DOWNTOWN White lights, big city feel are goals for Federal Street

The new Federal Street is expected to offer free two-hour parking.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Claire Maluso envisions the new Federal Street lit up like the Great White Way.
Every night, year round, she wants to see white lights dotting the downtown stretch end to end just like the marquees that brighten Broadway in New York.
Maluso, the city's Federal Plaza director, appealed today for $25,000 or more in donations to make that happen.
White lighting was accomplished to a degree last year at holiday time.
The city bought sturdy seven-watt bulbs and had them draped over trees and shrubs with $25,000 in donations. The lights extended along Federal Street from the Western Reserve Transit Authority terminal at Fifth Avenue to the area beyond where the plaza ends at Walnut Street.
But that was before crews started tearing up the old pedestrian plaza to reopen the street to vehicle traffic.
Construction on other end
The cables, power sources and timers needed to light downtown's west end permanently were installed. Construction, however, prevented that from happening on the former plaza and in the east end, Maluso said.
The city needs more money to install cables, power sources and timers on the east end, she said. The work will help bring lighting to the monuments and flags on the central square, too, she said.
None of the work was part of the Federal Street reconstruction.
Maluso said Tony Lariccia of Boardman, who last year donated $18,000 to buy the lights, again will help her raise money for the project. Donations are being accepted from anyone in any amount, she said.
"It's everyone's city. We want everyone to help," she said.
Nothing new
Maluso didn't have any new information on the $2.3 million Federal Street project, scheduled for opening Dec. 15.
However, Jeffrey L. Chagnot, city development director, said he expects the new diagonal parking spaces on the street to be free for two hours at a time.
The parking would be monitored using handheld computers, like those in Warren, he said.
rgsmith@vindy.com