Plans to turn downtown Farmington into a pedestrian friendly and aesthetically pleasing place may be largely done but city officials are still looking for an opinion or two on what the final product should look like.
To accommodate this, the city is holding a public meeting on Feb. 25 where it will present the plans for its $2.7 million streetscape project. The development will expand the sidewalk area and add bump outs around parallel parking spaces, while installing new sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, bike racks, trash cans and decorative streetlights.
The idea is to make downtown, particularly Grand River Avenue, more efficient for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
"We want to improve the traffic flow on Grand River while improving pedestrian safety and comfort," says Vincent Pastue, Farmington's city manager. "We want to create a buffer between traffic and pedestrians."
Grand River Avenue between Farmington Road and Warner Street will receive all of the upgrades except a boulevard, which will go on Grove Street between Grand River and Orchard Street. New designs on what the actual streetscape will look like will be on display at the meeting.
The project is set to go out to bid in early April, start construction in mid May and finish within three to four months. Local leaders hope this will help encourage vibrancy and increased business investment in downtown.
The meeting will be held in the Maxfield Training Center, 33000 Thomas St. at 7 p.m. For information, call (248) 474-5500.
Source: Vincent Pastue, city manager for Farmington
Writer: Jon Zemke
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