When will Columbus Ave. work end?

SANDUSKY — Work began this past fall and continued on throughout the winter. And Sandusky officials believe a monthslong road project greatly impacting businesses, commuters and pedestrians should wrap up this spring. Earlier this week, the city — on its Facebook account — provided an update on the Columbus Avenue reconstruction initiative. Crews remain confident about wrapping up all work and fully reopening the road by Memorial Day weekend in late May. Officials originally anticipated fully reopening the road in April. Here are some more notable points to understand the latest happenings: • Earlier this week, crews closed the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Water Street as they tore out the road. • Also earlier this week, throughout the 100 block of Columbus Ave., crews wrapped up demolition for sidewalks and the road. This must precede installation for light pole bases, underground utilities, tree wells and curbs • On the west side of Columbus Avenue, crews are installing brick pavers. • Crews restored on-street parking along the east side of Columbus Avenue. • Right now, crews are working at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and West Market Street, pouring concrete. • Commuters using and/or pedestrians walking around the Erie County Office Building's parking garage might experience some interruptions. "Thanks again for your patience. We know it's disruptive, and we're working hard to keep things moving," according to a city statement, noting the hardships this project has placed on businesses located along the first couple of blocks along Columbus Avenue. What's happening? This past fall, Sandusky city commissioners approved a long-awaited, multimillion-dollar project to reconstruct Columbus Avenue — a main city thoroughfare, pretty much evenly dividing the city from its east and west ends — between Schade-Mylander Plaza on Water Street and up until Washington Street. Previous plans showed the project extending to the Sandusky Library on Adams Street. For the time being, on Columbus Avenue, crews continue to let southbound-only vehicular traffic through, albeit, greatly reducing the amount of on-street parking spaces. At times, access points branching off Columbus Avenue, like Water Street, have remained inaccessible to the public. The road work has placed a pinch onto businesses. Fewer parking spots and on-again, off-again road closures have forced people to avoid frequenting restaurants, shops and other offices along this corridor, merchants there said. And, for walkers, it's almost like a free-for-all with many pedestrians unsure of where they can exactly traverse through. If they do venture out in this warzone-like area, they must step around or even lunge through large rocks, rubble and other remnants separated by large amounts of yellow caution tape along with several orange barrels. It all circles back to a century-in-the-making infrastructure improvement initiative. Among the project's most notable aspects include: • Removing a 100-year-old brick roadway underneath this section of street with a road reconstruction to follow. While the roadway will be narrowed, it'll still be a two-way road. • Replacing an outdated 85-year-old main water line with new piping, doubling the current capacity • Improving safety and accessibility for all users • Establishing more open spaces for pedestrians • Placing decorative streetlights and other amenities in the area • Planting canopy trees on both sides; These canopy trees would replace the trees currently lining the street, which have been known to obstruct views. "This is the most significant infrastructure improvement (project) in downtown within the last century," city ex officio mayor Dick Brady said. "The end product will (produce) a safer and more pedestrian-friendly downtown." Making sense of the dollars and cents It's a project pegged at about $4.8 million. Officials said they're committing $3.7 million through present-day and future revenue streams that produce money through downtown-based real estate projects. It's a process known as tax increment financing. It doesn't take any money presently earmarked for everyday services local residents and visitors depend upon. The balance, about $1.1 million, comes from local funds. Comparing and contrasting The project borrows inspiration from a major makeover occurring to Jackson Street Pier and Shoreline Drive concluding in 2020. So many people rave about Shoreline Drive and, especially, the abutting Jackson Street pier, labeling it as a premier site for residents and visitors alike. The public waterfront space attracts thousands of people each year for events, like concerts, reunions, weddings and many more outings. Columbus Avenue could produce a similar positive effect. "While construction can be challenging, the results will be transformative," said Eric Wobser, CEO of the Greater Sandusky Partnership. Wobser, in his prior role as city manager, long championed for this project and oversaw all aspects of Jackson Street Pier's and Shoreline Drive's reset. "The Columbus Avenue streetscape will enhance the corridor by improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians while also creating new opportunities for downtown businesses to expand their operations outdoors," Wobser said. Envisioning the future Upon the project's completion, scheduled for May, officials stressed how pedestrians, business owners and those frequenting downtown would benefit most from these slated upgrades. Additionally, event hosts would also find these changes favorable. For instance, this project should extend sidewalks, establishing a 20-foot-wide pedestrian zone on both sides: an 8-foot-wide sidewalk and a 12-foot-wide zone for outdoor dining and retail spill-out space. And it would also greatly improve upon present-day handicap accessibility so those with, say, wheelchairs and walkers can more easily navigate these pathways. "The Columbus Avenue streetscape project will anchor the retail and civic core of Sandusky, support the continued revitalization of the city, ensure the activation of our downtown is not centered at the waterfront but continues to spread outward," city chief planner Arin Blair said. Before the project began, many people worried about parking spaces going away. "It's a reduction of about 40 spaces in trade for gained public space," Blair said once the project gets completed. It "was about 86 angled on-street parking and will be 46 parallel on street. We have added about a dozen spaces on Washington Row and in the East Washington Street lot to make up for some, too." Blair noted a portion of preliminary design primarily on Columbus Avenue between Washington to Adams streets calls for adding 30 or more spaces, "But that didn't get funding as part of the current project." "We could implement it at any time if funding is made available or we identify a grant opportunity," she said. While fewer spaces, officials intend to better regulate parking restrictions so people don't, for instance, leave their cars overnight in a two-hour spot dead-smack in summertime. Parking, meanwhile, will remain along this stretch. Though this plan isn't about parking: It's about people, Blair said. "Columbus Avenue is an outstanding, one-of-a-kind place. But the streetscape itself is a low quality of place," Blair said. The project, then, "rebalances the roadway to create that high-quality public place that we are wanting to see."