Community Offers Suggestions On Corridor Improvements
Nearly 50 people were part of a discussion about what the A Ave and Market St. corridors should look like, and how best to help build a way-finding system in Oskaloosa.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Corridor improvements have been a topic for the community for more than a decade.
The issue is how to improve the main corridors, A Avenue and Market Streets, in order to present a more pleasing appearance to those entering the community via those routes.
On Tuesday, members of the community, city officials, and representatives from RDG Planning and Design met at the ISU Extension office in a first step of developing a plan to help improve those locations.
The meeting also helped the design group further discuss and develop the way-finding signage plan for the community.
Oskaloosa City Manager Michael Schrock said that the meeting is to “take a look at what we have today, and try to improve it”, when it comes to the corridors. Schrock explained that the Oskaloosa City Council has given direction to clean up the corridors, to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Schrock added that there is a good starting point, but there are things that could be done to make it better. Those things that will be done to make it more aesthetically pleasing were part of the discussion on Tuesday night. The discussions by residents to the design staff will help drive what those improvements may look like in the future.
Some of the improvements could be more trees or green space along the corridor, lighting or banners, just to name a few. “Of course, a big part of this is creating the signs,” says Schrock.
Oskaloosa’s main artery, A Avenue, wasn’t always the major traffic carrier through town. Highway 92 used to travel along High Avenue, and was eventually moved north one block around 1960.
The increased width of the road on both Market and A Ave have created building set-back issues over time. It has also lead to issues like little distance between sidewalks and the highway, and green space between the highway and buildings.
As the size of vehicles increased, and the demand for more space on the roadway, little consideration was made for pedestrian or biking along the corridor. The by-pass may help relieve some of the congestion on the roadways in town, therefore increasing opportunities for creation of sidewalks and bike lanes. Those improvements could potentially include a more tree-lined route through town.
“North Market is a perfect example. Look at the historical pictures of North Market and South Market. The tree-lined streets and really beautiful front yards. Those got eaten away by the highway,” Schrock stated of what was deemed necessary improvements at the time.
“As those by-passes are considered, we’re actually looking to go back to what was done years ago,” added Schrock.
Those improvements along the corridors could be a part of the complete streets policy that the City of Oskaloosa has been developing. Complete streets are designed for multiple modes of transportation, including biking, walking and vehicle traffic.
“We’re trying to look at all of that, not just one little piece of it,” Schrock added.
Any planned changes along the state highways, which are also A Avenue and Market Street, will also need to be coordinated with Iowa Department of Transportation, who will ultimately be a part of the conversation involving any changes in those areas. “We want to do what is desired by the Oskaloosa residents,” says Schrock.
