Parts of downtown left in the dark

YOUNGSTOWN —A West Federal Street improvement project has portions of one of downtown’s busiest streets closed to parking and in the dark, but it won’t adversely impact entertainment events in the area.

That’s according to Phil Kidd, the city’s downtown director of special events and special projects.

Most events, including Saturday’s Jonesfest, are held on and near Federal Street, he said. But they aren’t held between Fifth Avenue and South Phelps Street, the construction area.

The West Federal Street improvement project is expected to be finished by August.

While the project is ongoing, parking is banned on that portion of West Federal Street and exterior city lights are out.

Because of that, Kidd strongly encourages people coming downtown to park elsewhere, pointing out that there are numerous surface lots and on-street spots east of the construction site.

“There’s enough parking to accommodate people without them having to park west of Phelps,” he said.

Jonesfest is expected to attract about 2,500 people. The event starts at 2 p.m. Saturday and ends 12 hours later. It features 13 local bands with two stages: one inside Barley’s, 21 W. Federal St., and the other outside on West Federal between Phelps Street and Wick Avenue.

For the complete story, read Friday’s Vindicator or vindy.com