MENDOCINO Co., 5/7/19 — The City of Ukiah is planning a number of improvements to the downtown area, including changes to landscaping, sidewalks, and parking spaces — and they want to hear from the public. This Thursday evening, a community meeting is happening at the Ukiah Conference Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at which the public can ask questions and provide feedback about the proposed changes for Phase One of the Downtown Ukiah Streetscape Project.
(The Mendo Voice will be there to film the meeting.)
The plan is scheduled to be implemented in early 2020, but now is the time for the community to provide input to the designers and engineers, and the plan has already been revised to include previous community input. The re-design of the downtown area will focus on safety and beautification measures, including tree planting and street furniture, as well as some changes to parking and sidewalks. The plans also includes replacing underground utilities in the downtown area. You can see the full plan here, along with maps of Phase One and Two, and the recording of the most recent City Council discussion of the plan.
The City of Ukiah has already received around $2.3 million in state transportation and highway safety funds to support the project. Currently, the proposed changes in Phase One will include a “road diet,” described as “a road diet between Henry Street and Mill Street that will transform the existing four-lane cross section into a three-lane cross section with one travel lane in each direction and a two way left-turn lane in the center with on-street parking maintained.” Changes will also be made to traffic signals and pavement striping to reflect this re-design.
A similar meeting took place last week for business and property owners, but everyone is welcome to attend this week’s meeting as well. More details about the event are available on the event Facebook page.
Here’s more details from the announcement:
Ukiah-flyers-CommunityMeeting_050919The City of Ukiah invites the community to learn about the Downtown Streetscape Project at a community meeting on Thursday, May 9, 2019 from 6-8 p.m. at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center, 200 South School Street.
Event description from the Facebook page.
The community will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide input to the Streetscape Project designers, engineers and City staff. Additionally, the community will have the opportunity to view samples of street furniture, landscaping materials, and draft plans of the project.
“I think the community will be very interested to see the latest evolution of this project,” said Shannon Riley, Deputy City Manager. “It preserves the most impactful safety and aesthetic improvements, but no longer has diagonal parking or medians, which some people had concerns about. This will be one of the most transformative projects this community has ever seen, and we hope that residents will attend this forum to get a better understanding of how all of its pieces fit together.”
The Streetscape Project is currently in the pre-construction phase (design, planning, etc.) with construction expected to begin early 2020. The project includes a “road diet,” enhanced pedestrian safety, and beautification to the downtown district. The project is designed to improve the appearance and functionality of this important corridor and is the result of numerous community workshops, extensive studies by traffic engineers, and input from stakeholders. In conjunction with this project, underground utilities will be updated in the downtown district.
To learn more about this project you can visit http://www.cityofukiah.com/projects/
For more information, please contact: Shannon Riley, Deputy City Manager at [email protected]