Construction update

The weekly meeting was held today to discuss construction issues related to the Streetscapes project. It was determined that the subcontrcator will require an additional night to complete the electrical work in the ROW of Summit Hill. A press release will go out today announcing the closure of Summit Hill on Thursday, Feb. 26 from 9pm until 6am. We have been assured that this will complete this work.

In an abundance of caution, we dicussed at length possible soil contaimination and steps we may need to take to rectify any situations we may have.You may have noticed the dirt we have been stockpiling on the Jackson parking site for this reason until further testing determines our course of action. We will likely subcontract a testing agency to bore holes in the 100 Block so we can know what issues we may face there. More on this as it develops.

You will probably notice a bit of work being done at State and Gay between the 100 and 200 blocks as we begin to make decisions about the electrical vault that is to be placed. Several utilities are in that immediate area and we are trying to find a way to get this work done with as little impact as possible. We will be bagging a couple of parking meters to give some room and providing traffic control around that worksite.

A sign has been placed, as many may have noticed, at the intersection of S.Gay Street and Jackson, stating 'Road Closed to through Traffic'. We are hopeful that this will allow our detours to work better while allowing folks to continue to use the 100 Block as they always have.

Some have commented on parking issues and we are taking steps to address some of those issues. Engineering is checking the meters to make sure they are working properly and we are discussing timing on taking out those meters entirely. I have discussed with Contractors the issue of employee parking and hopefully that will work itself out.

The issue of security for the worksite as well as Jackson Avenue is also under discussion.

Lastly, signage is being discussed and a sign should go up shortly on Summit Hill at the 200 Block of Gay with an arrow pointing to 100 Block businesses.

More extensive signage is being planned as well in conjuction with the CBID. A meeting is being planned in the next week or so to more fully explore what those signs may look like.