Downtown Farmington streetscape nears completion

metromode, 9/3/2009

One side of the tracks, errr…, road is finished in the downtown Farmington streetscape project, and the other isn't far behind.

Work crews have finished the north side of the road, and are about to finish off the water-and-sewer section of the south side soon. The whole project is expected to wrap up by October, with an Oct. 24 ribbon cutting scheduled.

"I expect over the next couple of weeks we'll see the real visible parts come in," says Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington Downtown Development Authority.

The visible parts include the curbs, brick pavers, planters, and trees. Most of that is already installed on the north side of the street.

The multi-million dollar project is rebuilding Grand River Avenue between Farmington Road and Warner Street, making the byway friendlier to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. It will expand the sidewalk area, add bump-outs around parallel parking spaces, and install new sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, bike racks, trash cans, and decorative streetlights.

The original plan called for doing the same sort of work on Grove Street between Grand River and Orchard Street. That has now been put on hold for at least a year until the city finds financing.

Source: Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke

Farmington