Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- In an effort to connect downtown to Youngstown State University and the surrounding area, the city is planning a pedestrian walkway -- or step street -- near Walnut Street between Commerce and Wood streets as part of an improvement project that will start in the summer.
It will be the second set of concrete steps tying Commerce to Wood streets, with a project on the west side of downtown near Phelps Street built about 12 years ago to replace an aging walkway.
"We're always looking to improve downtown," Charles Shasho, the city's deputy director of public works, said. "To do that, we are making the city more walkable."
That street near Walnut Street is asphalt with three large planters at the top of the steep hill near the Choffin Career and Technical Center, and three more at the bottom next to a parking lot for the downtown YMCA.
"It used to be a street, but it's too steep for (vehicular) traffic," Shasho said. "It's been closed for a long time."
The step street will be made of concrete with a few landings and landscaping.
"It will have a similar look to the one on Phelps Street," Shasho said.
The step street is part of a downtown improvement project, estimated to cost $2.87 million, that will make improvements to Walnut Street between Front and Commerce streets and to Boardman Street between Walnut and Market streets.
The city will seek proposals for the work in the spring with the project starting in the summer, Shasho said. It likely won't be done until late fall 2025.
In addition to the pedestrian steps, the project includes repaving, reducing vehicular lanes, new and additional diagonal on-street parking, new crosswalks and curb ramps, improved lighting, landscaping, new traffic control signs and a mid-block crossing at Eastern Gateway Community College.
When the project is done, one lane of traffic will flow in each direction on both streets with turning lanes, Shasho said.
Of the estimated $2.87 million cost, about 70% of it is covered by state and federal grants with the city paying the rest, Shasho said.
This work is similar to the city's $27.6 million SMART2 (Strategic and Sustainable, Medical and Manufacturing, Academic and Arts, Residential and Recreation, and Technology and Training) Network project with an improvement to Fifth Avenue between West Federal Street and Eastbound Service Road that started in July 2020.
Other work was done to Front, Commerce and South Phelps streets and Rayen Avenue.
The project to the downtown streets received $10.8 million in federal funding.
The city is finishing up a section of West Federal Street. Still left to be done is Federal Street from Phelps to Champion streets.
That work had to be pulled from the initial job because several basements, including the city-owned 20 Federal Place, were discovered in the right of way on sidewalks.
The city expects to have that work start in April and be finished by August, Shasho said.
That work included repaving, reducing vehicular lanes, realignment of curbs, new crosswalks, new lighting, wider sidewalks with changes to parking in places where on-street parking is permitted.
The work, particularly on West Federal Street, drew complaints from several downtown businesses because it closed vehicular traffic for almost a year and made it more difficult for pedestrians to get around the area. The business owners say that hurt their operations.
The city also wants to make similar improvements to the eastern end of Federal Street near Penguin City Brewing Co. and Youngstown Flea, Shasho said.
"We don't have a time frame," he said. "We're always looking for funding opportunities."
Also on the city's list of future street improvements is West Boardman Street from Phelps Street to Vindicator Square, Shasho said.
There is no timetable for that work either, he said.