The City of Battle Ground will involve the community in its Old Town revitalization plan to turn the city’s downtown into a destination area.
The specified project area affected are the businesses, roads, and sidewalks of East Main Street, from North Parkway Avenue to Fairgrounds Park. The final plan will outline the need for vehicle and pedestrian traffic improvements. It will outline how businesses can improve storefront presentation and develop a parking strategy for businesses on Main Street.
Jason Graf from First Forty Feet, the consultant firm working with Battle Ground, explained at a public meeting last week that the project will take one year to outline the needs of Main Street and five years to implement the plan.
“The city is really committed to rebuilding Main Street, creating that walkable, desirable environment that’s really going to support businesses on the street today,” Graf said.
During the first overview meeting last week, traffic and parking took centerstage in discussion. Of the 35 people who attended, most were downtown business owners.
Other business owners shared that the current parking and incoming traffic on Main Street is a major concern. In a vote hosted by the consultants, the 35 attendees ranked parking improvements as the highest priority for Main Street, followed by filling vacant properties. Enhancing existing storefronts and sidewalk improvements followed in third and fourth place, respectively.
Most attendees who spoke asked about the alignment project for Southeast Grace Avenue, which connects to Main Street in east downtown. The project, which began preliminary engineering in 2017, will align Southeast and Northeast Grace avenues and establish a traffic signal intersection.
Jim Waldroupe, the manager of Layne’s Funeral Services on Main Street, said the awkward intersection of Main Street and the two Grace Avenues is a traffic concern because it does not require cars leaving downtown to stop.
“The stop sign on Grace Avenue and Main Street is a bizarre setting,” Waldroupe said. “Frankly, I want to go by and knock down that stop sign because … it creates a nightmare for businesses and especially (for) all of our clients.”
Mayor Troy McCoy told The Reflector the project is already paid for through city, state and federal funds and is awaiting permit approval. The road’s proximity to a salmon-bearing stream caused the project to fall under state permit requirements.
When asked about parking, Graf said the city might purchase vacant lots for Main Street business parking after the plan is developed. He mentioned a vacant lot north of Main Street’s Battle Ground Station food cart pod on Northeast First Street as an example.
“We’re not going to build out a parking lot on Main Street. I don’t think anybody wants that,” Graf said. “There’s not enough room to build out parking up and down Main Street. You want sidewalks, you want people sitting outside, you wouldn’t be able to put your product out on the street.”
City staff and consultants will discuss downtown improvements with business owners, residents and other stakeholders throughout the one-year planning period set to end in April next year. Graf said the team is tentatively planning to hold an open house for the project on June 12 at the Community Center in Fairgrounds Park.
