Making a connection

City plans for a renovation project connecting community to education, exercise, and eating

The Painesville Planning Commission has chose Environmental Design Group to begin a Complete Street and Connectivity Plan of the Washington Street Corridor through a grant from Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

The city applied for a Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative grant which provided the funds to look into future plans for Washington Street and downtown recreation areas, according to City Manager Doug Lewis.

“Lake Erie College is an important part of the city of Painesville,” Lewis said. “We want to provide a connection from the college to Recreation Park and the downtown area.”

The purpose of TLCI grants are to improve livability in Northeast Ohio communities and reinvest in underutilized or vacant properties by developing multimodal transportation systems, like sidewalks, bikeways and roads.

The grant to Painesville provided funding for the current planning stage of the project, which involved professional advisors and public input. Environmental Design GroupProject Manager Ben McKeeman said that going forward a TLCI implementation grant can be pursued following the planning study based on recommendations by his company.

“It was great to partner with the city of Painesville, NOACA, our stakeholder team, and especially the city residents throughout the project,” McKeeman said. “Even though COVID slowed things down, we were still able to get amazing participation and feedback from everyone through all of our digital meetings.”

He explained the connectivity plan will not only connect Lake Erie College with Recreation Park but will connect the key areas of downtown businesses, restaurants and civic institutions to the Washington Street Corridor.

The current layout of Washington Street, with 17-foot lanes, invites street parking and encourages faster driving because the curbs are not as close, McKeeman explained.

“As part of the planning process, we’ve repurposed the existing curb to curb to have 12-foot lanes in both directions with sharrows to allow for additional bike signage, which are double arrows just letting drivers and bikers know to look out for each other,” he said.

EDG is recommending the southeast side of the street receive curb bumpouts with a small parking area, benches, green space and lighting, which will also encourage slower traffic flow, McKeeman explained.

“We wanted to build on the streetscaping that’s been expanded downtown,” he said. “We’re taking what works now and looks great downtown and bringing it to Washington Street.”

Taking careful consideration of Painesville’s color schemes and branding, EDG wants to create “that front door welcoming experience,” McKeeman said.

“I think the final recommendations the team and the public decided on will be instrumental in transforming not only the Washington Street Corridor, but also elevate the vibrancy of downtown for residents, visitors, and the students of LEC,” he said. “We look forward to continuing working with the City of Painesville in pursuing funding and implementation strategies to move these recommendations to fruition.”

Planning Commission member Carol Fleck said the unified look of the new design “speaks to the historical nature” of the Downtown Painesville Historic District.

The next Painesville Planning Commission meeting will be held Feb. 11.

PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL BEAULIEU — THE NEWS-HERALD Recently added to the National Register of Historic Places, Historic Downtown Painesville offers business and access to government offices housed in carefully preserved buildings.

Lake Erie College students and staff are just steps away from access to businesses in Historic Downtown Painesville along the Washington Street Corridor