Citizens & Business People Weigh In On Streetscape Plan

IRONWOOD, MI - Friday, October 22, 2010 - Yesterday evening, an Open House was held to allow citizens and area businesspeople an opportunity to weigh in on the Phase II Streetscape Plan. Coleman Engineering has been assisting the City in an effort to obtain a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) grant that will pay for enhancements to the core downtown. The MDOT grant will work in conjunction with a Community Development Block Grant for which the City has already applied. The $700,000 CDBG grant was applied for as part of the Downtown Ironwood Blueprint Plan. Obtaining the MDOT grant will help the City greatly in their attempts to complete the Blueprint Program. With the help of Coleman Engineering, funds obtained through the MDOT grant can be used not only for enhancements to the downtown, but also as leverage and matching funds for the CDBG grant.

City Manager Scott Erickson began the meeting by presenting a brief overview of the Blueprint Program and attempts by the City to finance downtown enhancements. He told those in attendance that the Phase I CDBG grant has been applied for and is in the process of being reviewed. He said the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), who is responsible for awarding the grant, recently requested further information. He said the information has been forwarded to the MEDC, and Erickson believes an answer to the application will be returned shortly.

He then turned the presentation over to Jeff Ebsch, P.E., a Project Manager for Coleman Engineering's Iron Mountain office. Ebsch displayed several maps designed by Mark Surprenant of Coleman Engineering's Ironwood office and he described the overall area to be enhanced. According to Ebsch, roughly eight blocks will be enhanced through the Transportation Enhancement Grant program: three blocks on Suffolk Street; three blocks on Aurora Street; and 2 blocks on Lowell Street.

The Transportation Enhancement Grant covers such things as improvements to lighting; sidewalks; cross-walks; benches; trees; planters; trash receptacles; etc. Ebsch explained that the goal of the grant is to give a facelift to downtowns which are all too often forgotten by communities. He said the central focus for many municipalities over the years has been highway development, and little attention has been given to struggling downtown business districts.

Ebsch presented several plan options, but the main focus and central theme involves the following items: (1) added lighting; (2) streetscape trees; (3) trash recepticals; (4) benches; (5) planters; (6) enhanced sidewalks including either stamped colored concrete or brick pavers; and (7) improvements to the cross-walks, including brick pavers and perhaps a painted "Life Where You Play" logo in the center of the intersection.

Several, suggestions were given and issues and concerns were expressed by members of the audience. They included:

Width of our streets compared to those in Ashland. Ironwood's sidewalks are narrower and may be more difficult to be kept clear in the winter.
Trees and brick pavers may add to the difficulty of clearing snow.
Concerns that the pavers would be destroyed during winter clean-ups.
Suggestion that the street lights be removed from curbside and brought in closer to the buildings to allow for easier snow removal.
Ashland is Ashland and Ironwood is Ironwood. The two can't do exactly the same things.
Color or textured or stamped concrete may be a better choice than brick pavers.
Modern brick pavers don't have the same problems they used to. Several other communities in the North have brick pavers on their sidewalks and even their streets -- Ashland, Duluth, and Houghton for example.
Bike racks will be included.
Snowplow blades destroyed Ironwood's brick sidewalks in the past.
Many people are disastified with the current sidewalks. They are hazardous.
Can Lamp posts be painted? Not with the MDOT grant.
Can Business Route 2 be enhanced? Not with the MDOT grant.
Current Downtown is not inviting. Plan is inviting.
Consider City-controlled snow removal. In Ashland storeowners are billed and the City cleans sidewalks.
Can the sidewalk Bobcat be used to clear the sidewalks?
Customers complain about snowbanks and uncleared sidewalks.
Absentee owners aren't clearing their sidewalks.
Street name signs are needed.
Wayfinder signs are needed but aren't covered by this MDOT grant.
Pedestrian signs that help direct people through the City.
Fix the roads before fixing the downtown.
Stamped concrete v. brick pavers.
Ironwood should meet with other cities to get input on design choices.
Is safety an issue with MDOT? MDOT is concerned about pedestrian safety and the grant covers safety issues.
All benches, recepticals, planters, etc. will be removed in the winter.
Half-walls for vacant lots are included in the Phase I CDBG grant.
Maintenance concerns about trees and flowers. Perhaps volunteers can help. Ashland is nearly a 100% volunteer effort.