New sidewalks, street lamps, benches, bike racks, planters, median landscaping and other improvements are done and on display on Fort Street in Lincoln Park.
The four-block area near Southfield Road is designated as Lincoln Park's downtown and the approximate $1 million streetscape is seen as a way to attract businesses and customers by making the corridor appealing to the eye for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike.
Grants from the
Michigan Department of Transportation and
DTE Energy are covering most of the project cost, which also includes improvements as major as roadway changes and parking lots and as simple as garbage cans, recycling bins. The city's Downtown Development Authority has invested about $250,000 in the streetscape and other improvements, including energy efficient lighting that will save the city tax dollars.
The new streetscape is combined with other economic development projects, including a cooperative effort with neighboring communities to make roads and sidewalks more attractive and walkable and to advertise the cities' connection to I-94 and the Detroit River. Another project has the state assigning extra liquor licenses to Lincoln Park with the goal of attracting restaurants and bars.
Source: Lincoln Park Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Kim North Shine
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