It?EUR??,,????'???s interesting to see the variety of projects.

Some cities, like Deerfield Beach, Fla., are in the midst of renovation (a $6.3 million streetscape upgrade for East Hillsboro Boulevard).

In Newark, N.J., there is a $17.5 million capital streetscape improvement project to remake 56 blocks of downtown Newark, the largest capital project ever financed by the Special Improvement District in the state.

Some cities are tackling their streetscapes in phases. Pittsburg, for instance, is in phase II development.

Scottsville, Va., one of the many cities in Virginia sprucing up the downtown area, is just finishing phase I of a streetscape project and eager to get phase II going. The only problem is phase I is about a year off schedule and $200,000 over budget.

The biggest impediment to redeveloped streetscapes is, of course, money.

Federal grant monies are available through individual state departments of transportation, but these funds are rather modest and the competition is fierce for those dollars. For instance, the West Salem, Wis. Economic Development Advisory Committee submitted a grant application called ?EUR??,,????'??Pathways?EUR??,,????'?? to the La Crosse Area Planning Committee for streetscape improvements: decorative lighting, brick pavers, benches, green space, new signage and to make paths more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly and accessible.

The committee hoped to get some of the $6.26 million in federal funds administered through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, but the La Crosse Area Planning Committee placed its grant in sixth place?EUR??,,????'??+out of six projects. Sixth! Dead last!

Sharon Fuller, who chairs the committee that wrote the grant, told the local media it was ?EUR??,,????'??extremely shocking?EUR??,,????'?? to receive such a low ranking. The federal monies, through WisDOT, would have funded about 80 percent of the Pathways project, which has a very modest $670,000 budget.

Other small communities, like Bluffton, S.C., are making substantial streetscape investments?EUR??,,????'??+a $3.2 million effort to make Bluffton’s old town historic section safer and more attractive. The local paper asked, ?EUR??,,????'??Can Bluffton be prettied-up??EUR??,,????'?? Yes it can, for that kind of money! Under the plan, Bluffton told it citizens there would be sidewalks on both sides of the road!