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Traffic Congestion, Road Construction, & Improvement Projects


gman430

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Is it just me, or does the Haywood Rd stretch seem to be really small?

Could that be a misprint? The parking lot for Toys R Us is at the corner of Woods Lake/Woods Crossing and Haywood. What are they going to bury on one corner that cost 1 million? Something isn't right about that part of the article.

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  • 3 weeks later...

From the Greenville News:

A wealth of new and current projects on Greenville's major business streets are lining up for taxpayer funding as part of a city effort to boost corridors where commerce has mostly fallen off during the recession.

In 10 commercial areas such as Haywood Road and Pleasantburg Drive, where more than half of Greenville's gross sales take place, the city is eyeing more trees and fewer power lines, offering money to spruce up business fronts in specific areas and looking to collaborate with private development where it's poised to occur.

City figures released Monday show Woodruff Road as one of the few areas with an uptick in sales and business licenses since 2008, while Haywood Road remains the city's single biggest generator of business license fees and restaurant tax revenue outside of downtown, though sales have ebbed in recent years.

A more intense focus on such areas could mean power lines moved behind Augusta Road businesses, more landscaped islands citywide and stiffer enforcement when property owners chop off their trees in a practice sometimes called "hat-racking" or "crepe murder."

City officials say they are aiming for affordable options that will quickly change the look of key city business districts and attract more commerce, and that the projects will cause a funding shift in next year's budget.It's not yet clear where the money will come from.

Dana Souza, the city's parks and recreation director, is offering a detailed list of mostly aesthetic options -- trees, shrubs and mulch -- in areas ranked for things such as the presence of nearby redevelopment, neighborhoods and transit stations as well as the availability of special funding.

It's $5,000 for new Augusta landscaping here, $4,000 for Pleasantburg concrete work there.

The total cost for 28 locations adds up to $434,120, Souza said, adding that the new installations would incur additional maintenance costs and, at some point, more staff.

Mayor Knox White said the city needs to focus on conspicuous results, and he urged city officials to negotiate with businesses to upgrade their signs and facades in conjunction with power line burial or renovations.

Souza and Tracy Ramseur, a city development coordinator, said work on Haywood will soon include power line burial near Haywood Mall, a landscaped interchange with Interstate 385 and intersection improvements at Woods Crossing.

Ramseur noted the loss of big-box stores that have closed or moved to Woodruff Road in recent years.

Landscaped islands and better gateways with Verdae and the International Center for Automotive Research are in the plans for Laurens Road, where a longer term business drain has been in effect.

On Pleasantburg, the city is promoting a fund that offers up to $10,000 for business façade work, and White suggested new limits on auto dealers.

He also wondered aloud if the city could set aside money to help with demolition of buildings on East Stone Avenue. New lighting and landscaping on Wade Hampton Boulevard could alter that gateway, while an extended road and a focus on traffic could boost Woodruff Road.

The idea in some cases is to match city work with private development, such as a possible assisted living facility on Wade Hampton, the redevelopment of Claussen Bakery on Augusta, a redeveloped CrossPointe Plaza on Haywood and a new approach to Magnolia Park on Woodruff, according to city documents and officials.

Mike Murphy, the city's public works director, pointed to the redesigned intersection of Augusta and Mauldin Road and said the idea is to find small sections where improvement work can be done quickly with maximum impact.

City Manager John Castile said a positive reaction from City Council means next year's budget will reflect the priorities.

In regards to the above, is anyone hearing any info. or even rumors regarding the projects in bold? The Claussen Bakery project is interesting in light of the Scott Tower announcement. Also, the city recently rezoned some property between The Scott Tower and Mills Avenue. COuld be coincidence or perhaps not.

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New businesses on Haywood is great to see. Not to be a complainer, but I wish that greater changes were being made to this property. I'm sure the owners are looking for the cheapest way out, but this stands to offer the best start to the Haywood Rd Masterplan implementation-- yet, the repurposing of buildings will clearly result in keeping their distance from the street via a parking lot. Not much that can be done about it. Will be great to have the new life, but disappointing that we could potentially only take a baby step forward and not a great leap for the corridor.

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I saw a picture posted on Greenville Daily Photo of North Main Street. The road has been re-striped. I didn't know this was happening. It's not a complete make-over like we saw between Beattie and Academy, but just parallel parking on both sides, bike lanes, etc. I wonder if a complete re-do of the sidewalks and such have a timetable?

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I knew this was pending but didn't know it was underway/completed until I drove down it the other day. I fear that since this was done, that the SCDOT did not approve changes in the sidewalk. Perhaps the city didn't have the money, but I thought the plan was to do both simultaneously, provided the state approved.

Edited by vicupstate
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  • 1 month later...

I realize they have some more work to do on Brown Street, but does anyone know if they're going to take the string lights all the way down to Coffee and North Streets? The quick glance I caught today seemed that the lights were limited to the middle of the block. Is that true? I gotta go back by, but I was in a hurry and almost forgot to check it out.

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I realize they have some more work to do on Brown Street, but does anyone know if they're going to take the string lights all the way down to Coffee and North Streets? The quick glance I caught today seemed that the lights were limited to the middle of the block. Is that true? I gotta go back by, but I was in a hurry and almost forgot to check it out.

Noticed the same thing when I was at Brown Street having dinner on Saturday. Also, I thought it was no longer going to be an actual street and was going to transform the space into an outdoor area with tables and stuff? The updated look and the larger sidewalks do help though...

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I realize they have some more work to do on Brown Street, but does anyone know if they're going to take the string lights all the way down to Coffee and North Streets? The quick glance I caught today seemed that the lights were limited to the middle of the block. Is that true? I gotta go back by, but I was in a hurry and almost forgot to check it out.

Just in the middle going off the rendering in this article: http://www.journalwa...gets-a-makeover Should look more dense once they install the trees, benches, archways, etc. even though it would like nice to see the string lights extended all the way down to both ends of the block.

Edited by citylife
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Just in the middle going off the rendering in this article: http://www.journalwa...gets-a-makeover Should look more dense once they install the trees, benches, archways, etc. even though it would like nice to see the string lights extended all the way down to both ends of the block.

Thanks for the link! I guess they're just kind of acting the like the lights in the West End that are strung over the crosswalks to make people of aware of pedestrians... If I had the money, I'd love to redevelop the two story white office building at Coffee and Brown.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Why did they decide to spend so much money on something like this with only one retail space that fronts the block? Besides the jazz club all there is are two ugly parking lots, some outdated office space and brick walls.

One, the work was done in-house by city workers, so it was realtively cheap. Second, there are two other club spaces on the corner of Brown and North Streets that are obviously impacted. One of which has floors above ground level. Third, they obviously picked this block so that those parking lots and outdated office space would be reborn into something else. There is no reason that can't happen. Private money follows public investment.

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One, the work was done in-house by city workers, so it was realtively cheap. Second, there are two other club spaces on the corner of Brown and North Streets that are obviously impacted. One of which has floors above ground level. Third, they obviously picked this block so that those parking lots and outdated office space would be reborn into something else. There is no reason that can't happen. Private money follows public investment.

Funny you should mention this. DT's Tavern, one of the two clubs located on E. North St. at the corner of Brown St. mentioned above, has applied for a permit (special exception) to add outdoor dining service on a patio area at the rear of the building, which would essentially open onto Brown St. and take advantage of the new ambiance created by the district's soon-to-be-completed streetscape makeover. http://www.greenvill...NorthStreet.pdf In a Journal Watchdog item dated October 11 last, year, J.R. Tuscano, owner of DT’s Tavern, was quoted as saying he also plans a rooftop bar. Clearly we won't be waiting long to see the positive influence of these improvements.

Edited by RiverWalker
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey, it could look way worse than this. Just look at Church Street's "improvement" project for a real failure.

Failure on Church Street? The only thing that is not glamorous about Church Street's new look is the utility lines remaining, IMO. But in reality, still a huge improvement. I can't wait for the medians to be in and the landscaping to commence with the new lighting fixtures..

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I think Church Street will see a vast improvement and will be very attractive when all work is completed. That being said, all I can do is look at the power lines on my way to work every morning and wish they were going underground. I understand it is cost prohibitive and have accepted the fact that I will be looking at them for a very long time.

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I think Church Street will see a vast improvement and will be very attractive when all work is completed. That being said, all I can do is look at the power lines on my way to work every morning and wish they were going underground. I understand it is cost prohibitive and have accepted the fact that I will be looking at them for a very long time.

The BIGGEST improvement along Church Street will be development! The City is banking on development to follow this HUGE overhaul, and if it does, we should be in for a real treat!

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