Plan Details
Among the final design details are:
• Parking on all four sides of the Courthouse retained.
• Parking meter payment kiosks, and bollards to mark parking spaces.
• Dedicated parking spaces for senior citizens and people with special needs.
• Flush-to-street level bumpouts at corners and mid-street crossings.
• Loss of about 30 parking spaces.
• Flexible use of plant pots at corners and crossings.
• No "fake" quality pavement colors and patterns.
• A "timber block" and/or decorative concrete pattern.
• Colored pedestrian crossings and parking spaces.
• Monroe's unique historical character retained.
• Monroe's historic Swiss and European heritage recognized.
• Streets lined with light, airy trees with fall colors.
• Room on sidewalks for business dining tables.
• Taller street lights at intersections and along median parking line.
MONROE - Downtown business owners were reassured Tuesday night that streetscape reconstruction around the Square next year will not disrupt business at any one location for more than two weeks at a time.
But the city and businesses will have to plan for it, as other successfully reconstructed Wisconsin cities have done.
Tom McGilloway of Mahan Rykiel Associate was back in town with the latest, and last, revisions for the Monroe Downtown and Beyond concept plan. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2009.
Mahan Rykiel is the landscape subcontractor for Fehr-Graham and Associates, which was awarded the city contract to design and engineer the downtown reconstruction plans.
McGilloway and Tom Purdy, community development specialist with Fehr-Graham, answered questions about the actual construction, after presenting the final design concept changes suggested at presentations Sept. 25.
At the September meeting, business owners were concerned about access to their stores, inconvenience to customers and disruption to delivery.
Armed with only anecdotal evidence, Purdy said reconstruction projects in Dodgeville and Platteville caused no loss of business, but success requires proper planning.
Monroe Main Street Executive Director Barb Nelson said she and Purdy will be responsible for notifying businesses "well ahead of time" of construction plans and for setting up regular meetings with contractors during the construction project.
Nelson said Platteville had two stores go out of business during that city's reconstruction, but said the two were due to close anyway because the owners were retiring. Since its finish this summer, Platteville is getting more inquiries and businesses are coming in before the grand opening ceremony.
Construction is expected to last one year. But plans are for the work to be done in perhaps four sections, to avoid interrupting downtown traffic in any section for more than a couple weeks at a time.
McGilloway said contractors will be responsible for providing front-street access to the stores during construction. At times that may mean plywood walkways from the curb.
Purdy said replacing outer ring sidewalks shouldn't take more than two weeks per side. During that time, traffic will continue to flow, with parking available on the inner ring and between the rings.
While the outer ring street is being repaved, traffic will be routed to the inner ring, McGilloway said.
Some of the work may coincide with days when stores are closed.
Hans Anderson of Fehr-Graham said no hole would be left open over the winter season when concrete couldn't be poured.
Schedules and locations for downtown events may have to be moved to accommodate the construction schedule. But those things will have to be taken into account after contractors are hired, McGilloway said.
Ryan Wilson, a member of Monroe Main Street and an employee of Fehr-Graham, said some sections could be addressed early and the work done before events like Concerts on the Square and the Chili Cook-off are scheduled.
Pam Christopher, director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has been updated on the project, Purdy said.
But business owners also questioned what the added costs to them would be for closing off basement accesses to under-street areas. Coal bins, or vaults, under the sidewalk will need to be filled before new sidewalks are poured. About 20 coal bins are located under the Square sidewalks.
Purdy said back fill will be part of the construction cost, but believed property owners would be responsible for closing off the areas from their buildings.
"The city won't touch the building itself, because of the liability," he said. Whether the city would help owners with the cost is a question to be taken up with the city, he said.
Dr. David Reise, chairman of Monroe Main Street Board of Directors and owner of three buildings on the Square, said property owners could get together and talk with the city about what its intentions might be for helping them.
To get over the inconvenience of the project to business owners and "to get over the rough time, remember that for every dollar Main Street spends, it brings in an increase of $39," Reise said.
The design and engineering plans will go to the city and county in November or December. Fehr-Graham expects to be ready for the city to go out for bids on the project as early as March. McGilloway said the plans represent one-third of the project.
The Monroe City Council authorized hiring Fehr-Graham & Associates for surveying and design services for the outer walkway of the Square at an estimated cost of $37,700 on May 6.
On Oct. 21, the city council authorized an extra $5,680 to extend the design to include the inner ring of traffic around the Square. The cost of the reconstruction is being paid from the Tax Increment District 7 fund, which Nelson said has been set aside for the project.
But the city and businesses will have to plan for it, as other successfully reconstructed Wisconsin cities have done.
Tom McGilloway of Mahan Rykiel Associate was back in town with the latest, and last, revisions for the Monroe Downtown and Beyond concept plan. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2009.
Mahan Rykiel is the landscape subcontractor for Fehr-Graham and Associates, which was awarded the city contract to design and engineer the downtown reconstruction plans.
McGilloway and Tom Purdy, community development specialist with Fehr-Graham, answered questions about the actual construction, after presenting the final design concept changes suggested at presentations Sept. 25.
At the September meeting, business owners were concerned about access to their stores, inconvenience to customers and disruption to delivery.
Armed with only anecdotal evidence, Purdy said reconstruction projects in Dodgeville and Platteville caused no loss of business, but success requires proper planning.
Monroe Main Street Executive Director Barb Nelson said she and Purdy will be responsible for notifying businesses "well ahead of time" of construction plans and for setting up regular meetings with contractors during the construction project.
Nelson said Platteville had two stores go out of business during that city's reconstruction, but said the two were due to close anyway because the owners were retiring. Since its finish this summer, Platteville is getting more inquiries and businesses are coming in before the grand opening ceremony.
Construction is expected to last one year. But plans are for the work to be done in perhaps four sections, to avoid interrupting downtown traffic in any section for more than a couple weeks at a time.
McGilloway said contractors will be responsible for providing front-street access to the stores during construction. At times that may mean plywood walkways from the curb.
Purdy said replacing outer ring sidewalks shouldn't take more than two weeks per side. During that time, traffic will continue to flow, with parking available on the inner ring and between the rings.
While the outer ring street is being repaved, traffic will be routed to the inner ring, McGilloway said.
Some of the work may coincide with days when stores are closed.
Hans Anderson of Fehr-Graham said no hole would be left open over the winter season when concrete couldn't be poured.
Schedules and locations for downtown events may have to be moved to accommodate the construction schedule. But those things will have to be taken into account after contractors are hired, McGilloway said.
Ryan Wilson, a member of Monroe Main Street and an employee of Fehr-Graham, said some sections could be addressed early and the work done before events like Concerts on the Square and the Chili Cook-off are scheduled.
Pam Christopher, director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has been updated on the project, Purdy said.
But business owners also questioned what the added costs to them would be for closing off basement accesses to under-street areas. Coal bins, or vaults, under the sidewalk will need to be filled before new sidewalks are poured. About 20 coal bins are located under the Square sidewalks.
Purdy said back fill will be part of the construction cost, but believed property owners would be responsible for closing off the areas from their buildings.
"The city won't touch the building itself, because of the liability," he said. Whether the city would help owners with the cost is a question to be taken up with the city, he said.
Dr. David Reise, chairman of Monroe Main Street Board of Directors and owner of three buildings on the Square, said property owners could get together and talk with the city about what its intentions might be for helping them.
To get over the inconvenience of the project to business owners and "to get over the rough time, remember that for every dollar Main Street spends, it brings in an increase of $39," Reise said.
The design and engineering plans will go to the city and county in November or December. Fehr-Graham expects to be ready for the city to go out for bids on the project as early as March. McGilloway said the plans represent one-third of the project.
The Monroe City Council authorized hiring Fehr-Graham & Associates for surveying and design services for the outer walkway of the Square at an estimated cost of $37,700 on May 6.
On Oct. 21, the city council authorized an extra $5,680 to extend the design to include the inner ring of traffic around the Square. The cost of the reconstruction is being paid from the Tax Increment District 7 fund, which Nelson said has been set aside for the project.