the street’s character clearly indicate that it was a downtown street. Workshop comments also noted that the streetscape elements should extend to both sides of the street.
In most sections, Second Street has an attractive planting of trees and lawn strip along the curb. This landscaping treatment should be continued where possible along the full length of Second Street. Additionally, historic street lights and directional and gateway signs will add to the street’s attractiveness.
The City will be adding a traffic signal at Avenue A and Second Street to allow the crossing of, and entrance onto, Second Street. Extended sidewalks—or curb bulbs—should be constructed at the same time to facilitate pedestrian crossing. In addition, painted crosswalk markings would call drivers’ attention to the fact that there are a lot of pedestrian crossings.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
Wayfinder Signs
The wayfinder signs are intended to direct visitors traveling on First Street to businesses on the alphabet avenues. Located at each intersection of First and Avenue C through Union Avenue, the wayfinder signs will hold sign plates for up to seven businesses. Each plate could feature the name, logo, and directional arrow pointing to the business. Any number of sign designs are possible. The one shown reinforces the area’s historic character and could be built of either concrete or steel.
Ideally, the signs would be situated in a curb bulb planter, as illustrated in Figure 16 in the discussion of First Street intersection improvements. The wayfinder signs require space to conspicuously display the businesses’ names. However, the signs could be placed in temporary locations where they do not block drivers’ and pedestrians’ sight lines until the bulbs are constructed.
Painted mural or wall-mounted signs on the sides of buildings would be another effective way of advertising merchants on the alphabet avenues. This, of course, would take cooperation between merchants and the owners of the corner buildings.
Business Signs on Alphabet Avenues
Business signs mounted on poles in the front yards of businesses on the alphabet avenues would, in some cases, enhance the businesses’ visibility. This plan recommends that the City and businesses develop a sign program where business owners could buy standardized post-and-arm assemblies and have the signs painted or fabricated with their individual logos and names. Because this is a direct business benefit, merchants should pay for the signs. The City might facilitate the process by arranging for the design and fabrication of standardized post-and-arm assemblies if there is a committed interest by business owners.
Directional Signs
Directional signs are recommended to point the way to downtown from Second Street and Avenue D and to direct visitors to parking and attractions. The recommended directional sign is a banner or sheet metal sign mounted on a bracket arm from a pole. The new street lights provide a bracket arm that will fit this purpose, but brackets could also be mounted on existing wood or metal poles. While painted metal signs would be more durable, banners are cost effective and may be changed more easily for seasonal decorations.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
Gateway Signs
Gateway signs mark the visitor’s entry into downtown at the locations noted in Figure 9. Although monument signs, pylon signs, or other landmark form would be desirable, the narrow sidewalks mean there is little public space for such a construction. Therefore, an overhead pole-mounted arm design is recommended unless acquisition of land or an easement to mount a sign on private property is possible.
Implementation
Priorities and Timing
Successfully upgrading downtown Snohomish’s streets will require carefully husbanding and aggregating scarce funds and directing the resources that will achieve the greatest impact. Timing of priority projects is dependent on the availability of funds as well as the relative importance of the element. The chart on page 23 summarizes the phasing, budget range, and key actions of each element.
As the chart indicates, the earliest actions might well be initiating discussions among business owners to address parking concerns. Ideally, the City could convene the discussions, serve as a facilitator, and manage implementation. The cooperative efforts to explore proven management measures, such as curb parking regulations, lot improvements, and joint use of private lots, will hopefully lead to greater cooperation in later efforts. There are examples of committee/association (similar to the U district) for managing supply. This committee could also work on the funding concepts for improving lighting and signing in private lots and investigate grants and funding for this program.
During the first few years, the City should continue the work on the street lighting, determining manufacturer, model, cost, trenching and wiring design, funding sources, and preferred phasing. While First Street from Avenue D to Maple has the highest priority, it may be efficient to install lights throughout the downtown if merchants and property owners wish to participate.
The wayfinder signs are another mid-term (completion in two to five years) effort. This will require final design and production of the signs, preferably by a local fabricator. Since the alphabet avenue merchants will be the primary beneficiaries of this effort, they should provide the needed funds beyond what can be garnered from economic development grants. As with most of the proposed projects, the City can act as initiator and administrator of the project.
A demonstration bulb and speed table project, most likely at Avenue B and First Street, would, along with the First Street light replacement, provide the greatest benefit of all the projects. Although the cost of the project means that it will take time to acquire funds, the fact that this is clearly a pedestrian safety and traffic management improvement project makes it more likely that grants can help fund it.
The sidewalks on the south side of First Street between Avenues C and D should also be repaired and planted with appropriate street trees to help improve the appearance of this area, buffer the parking lot, and spatially define the street corridor. Since sidewalks are the property owner’s responsibility, this should not be a City cost, but the City could add funds for the landscaping and amenities. It may be that this sidewalk repair would most efficiently be timed with the light replacement, since the contractor will be trenching and repairing pavement.
MAKERS architecture and urban design – The Transpo Group
The alphabet avenue improvements should be constructed when merchants on the individual streets are prepared to contribute funds for the improvements and there are sufficient matching funds available. The City, merchants, and/or property owners first should determine the formula for owner/City/grant contribution and have refined cost estimates prepared. The merchants could then elect to initiate the project when a majority of property owners on a given street agree. Since many of the pavements and street appurtenances on the alphabet avenues are in poor repair and street improvements are designed to benefit merchants, a cooperative street improvement effort appears to be a cost-effective way to upgrade infrastructure and assist businesses. Ideally, the pavement, landscaping, and sign improvements should be done when the historic lights are installed.
Second Street appears to be a lesser priority than First Street and the cross streets. However, landscaping and lighting on Second should be a long-term goal.
The proposed signs, except for the wayfinder signs, can be done when funds are available. The business signs on the alphabet avenues can be initiated anytime; the directional signs (or banners) are another program the merchants can undertake; and the gateway signs, being more expensive, are expected at a later point.
Funding, Roles, and Responsibilities
The biggest implementation challenge for this plan is securing adequate funds. A list of grant sources is included in the appendix. However, competition for all public works money is high, and grant sources are limited. The most effective funding means for most projects will be a combination of outside grants substantially matched by City funds and business and/or property owner contributions. A first step is to begin a conversation between the City and local business owners regarding how such a cooperative effort could occur.
Unless cohesive leadership emerges from the business community, it will likely fall on the City to initiate any of the projects. However, once the organization has been initiated, business and property owners should be full and co
