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March 1, 2010

Changes being made to Streetscape design

By Liz McMahan



After several years of submitting and resubmitting plans, Fort Gibson’s Streetscape program may be getting closer to the construction stage, architect Mike Martin told the Town Board of Trustees last week.

The town has been awarded a grant though the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to replace downtown sidewalks and install new street lights.

It’s not been an easy process, Martin said.

“It seems like every time ODOT comes to town, they give us some new regulations to meet,” Martin said.

The latest requirements handed down are that sidewalks be elevated to the level of the business entry doors.

That means a 10-inch rise in the sidewalk at the old Boatright Grocery and six inches in front of Scott’s Pharmacy, Martin said. The rises are necessary in order for the town to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In order to meet the required elevations, portions of the new sidewalk will have to have a double curb, Martin said.

The Streetscape program regulations don’t take into consideration these renovations are being planned for a downtown that’s more than 100 years old, Martin said.

“It’s like we’re building a new highway on virgin ground,” he said.

Martin said handrails will be required in some of the areas where design changes are being made and he has recommended the scope of the project be narrowed to include only the areas that now have street lights.

Original plans had called for the renovations to go as far west as Sonburst Graphics and east to include part of the residential area.

Renovations in front of the graphics shop would put the store’s front door below sidewalk level and could force water into the front door, he said.

There are similar problems across the street and in the area to the east, he said.

Martin will submit his new designs to the Town Board of Trustees at a public hearing at 6 p.m. Monday at Town Hall.

It could take several weeks after the drawings are resubmitted to the state for them to get final approval and construction to begin, Martin said.



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