City plans enhancements for reconstruction of Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue

WORTHINGTON — Two roads in downtown Worthington could see some major improvements when they’re resurfaced, including bump-outs with seating, pavement in contrasting colors, bike racks and planters.

The Worthington City Council began considering the options for reconstruction of Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue between Ninth Street and 11th Street during a special meeting Wednesday, and while no final decisions were made, they did seem to reach at least one consensus: no trees planted within the boulevard itself.

That’s not because of some sort of anti-tree sentiment, but because the salt spread over downtown intersections in the winter to prevent crashes leads to runty trees with anemic-looking foliage — a problem the City of Worthington has already been dealing with on 10th Street.

With trees off the list, city officials focused on other options to beautify the sidewalks.

“We’d like to see some type of decorative light pole, kinda like we have on 10th Street, where we can put the white light garland Christmas decorations on, and whether we have hanging flower baskets or whatever — but something to make those streets, dress them up a little bit more and make them look a little nicer down there,” said Todd Wietzema, Public Works director.

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Several different arrangements of the streets themselves were examined as well. Currently, they mainly have 10 feet of sidewalk on both sides of the street, plus angled parking on one side, parallel parking on the other, and drive lanes going in opposite directions.

Two other options were considered. The first is to maintain that configuration for vehicles, but divide each of the sidewalk spaces between a 6-foot sidewalk and a 4-foot boulevard with trees — or non-tree decorative options, as any trees planted there would risk being salted to death.

The other option presented included 10-foot sidewalks on both sides as well as 5-foot boulevards with trees or other decorative options, but removed the angled parking, leaving only parallel parking on both sides of the roads.

“I think we should keep the angled parking, because there’s a lot of people who don’t like parallel parking,” Councilwoman Amy Ernst said, noting that some people will drive around the block until they can find an angled spot rather than trying to parallel park.

Representatives from Bolton and Menk, who were presenting the options, said they’d heard similar comments from the city.

In lieu of trees, the boulevard could potentially include planters filled with flowers and plants, benches for pedestrians in need of a rest, and at corners, even tables and chairs for people eating or snacking downtown.

The designs included bump-outs — curved, protruding corners that shorten the walk across the street for pedestrians — on Ninth Street and 10th Street, but ordinary curved corners at 11th Street, which has less of a pedestrian-centric, downtown feel. Those bump-outs would offer plenty of space for a few sets of tables and chairs.

They would also encourage people to use the crosswalks, said Steve Schnieder, city engineer.

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Possibilities for the boulevard also included decorative paver stones, but city officials agreed that while pavers are attractive, they also shift over time due to the freeze-thaw cycle, and leave an uneven surface for walking and rolling. Instead, they favored colored pavement to distinguish the boulevard from the walking space.

Intersections would also be paved, with crosswalks in a different color, allowing city workers to spend less time painting and repainting crosswalk lines over the years.

While the council discussed ease of movement for both pedestrians and drivers, as well as maintaining a welcoming aesthetic, practical elements were also favored.

City Councilman Chad Cummings advocated for adding more trash cans on the streets, and Councilwoman Alaina Kolpin pointed out how few places for bike parking there are in that area. Wietzema suggested that any planters or benches be removable, so they don’t block snow and ice removal efforts in the winter.

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