Work begins on Cincinnati Street pedestrian project

After Thursday’s community meeting on the University Pedestrian Improvements around Cincinnati Street, the project has officially started.

Saturday’s groundbreaking marked the beginning of the construction project which should be finished by the end of the year.

Calming traffic and protecting pedestrians and cyclists are only a few of the things the city hopes to do with the sun city lights projects.

The first, the University Pedestrian Improvement, is even planned to add dozens of parking spaces to one of the districts where it’s hardest to park.

Work is starting on the University Pedestrian Improvement, work for the rest of the year which will end with new bike paths, archways and more lighting for pedestrians to move around, all in an effort to get more people to visit the Cincinnati entertainment district and get El Paso moving.

“We want to make it better for pedestrians by better sidewalks, by better lighting, and we’re also connecting to the glory road transfer center to encourage people to park in that area,” explain Peter Svarzbein, the District 1 city representative.

“It’s a first of one in ten projects envisioned called sun city lights…Promoting heritage tourism and also thriving walkable city centers,” said Laura Foster, chief architect for the city’s capital improvement department.

To help businesses in the area during construction the city is offering free parking at the glory road garage for the first hour, and only a dollar afterward, hoping to bring more people to come and visit the restaurants and bars in the area while normal parking is broken up.

“One of the goals of this project is to really take a holistic approach to some of the challenges in this neighborhood and turn it into an opportunity,” Svarzbein said.

With the cincinnati project blazing the way for similar projects around the city and the trolley passing through the area officials hope it’ll diversify how the city gets places.

“It’s an all-in investment for not just vehicles but for the people who use these streets, the businesses along these streets and investors who might look at the areas,” Foster said.

The special price parking, free for an hour and a dollar for every hour afterward only applies to normal days and not special events.