DOWNTOWN YOUNGSTOWN City seeks public input on Federal Plaza plans

A public meeting on the plaza project is scheduled for today. Deadline for written comments is Nov. 16.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Remember Federal Street as a thoroughfare straight through the heart of downtown and beyond? It can be that way again.
Or, perhaps, with a twist or two. Say, a traffic circle instead of signals at the square, where Market Street and Wick Avenue meet and cross Federal. Maybe keep one block of Federal Plaza's pedestrian mall, rather than through traffic.
City officials are seeking public opinion before starting work next year on reopening most or all of Federal Street to traffic.
Open house: People can look at the proposals and give their opinions at a public open house from 6 to 8 p.m. today in city council chambers. People also can send written comments by Nov. 16. Drawings can be viewed in the city public works office until then.
The two main choices are a traffic circle or signals at the square. Federal, the main downtown street, again will cross the spot where Route 7 is Market Street to the south and Wick Avenue to the north.
Federal will have one driving lane each way and a lane on each side offering parallel parking. New sections of street will have the median and landscaping just like West Federal Street has now.
Angled parking will ring the new intersection, whether there are signals or a traffic circle.
Pedestrian mall: Either alternative features one option: keeping a block on the pedestrian mall, between Champion and Walnut streets.
Keeping the section of plaza leaves a spot downtown where people can gather, such as for parties or other events, but cuts off traffic. Drivers would have to use Boardman or Commerce Streets to get around the plaza.
Removing the whole plaza means a clear trip through downtown, as Federal once offered.
Carmen Conglose Jr., the city's deputy director of public works, would rather see all of Federal reopened, just like it used to be. Public expectation has been that the main drag would be fully reopened, he said. The traffic circle might create a nice green space, but the device can't handle as many cars, Conglose said.
He expects 50 to 100 people involved with downtown to offer their opinions tonight.
Alternatives emerged during preliminary design. Environmental impact is being studied now, and public comment is part of that process.
The project goes to final design once public input is in and city officials pick the top alternative.
Construction schedule: Construction is to start in mid-2002 and finish in the spring of 2003.
The federal government is funding 80 percent of the $2.08 million project, and the city, the rest. About $100,000 in the city's federal money has been set aside over the past three years. The city will come up with the rest in the next budget of federal money, Conglose said.
rgsmith@vindy.com