VALDOSTA —
The City of Valdosta has budgeted funds from the proposed seventh cycle of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for the renovation of Central Alley and possibly the installment of a small park in the Toombs Street parking lot.
The Main Street Office continues developing the downtown area according to the master plan adopted two years ago, said Main Street Director Amanda Peacock. Under this plan, the city has used SPLOST funds and other sources including grant money from the State of Georgia to revitalize alleys, sidewalks and storefronts.
Bennie’s Alley was one such project, and the traffic along the paved footpath continues to prove it was necessary for the continued improvement in the popularity of Downtown Valdosta.
“When they originally did the Streetscapes downtown, people didn’t walk down the alleys,” Peacock said. “They were overgrown, and people were a little afraid to walk down them.”
Main Street added lighting, landscaping and seating, which allowed citizens to feel more comfortable walking the streets, Peacock said. The city plans to do the same with Central Alley, another paved service alley that shows potential.
“We’d like to add more outdoor seating, maybe balconies,” Peacock said. “It is a service alley now; it receives deliveries for the most part, but it’s still very pedestrian-friendly. What we would like to see is something where, should the farmer’s market grow on the weekends, they could use the alley to expand.”
The renovations would include relocation of an industrial trash compactor, the addition of lighting, landscaping and possible pavestone installation. Utility infrastructure is already present.
Another project coming down the pike is the installation of a small park in the parking lot along Toombs Street that services Bank of America, Bleu Pub and other businesses. The island of parking spaces in the center of the lot will be removed to make way for landscaping and the construction of an outdoor stage.
“There’s parking in other places,” Peacock said. “We would be taking up these parking spaces and building this Toombs Street plaza, putting a stage there so there’s a place to hold events. It kind of brings it all together.”
Parking would be available nearby in partnering businesses’ lots. Parking is not an issue downtown, said Peacock, who added, “we have a lot of free public parking, which a lot of places don’t have.”
However, these are just ideas for the improvements, which are not set in stone. If SPLOST VII passes during the Nov. 6 election, city organization would meet to discuss the best course of action within the greater scope of the Main Street master plan, said Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson.
“It’s something where you convert unused space that is dead into usable and economically viable space,” Hanson said. “You take something that’s just taking up space, and turn it into something. That’s the point, to create more and more interest in downtown.”
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