The City and Borough of Juneau plans to reconstruct Front and Franklin streets downtown. It hosted an initial meeting last month to find out what the public wants and is still looking for suggestions.
Standing outside the new downtown Heritage Coffee Cafe, project manager Michele Elfers says it’s been 30 years since Front and Franklin streets have had major reconstruction.
“When you look at the sidewalks and you see the paving pattern with the joint lines that are about 10 inches apart, that was done in the ‘80s and it was meant to look like planks to give it a historic feel because this is the historic district, and so they thought, well, maybe it looks like wood planks,” Elfers explains.
She says those sidewalks are crumbling.
“It’s time for an upgrade. Here’s a little tripping spot right here. That’s probably 3/4 of an inch to an inch, which is not OK,” Elfers says.
As we walk down Franklin Street, Elfers points out gaps in the sidewalk, deteriorating curbs and uncomfortable pinch points.
“Right here, we’re in front of the Alaska Liquor Cache,” says Elfers, “and there’s a street pole – the base is almost two feet wide and then you have the corner of the building, and your walking space is maybe 4 feet.”
Elfers says the city is considering things like utility upgrades, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, parking, intersections, lighting, gathering spaces and art. She says a lot of it will be decided by the public.
It was the public after all that brought the project forward. Bruce Denton is one of the owners of the Senate Building on Franklin Street. He says the street reconstruction project stems from the Downtown Improvement Group, which formed almost a year ago.
“The issues go, I think, beyond homelessness. It’s just a general state of decay downtown, whether it’s property owners or business owners or city infrastructure or city maintenance or the whole gamut,” Denton says.
After Denton went to city staff and the Juneau Assembly about Front Street and Franklin Street reconstruction, the Assembly appropriated $100,000 for this planning stage of the project.
Denton says he wants to see downtown developed to its potential. He wants it to become a more family-friendly place.
“It just makes me really sad when people say, ‘I never come downtown. I can’t stand coming downtown.’ I think it’s a super dynamic spot and it’s the face of our city,” Denton says.
He says the city moving forward with the downtown street reconstruction will spur more improvements.
“If somebody paints their building then the neighbor feels like they should paint their building. There’s a lot of that going on. Just raising the level of care, whether it’s painting fire hydrants or crosswalks or fixing the curbs and the sidewalks that are covered with gum – it’ll feed on itself,” Denton says.
Another $250,000 will go toward design, Elfers says. How much the total project will cost hasn’t been determined.
“What we need to do is figure out what the community wants, make some decisions, recommendations to the Assembly and then the Assembly gets to decide what’s funded and what’s not and where it’s coming from,” Elfers says.
City staff will have recommendations and draft plans for comment at the next public meeting June 17.
