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Ready to give the center of Effingham, Ill. a “streetscape lift,” city officials and representatives from the Farnsworth Group presented a summary of the proposed downtown streetscape project during a recent public meeting, revealing a plan to replace street lights and make landscape enhancements and sidewalk improvements. The last overhaul of the downtown was 1983. After receiving nearly $700,000 in Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program funds last year, the city council agreed to move forward with the project. The city’s portion of the project cost comes to about $200,000, which will come from the Central Area Tax Increment Financing Fund. Thus, the total project will cost about $900,000. Streets that will get an updated look are Jefferson Avenue from Merchant Street to Third Street and streets intersecting with Jefferson on that leg for one block north to Washington Avenue and one block south to Section Avenue. One of the largest tasks is replacing a landscape mostly consisting of trees and mulch with a variety of colorful shrubs and groundcovers. The locust trees that line downtown sidewalks will be replaced with ornamental trees, which will take about two years to grow. The locusts have outlived their lifespan in an urban environment, according to project designers, who claim the roots are starting to lift sidewalks and brittle trunks could crack during a harsh ice storm and become a hazard. Decorative 18 and 12-foot street light poles will replace those that now line the streets. The taller poles will be set at intersections. The poles will be equipped for hanging Christmas lights, planters, banners and flags. Some of the intersections will see a huge transformation when herring-bone thermoplastic, which resembles brick pavers, is laid at the crosswalks. The intersections will also get improved ramps to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and some sidewalk cutouts extended. City officials also are considering new bike racks and benches to go along with the spruced up look of the downtown area, but those things are not included in the initial project. If the council approves the plans and bids are awarded in a timely fashion, reconstruction could begin next summer with planting taking place in fall of 2012. The project is expected to be completed in November 2012, but the landscaping transition could take a couple of years of growth to achieve the proposed look. |
