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Politics & Government

Streetscape Group Envisions Future of Downtown River Street

Batavia's Streetscape Committee on Tuesday night discussed the future of downtown River Street.

Batavia's Streetscape Committee and architect firm Altamanu foresee a downtown River Street where pedestrians and bikers are always given the right of way, not cars. 

This vision was discussed last week during the latest Streetscape Committee meeting, just one in a series of the group's gatherings devoted to a different downtown area and its future potential. 

River Street is a great place for a river district with its proximity to the Fox River and distinguished historic buildings, restaurants and bars, said John Mac Manus, design consultant of Altamanu.

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Forming this kind of river district includes creating a woonerf, a Dutch term for bikes, cars and pedestrians sharing the street. The street wouldn’t have curbs to separate those three groups, Mac Manus said.

Alderman Mike O’Brien thinks North River Street is a critical streetscape and should be the first street to get a face lift. Creating the River District will bring people out on the weekend to congregate, he said.

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O’Brien added that River Street needs to be a southbound one-way street. The street could include colored brick pavers and large planters, which slows down traffic and makes it safe for pedestrians to walk. The street would also be a good location for festivals.

“(The river district) creates an outdoor room focused on the river with paths and green spaces,” MacManus said.

Gateway to River Street                                          

Mac Manus proposed that the intersection of Wilson and River streets have signage signifying people have arrived downtown. Beautiful historic buildings and trees along the streets could frame the gateway into downtown. The gateway could be historic or contemporary. The idea is to create an attraction to bring people downtown, Mac Manus said.

On the southeast side corner of Wilson and River streets, Mac Manus suggested a larger sculpture on an urban scale to create an event capturing people’s attention wherever they are. Perhaps at the Wilson-River streets intersection there could be a speed table, a long speed hump with a flat section in the middle used as a traffic calmer, Mac Manus said.

North River Street or Parking Lot?

Currently, North River Street has no edge bleeding into parking lots. To fix this, Mac Manus recommended adding trees and widening sidewalks. In the future the city may also want to eliminate the overhead utilities, Mac Manus said. He also suggested a connection to the bike trail on North River Street.

Joi Cuartero, the new executive director for Batavia MainStreet, ended up moving to the city because she could see a lot of potential in the area. Cuartero is excited to see the improvements that could be made to downtown.

“(We’re) doing streetscape because (we) can’t wait for private sector, we’re in control of public space," City Administrator Bill McGrath said. "The downtown has to be a place where they want to be. Even if it took five years to get business ... at least you can walk downtown.”

The Streetscape Committee began to form last year in an effort to revitalize the image of downtown. The committee will review different sections of downtown to see how to bring out the best of each area.

The next Streetscape meeting on April 5 will review potential improvements to Wilson Street.

To read our recap of the Streetscape meeting about Batavia Avenue, click .

To read our recap of the Streetscape meeting about the Island Avenue-Houston Street area, click .

Nicole Nicolas keeps Streetscape Committee meeting minutes for Altamanu. She is an occasional freelance reporter for Patch.com.

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