Q&A: Iowa City’s interim city manager talks 2016 downtown Streetscapes project

Geoff Fruin, Iowa City's interim city manager, was asked about Iowa City's major overhaul of two downtown blocks of Washington Street this summer.

What has been your involvement with the Streetscapes Project?

After the Iowa City Downtown District was created, the city and the business community discussed our shared vision for the future of downtown. We recognized we had infrastructure challenges and we committed to a comprehensive planning process to ensure future investments were well-coordinated and reflected the changing demands on our public spaces.

What is the overall scope of this summer's work on Washington Street?

The Washington Street project involves the complete reconstruction of the roadway and sidewalks between the intersections with Clinton and Linn streets. The project will upgrade underground utilities, increase the width of sidewalk zones, distribute parking on both sides of the street, enhance accessibility, create healthier planting areas and modernize lighting, seating and other public amenities.

How does the Washington Street work fit into the larger Streetscapes Project? Why is this portion of work taking place first?

In 2013 we experienced a major water main break on Washington Street that caused significant damage to nearby businesses. While we addressed the immediate break in the water main, we realized that its condition was very poor and susceptible to further breaks.

This, coupled with poor sidewalk conditions, elevated the project to top-priority status. The Washington Street project will set the tone for future projects. It is fairly simplistic design that places a greater emphasis on pedestrians, provides flexibility to better accommodate special events, creates larger areas for trees and plantings to thrive and includes opportunities for festive seasonal lighting.

All of these goals will be carried over into future streetscape projects.

Some downtown business owners have expressed concerns over the project's impact on businesses. How has the city worked to address these concerns?

The business community has been very supportive through this project. They have very valid concerns as the project will be disruptive at times this summer.

However, I have been blown away with how they have embraced the project. They are coordinating interactive public art and hosting unique special events that will attract even more people than usual downtown.

The city has provided financial assistance to support these efforts and made discounted parking and transit passes available to businesses. The businesses know the best ways to market to the community, so we are helping provide resources and physical space and letting them go to work on their plan.

Our primary focus is to complete the project on time while minimizing surprises.

What will the next phase of the Streetscapes Project entail?

The next two priorities in the master plan are the Pedestrian Mall and Dubuque Street between Iowa and Washington streets. Both of those areas have deferred maintenance challenges and present great opportunities to strengthen the public experience.

We also will be looking hard at smaller-scale projects that improve pedestrian and bicycle access in the corridor. Those projects could include road diets and the conversation of one-way streets to two-way.