Three clients of the Purple Cat, a day program for adults with disabilities, enjoy the redesigned sidewalk along Phelps Street downtown. They had lunch at Purple Cat tables and chairs in front of the Golden String Radio station, which is operated by Purple Cat clients....Staff photo / Ed Runyan

YOUNGSTOWN — John Zimmerman, a manager of Suzie’s Dogs and Drafts, 34 N. Phelps St. downtown, said he expects the nearly complete redesign of Phelps Street to be an attraction for pedestrians moving around the downtown area before and after tonight’s Luke Bryan concert.

“It has the potential to make it easier for people to walk throughout downtown since all of Phelps will be walkable,” he said.

The south end of Phelps dead-ends into the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, which will be part of the venue for the concert. On the north end of Phelps is Suzie’s, a restaurant and bar. That section of the Phelps redesign, which is close to Commerce Street, was finished earlier.

The two blocks of Phelps to the south of West Federal Street have received finishing touches in recent months.

Much of downtown Youngstown is torn up with redesign work being done along Front Street, which is adjacent to Wean Park, the Covelli Centre and amphitheater — the venue for the concert.

The ongoing work on Front Street could funnel more foot traffic onto Phelps, Zimmerman said.

North Phelps near Commerce Street has been a live music venue of its own since that part of Phelps was redesigned a few years ago. Adding to that are the bars and restaurants along West Federal near Phelps.

When the city or Youngstown State University has events downtown, stages for musical performances are erected. One example was the Federal Frenzy hosted by YSU in April.

Zimmerman said Suzie’s is expecting a lot of visitors for the concert. “We anticipate a lot of people coming downtown to enjoy the concert,” he said.

“We think the addition of a walkable Phelps Street from the very bottom where they are having the concert up to Commerce Street will definitely help out with pedestrian traffic,” he said.

“A lot of people are surprised if they haven’t been downtown in a while when they come and see the area. It has elevated the feel of downtown, especially at night with all of the lights and sitting areas on Phelps.”

REMINDERS

For the concert, no parking and or standing will be allowed on the Market Street and South Avenue bridges downtown. Both bridges will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic beginning at 6:45 p.m. until midnight. Anyone who arrives after the closure should follow the posted detour signs, according to Youngstown police.

Downtown parking is accessible with pre-sold passes only, the police department stated. No cash / cards will be accepted in the downtown prepaid lots.

All of the non-prepaid “day-of” parking is available at Youngstown State University, 410 N. Walnut St. Using GPS, attendees will be directed to the Wick Avenue parking deck, where YSU police then will direct attendees to available parking spaces on YSU’s campus, Youngstown police stated.

Once attendees are parked, they can walk to the venue or take a shuttle service available from 3:30 pm until midnight. The shuttle will pick up and drop off at 410 N. Walnut St.

On-street parking will not be available for the event.

Uber / Lyft users should use 45 South Ave. as the destination for dropoff and pickup, according to Youngstown police. The location is a couple of blocks from the Covelli Centre.

erunyan@vindy.com