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Red flag on Railroad Square plan
New Port Richey leaders will wait a month after splitting over design plans and wanting more details.
By PHIL DAVIS
Published December 14, 2005
NEW PORT RICHEY - The Railroad Square project, the city's proposed million-dollar makeover to reconnect Nebraska Avenue with the historic steam locomotives of its 1920s heyday, came to a screeching halt Tuesday night as Community Redevelopment Agency members split on two design concepts.
The board voted 4-1 to table the issue for a month after members split, with the majority favoring a design that left two-way traffic on Nebraska. The City Council sits as the CRA board. Mayor Dan Tipton, council member Thomas Lackey, city staff and several local business owners supported a one-way design that left room for additional parking and larger sidewalks.
Everyone agreed they would like to see more specific plans and a more unified decision.
"You aren't going to have people walking around if you don't have parking," said Mike Ryan, a downtown business owner. "I can't tell what you all are doing. I want to see some detail. These drawings are so vague. You're getting ready to vote on some major changes here. I would like to see you do a little more preliminary work."
Said council member Matthew McCaffery: "I'm not sold on the one-way concept. I've never heard anything good about a one-way street. I'm down for the two-way thing."
"I don't think anyone is excited about the one-way streets, but it is a small area," Tipton said. "I think the only way you can get the additional space is by going one way."
The board will again take up the issue on Jan. 10.
The city set aside about $1-million of the CRA budget to redesign, landscape and add art deco design touches along Nebraska between Adams and Bank streets. The heart of the square would be the intersection of Nebraska and Grand Boulevard. The streetscape might eventually be extended east to Madison Street.
Ideas for the streetscape include landscaping, outdoor art features, murals and brick sidewalks. The city might also bring in an old railroad caboose and a shed made from the wood of the old Elfers train depot to give the project more railroad flair.
Once a final master plan is approved, the design and bid phases of the streetscape will take more than six months.
[Last modified December 14, 2005, 00:15:15]
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