The Federal Street demolition appears to be ready to kick off, according to this release in the Vindicator yesterday. I'm a practical person by nature. I don't like this project, but I know there will probably be bigger fights to fight, and sometimes you have to pick your battles. I understand there's a give and take in politics and compromise and negotiation are at the heart of getting things done in this complicated world.
However, when it comes to downtown right now, Federal Street is as good as it gets. If improvements need to be made there to the electrical grid, the city needs to get creative in how they are made so as not to rip up the street (about which I think there's consensus it does not need replacing, and that replacing concrete with asphalt is backwards). Electrical hookups could come from other sources other than replacements to the existing hookups under the street.
I'll take the liberty of sharing some thoughts from the mighty and wise Paul Hagman, who also forwarded these comments to the Mayor and the city's Board of Control:
In light of the City's current budget problems, is it a wise move to spend this money right now?
While parking is an oft heard complaint, the introduction of more of it on Federal Street is not going to suddenly inspire locals to come downtown. What is inspiring people to come down are the numerous new businesses that are opening their doors. Instead of funding this unfortunate plan, wouldn't the money be better allocated to encouraging more and more businesses to open up? The Department of Economic Development's budget is in danger of being cut by 80% which could nearly terminate the Youngstown Incentive Program which has been the key to allowing several projects to come to fruition in recent months.
The positive buzz that we are hearing about downtown right now is not about how convenient it is to park, but rather about how many new projects are on the line. Since opening its doors, the Rosetta Stone has attracted infinitely more people to downtown than will the 12 parking spaces in front of it. And the same goes with all of the businesses downtown. It is the businesses themselves that bring people; fund and encourage their growth, and you will encourage the growth of the City.
To address the issue of parking, though, I believe the City should further investigate strategic areas that could reasonably and inexpensivley be turned into parking. This was accomplished to some degree after Public Works worked with City Planning and discovered two large pockets of road (on Vindicator Square and Symphony Place) that were ideal for placing additional parking without interfereing with normal traffic patterns. Both departments should be commended for working together on that and coming up with some Location Efficient Development. That process could be repeated to round up even more under-utilized space that would quickly add the same number of parking stalls to downtown as this revised plan.
On the design side of things, a small portion of that $474,684 would do wonders for dressing up West Federal's sidewalks and making it a more inviting place to walk.
So put some money into improving what we've already got and keep encouraging more businesses to invest in downtown. By doing that, the City will find that the numerous shop owners will care for the portion of street in front of their shop and take the burden of having to redesign it every 20 years off of the City itself. (Are we even done paying for the last renovation to this very portion of the street?)
He goes on to lament the crazy and unsafe back and forth driving patterns that would result from the plan as designed, swerving from a median block to a diagonal-parking block back to a median block back to a diagonal-parking block. In my mind, the problem is that the basis for the design is wrong, therefore the design is wrong. It was all revealed in the meeting I attended in City Council chambers when the Mayor asked about the origin for the plans and Carmen Conglose responded that it was drawn up to bring the "success" of Federal Plaza to West Federal Street. That just about says it all.
If we're going to be spending money downtown, we should be bringing the spirit of West Federal Street to the rest of the city. And while you're at it, give me a bench where I can lean back, relax, and enjoy watching people pass by. And when my friend Paul Hagman passes by on his way to the beautiful Davis Building on West Federal, he can have a seat, too, and we can chat about the beautiful, tree-lined medians, and the thriving businesses we frequent, and how the street never seems to need repaving, and how isn't it great the city decided to find space for a parking garage for all the people coming downtown, and hey I'll see you at the Oakland for the show tonight...
