MONROE - A plan for downtown streetscaping met some questioning from City of Monroe and Monroe Main Street officials during the first of three presentations Thursday.
Mahan Rykiel Associates of Baltimore, Md., made the presentation Thursday morning to city and Main Street officials - the people who will have to approve the project for it to move forward.
The design firm is working with engineering firm Fehr-Graham & Associates, hired by the city to renovate the downtown Square. It made presentations at the Monroe Arts Center. Later sessions were with Main Street committees and community partners, and then with business owners and the general public.
Mahan Rykiel associates Tom McGilloway and Ryan Johnson made the presentation, which focused largely on pedestrian safety and material options, as well as recommendations for trees and street furniture on the Square's outer ring - Phase 1 of the plan.
McGilloway also recommended construction be done on the blocks in succession around the Square, rather than at one time, to minimize disruption on downtown business.
One portion of the questions from city members centered around proposed bump-outs, extended areas of sidewalks, at corners. Mahan Rykiel's plans include an option for mid-street bump-outs, with crosswalks to the courthouse.
McGilloway explained the bump-outs create a shorter distance for pedestrians crossing the streets and indicated better where pedestrians are at.
"Pedestrian environment is not clear," McGilloway said of the present Square.
Pedestrian areas would be created by using concrete paving in a different color, pots of plants, or even painted crossings, he said.
But Mayor Ron Marsh's first question was about making the bump-outs curbless, essentially for ease of snow removal. McGilloway said the bump-outs could be sloped to street level, and corner plant pots could be removed in off-seasons or moved back for special events.
Mike Doyle, on the Monroe Main Street board of directors, questioned the tighter space between corner bump-outs for large delivery trucks. Dr. David Riese also questioned whether the corners would accommodate large parade floats, some of which have been on flatbed trailers up to 65 feet.
Johnson said the plans were made with the use of an inner city bus template to extract the correct space to accommodate any large vehicle, including floats.
The bump-outs would take away only about 20 parking spaces, eight at each corner.
Doyle favored creating a mid-way walk across both lanes of traffic to the courthouse front doors, even at the expense of losing a parking space or two, as part of Phase 1.
Another major concern for the city is the replacement of pavers or concrete after an infrastructure repair that requires removal of a piece of sidewalk.
Mahan Rykiel recommended the family of browns and gray colors.
"How much will be dated material, or available so it matches?" Marsh asked.
Doyle said he was advised by Freeport's street supervisor that Monroe not use pavers. Freeport had difficulty in getting replacements for broken or damaged pavers, he said.
McGilloway said some cities order extra pavers to keep in reserve should they be needed.
Mahan Rykiel recommended three different species of trees, Freeman Maple, Lacebark Elm, and Honey Locust, for use on the Square. McGilloway said using two different species would add interest to the streetscape.
"The architecture and store fronts make the streetscape," McGilloway said. The species of trees recommended do not have compact branches and would not be planted too densely as to hide the architecture, he said.
Mahan Rykiel recommended a basic, polished black metal street bench and trash receptacles which would blend well with the street lamps chosen by the Monroe Main Street Design Committee. McGilloway said the furnishings were chosen for simplicity and having not a lot of "frilly details."
Donna Glynn, chairman of the Design Committee, said she liked street furniture that looked "genuine and real, and not look fake-y ... not like a mini mall" with bright colors.
The Design Committee's choice of street lighting has an encaged acorn glass lamp on a muted green-colored post, similar to unpolished copper. Jean Tullet, also on the committee, said the green color gave a "softer look" than black.
While the Historic Preservation Commission's recently approved new guidelines are for recapturing historically accurate facades, "the Master Plan (for Monroe's new downtown) is for bringing all the elements together... so it doesn't look like patchwork" said Dr. Riese, chairman of the commission.
Mahan Rykiel Associates of Baltimore, Md., made the presentation Thursday morning to city and Main Street officials - the people who will have to approve the project for it to move forward.
The design firm is working with engineering firm Fehr-Graham & Associates, hired by the city to renovate the downtown Square. It made presentations at the Monroe Arts Center. Later sessions were with Main Street committees and community partners, and then with business owners and the general public.
Mahan Rykiel associates Tom McGilloway and Ryan Johnson made the presentation, which focused largely on pedestrian safety and material options, as well as recommendations for trees and street furniture on the Square's outer ring - Phase 1 of the plan.
McGilloway also recommended construction be done on the blocks in succession around the Square, rather than at one time, to minimize disruption on downtown business.
One portion of the questions from city members centered around proposed bump-outs, extended areas of sidewalks, at corners. Mahan Rykiel's plans include an option for mid-street bump-outs, with crosswalks to the courthouse.
McGilloway explained the bump-outs create a shorter distance for pedestrians crossing the streets and indicated better where pedestrians are at.
"Pedestrian environment is not clear," McGilloway said of the present Square.
Pedestrian areas would be created by using concrete paving in a different color, pots of plants, or even painted crossings, he said.
But Mayor Ron Marsh's first question was about making the bump-outs curbless, essentially for ease of snow removal. McGilloway said the bump-outs could be sloped to street level, and corner plant pots could be removed in off-seasons or moved back for special events.
Mike Doyle, on the Monroe Main Street board of directors, questioned the tighter space between corner bump-outs for large delivery trucks. Dr. David Riese also questioned whether the corners would accommodate large parade floats, some of which have been on flatbed trailers up to 65 feet.
Johnson said the plans were made with the use of an inner city bus template to extract the correct space to accommodate any large vehicle, including floats.
The bump-outs would take away only about 20 parking spaces, eight at each corner.
Doyle favored creating a mid-way walk across both lanes of traffic to the courthouse front doors, even at the expense of losing a parking space or two, as part of Phase 1.
Another major concern for the city is the replacement of pavers or concrete after an infrastructure repair that requires removal of a piece of sidewalk.
Mahan Rykiel recommended the family of browns and gray colors.
"How much will be dated material, or available so it matches?" Marsh asked.
Doyle said he was advised by Freeport's street supervisor that Monroe not use pavers. Freeport had difficulty in getting replacements for broken or damaged pavers, he said.
McGilloway said some cities order extra pavers to keep in reserve should they be needed.
Mahan Rykiel recommended three different species of trees, Freeman Maple, Lacebark Elm, and Honey Locust, for use on the Square. McGilloway said using two different species would add interest to the streetscape.
"The architecture and store fronts make the streetscape," McGilloway said. The species of trees recommended do not have compact branches and would not be planted too densely as to hide the architecture, he said.
Mahan Rykiel recommended a basic, polished black metal street bench and trash receptacles which would blend well with the street lamps chosen by the Monroe Main Street Design Committee. McGilloway said the furnishings were chosen for simplicity and having not a lot of "frilly details."
Donna Glynn, chairman of the Design Committee, said she liked street furniture that looked "genuine and real, and not look fake-y ... not like a mini mall" with bright colors.
The Design Committee's choice of street lighting has an encaged acorn glass lamp on a muted green-colored post, similar to unpolished copper. Jean Tullet, also on the committee, said the green color gave a "softer look" than black.
While the Historic Preservation Commission's recently approved new guidelines are for recapturing historically accurate facades, "the Master Plan (for Monroe's new downtown) is for bringing all the elements together... so it doesn't look like patchwork" said Dr. Riese, chairman of the commission.