Changes in store for Hillsboro downtown
New lights, curbs, streets in store
Say goodbye to all the cracked pavement, broken curbs, and uneven streets that you find downtown.
You may even say goodbye to the stoplight.
Get ready: Hillsboro's central business district will get quite a facelift this year.
As part of the city's capital improvement plan, three segments of Main Street are scheduled for revitalization. The segments will be worked on over the next three years.
This year's section is right at the heart of downtown. It's a segment of Main Street that stretches from Central National Bank on the north to A Street on the south. It also includes Grand Street from just past Dale's and Daylight Donuts on the west to the city building on the east.
The project is estimated to cost $655,000 by the time it's finished.
Why the high cost? Because this is no mere re-paving — it's new streets, new street lights, new curbs, new crosswalks, ornamental brickwork, and an entirely new stoplight — if a stoplight is used at all.
Here's a list of what's in store for downtown Hillsboro in the coming months, including the improvements you won't see.
— Streets — every foot of roadway within the construction area will be torn apart. Streets that are higher in the center of the road will be leveled more to provide better drainage. The amount of that center "crown" area could be reduced by eight inches, depending on the location, said City Administrator Steve Garrett.
New lines for diagonal parking will be painted in, along with a new double yellow center line down the middle.
— Water lines — all water lines will be replaced along the street construction.
— Curbs — all curbs will be replaced and made to a uniform height of six inches.
Up past the curb, the construction will come in six feet toward the sidewalk. The rest of the concrete that continues up to the building is the business owner's responsibility.
— Lights — all existing street lights will be removed and new ones installed. The new lights will be more of a vintage style, found in many American downtowns. They'll be spaced closer together than the current lights.
The city hasn't chosen the exact style of light yet, but they are leaning toward the lights with an "arm" that extends over the street and the actual light at the end of it. Mayor Delores Dalke has said she likes the vintage lights with no "arm," just the light globe at the top. Another option would be a light with two globes at the top instead of one.
Another item to consider: whether or not the lights would have a spot to hang banners.
City officials have also discussed installing power outlets at the base of the lights — that way, vendors at the Arts and Crafts Fair can plug in any electric-powered items.
— Decorative brick — a line of red brick will run along each street, behind the curb. Also, everywhere there is a light, a square of bricks will be put at the base of the light.
— Intersections — each intersection will have painted crosswalks. Also, "stop bars" (thick white lines) will be painted behind the crosswalks in the right lane. This applies for the A/Main and First/Main intersections.
At the central intersection of Main and Grand, plans call for a stop bar to be painted behind each crosswalk in the intersection — that would be four stop bars, each in the right lane. Stop signs will be removed.
But that leads to another dilemma: What will the city do about the stoplight?
— Stoplight at Main and Grand — with the old lights gone, there will be no place to hang the wires that hold up the stoplight. And the city wants to get rid of those wires anyway, Garrett said.
Right now, the city hasn't decided on a solution for the intersection. Installing new traffic lights at each corner — with an "arm" extending over the road to hold the light box — could cost more than $100,000, Garrett said.
They're not ruling out a four-way stop.
— Handicapped accessibility — ramps will be installed at each corner of the intersections, and handicapped parking spaces will be painted in along the streets.
So when will all this take place? The city will take bids from contractors near the end of this month, and once they accept a bid construction will probably start within the month, Garrett said.
The construction will definitely affect downtown traffic. The work will be done a section at a time, with only one side of the street being worked on, he said. That way, one lane of traffic can always go through.
The city doesn't want the construction to affect downtown businesses, Garrett said. Customers can park on the other side of the street, and in front of the business, they can walk on sidewalk space about eight feet side.
The real problem will be finishing the Main/Grand intersection, he said. The city isn't sure how they'll handle traffic when that work is done.
