Tecumseh streetscape plan aims to maintain vibrant downtown
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
By DAVID PANIAN
TECUMSEH — Decorative pavement, public restrooms and “activated” alleys are among the features of the new streetscape plan for downtown Tecumseh.
Planners from design consulting firm Jones Petrie Rafinski (JPR) of South Bend, Indiana, spent about nine months surveying the community and conducting workshops to find out how people want the downtown area to look and feel. Nathan Deig, director of landscape architecture at JPR, told the Tecumseh City Council Monday that input led them to create a plan that focuses on maintaining the downtown area’s vibrancy, and traditional appearance, incorporates different modes of travel, and that will be attractive for years and function well with the many downtown events.
Because Chicago Boulevard is a state trunk line, JPR also consulted with the Michigan Department of Transportation on what could be done, too.
The city’s Downtown Development Authority approved the plan last week and recommended that the city council adopt it, economic development director Kelly Jo Gilmore told the council.
The council voted 7-0 to adopt the plan. Mayor Brian Radant said the plan does not commit the city to spending any money on any part of it. He said there are things he likes about the plan and others he doesn’t care for as much, but he likes that it prioritizes the steps to take.
“It’s something to steer the ship,” he said.
If the city were to attempt to implement the entire plan in the near term, it would cost about $31 million, Deig said. Instead, he recommended that the city start with low-cost, easy-to-accomplish parts of the plan that he called “quick wins” that would help build momentum to continue with the rest of the plan. Some of them have already been completed or are in progress, such as installing electric vehicle chargers and commissioning a 10-year anniversary mural at the Market on Evans. Other quick wins that are listed as high priority include:
• Striping existing on-street parking.
• Developing and implementing sidewalk café standards and a permitting process.
• Pursuing and maintaining Main Street America designation.
• Pursuing a pilot program for the southwest parking lot that temporarily converts the parking spaces closest to the buildings into an event or outdoor dining space to test and gather community input on the concept.
Breaking the plan down into short-, medium- and long-term projects, the costs could be about $9 million, $15 million and $7 million, respectively, Deig said.
The downtown area included in the plan extends beyond the main commercial district between Onieda and Pearl Streets on the east and west and Logan and Pottawatamie streets to the north and south. JPR extended the plan area out to Maumee Street on the east, north to Bidwell Street and south to Russell Road. That allows the plan to incorporate places such as Adams Park and Tecumseh City Hall, the Market on Evans and part of the Tecumseh District Library’s campus.
Deig noted that the library has started its own master planning process and that the library administration has worked with them on the streetscape plan.
“There’s been great collaboration there, great discussion, and they’re fully on board with what’s shown, and knowing that that can be pulled into their master plan as well,” he said.
Deig and landscape architect Sydney King said some of the top features in the surveys were outdoor dining spaces, wider sidewalks, decorative pavement and maintaining the boulevard strip on Chicago Boulevard.
Because they’re not able to widen the sidewalks on Chicago Boulevard without narrowing the roadway, the plan calls for widening the sidewalks on Evans Street, King said. That mostly is done through creating a trail down to Russell Road.
Decorative pavement would be used at the intersection of Evans and Chicago. Changing from the standard asphalt to a brick-like appearance should have a calming effect on traffic, King said, as it will be a visual cue to drivers that they are in an area with pedestrians.
JPR also consulted with the Southern Michigan Railroad on how to work its right of way into the plan. The plan shows the rail crossing at the Boulevard going through the decorative square at the four corners.
At the Pearl and Chicago intersection, the plan calls for green space next to the First Presbyterian Church and at the lot where the Bakers Bros. service station was. The stretch of the Boulevard just west of Pearl would be three lanes with one through lane in each direction and a center left turn lane for eastbound traffic. The space between the sidewalks and road on each side would be widened before returning to two westbound lanes in front of the church with the grass strip dividing the east and westbound lanes.
Decorative pavement also would link the sidewalks along the Boulevard, Pearl and Ottawa to the downtown parking lots. The alleys and spaces behind the downtown buildings also would be redesigned with decorative pavement and spaces for outdoor dining.
Two public restroom buildings are planned. One would be just north of the Boulevard on the west side, next to Sandoval’s ATA Black Belt Academy where there currently are some parking spaces.
“So while we are losing a few parking spaces there, we are gaining a public restroom really close to all those businesses,” King said.
Deig said there is an overall reduction of about 25 parking spaces, mostly to add the two restroom buildings. The plan says there would be 515 parking spaces.
The second restroom building would be across the street from the Market on Evans. It would be next to a new pedestrian area that has space for public art or perhaps a Christmas tree as well as some seating. The gravel lot at the corner of Evans and Logan also would be paved.
Connecting that parking lot with the market would be a raised pedestrian crossing, again using decorative pavement. Having that crossing be raised a bit would help slow traffic, King said.
Other improvements include more power and water hookups and an audio system that could be split into two zones, depending on the needs.
The plan prioritizes which areas to work on. The first priority is repaving the northeast parking lot, Deig said. That is being designed. The next priority would be the market, then moving to the other parking lots and the backs of the buildings. Having those sidewalks and parking areas addressed before working on the Boulevard itself could help businesses maintain access for customers while construction is taking place on the Boulevard. Then work could move out of the heart of downtown along the Boulevard and Evans.
Council member Ron Wimple described the plan as “a wish list, if money wasn’t an issue.”
“This gives us a roadmap to attempt to follow,” he said. “I think the cost is very, very high, and you know the longer we wait, the higher that price is going to be. But it gives us a base to work from.”