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Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Preston gets a spruce-up
By
Scheri Smith |
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| The section of Preston Highway
between Hess and Phillips lanes is getting dressed up during the first
phase of an improvement plan. The work will include redesigned sidewalks with elaborate brickwork, decorative streetlights, benches, plantings and artwork on a train trestle. The project is expected to cost $504,362 -- $370,193 from metro government, $14,169 from the Kentucky Exposition Center, $40,000 from Metro Councilman Jim King and $80,000 in state transportation enhancement funds. Gresham, Smith & Partners architectural engineers designed the first phase. EZ Construction was awarded the contract for the work, said Drew Shryock, assistant director of the Metro Development Authority. The next phase has yet to be designated or designed, Shryock said. The $80,000 in state money will be used to spruce up the train trestle and decorate it with aluminum panels with graphic designs, said Andrea Clifford, spokeswoman for the local office of the state highway department. The improvement plan -- the result of years of brainstorming and organizing -- was introduced in 2004 by the Preston Highway Planning Group, a coalition of neighbors, representatives from small cities and businesses. The plan was later fine-tuned by the planning group and the Metro Development Authority. It's important for people to see their ideas come to fruition, said Mary Rose Evans, a member of the planning group and a Parkway Village commissioner. "People came together and made some decisions to put some effort in the corridor and keep it from going down," Evans said. "It's exciting to see some physical evidence of that." Project renderings included options for artwork attached to the train trestle, but it remains unclear when that work can begin, Shryock said. Construction started in front of Gate 6 of the Kentucky Exposition Center because officials want to have that section completed next month in time for the state fair, Shryock said. But it's just the beginning of the community's efforts, said Liz Dumbaugh Martin, president of the Belmar Neighborhood Association and chairwoman of the planning group. Martin said the group wants to keep its momentum. She said the next steps are to designate the boundaries of the second phase and to attract businesses, such as sit-down restaurants, to the area. "I was really impressed with the partnership with the community and the city," Martin said. "I'm really happy for Preston." Reporter Scheri Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4133. |
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