Street and Sidewalk Work Restriction in Snider Plaza

The northern two blocks of Snider Plaza will be excluded from the scope of work on sidewalks and streets in University Park, contingent on where the municipality has obtained permission from the property owners to conduct construction.

Areas Restricted From Sidewalk

In particular, the following areas will be restricted from sidewalk and street construction: Daniel Avenue to Rankin Avenue, Milton Avenue to Hillcrest Road from Snider Plaza, Rosedale Avenue to the alley from Snider Plaza, and Daniel Avenue between the two alleys.

Additionally, an easement will be replaced on a section of Westminster Avenue between Snider Plaza and Hillcrest.  With the exception of Councilman Bob Meyers, every council member authorized the construction restrictions on August 15.

Barron stated that in order to replace public infrastructure on private property at the northern terminus of Snider Plaza, the city required 24 authorizations. Of those, ten were granted, but nine remained unanswered. Denials for the remaining four compelled the municipality to restrict the project's scope.

Anticipated are the final project plans within the following forty days. Barron estimated that the duration of the undertaking would be approximately twenty-four months.

Barron explained, "This will be phased construction, which means we will complete it block by block over four to six months; however, the entire undertaking from the Daniel Hillcrest intersection to Lovers will take approximately twenty-four months."

Reconstruction Plan For Sidewalks

In July, the city council approved a concept plan for the reconstruction of the sidewalks and streets, which eliminated two green spaces that were initially proposed to accommodate 34 parking spaces. 

To preserve parking spaces, the June-approved concept site plan by city council members eliminated a linear green space along the 3400 block of Rosedale Avenue and a gathering space at the intersection of Snider Plaza and Rosedale Avenue, which had crosswalk connections to the Rosedale Green and a paved area. 

The revised plan was ratified on July 19, except for Bob Meyers, who abstained from voting in favor of ratification. The proposal also includes the parking lot located at 3420 Rankin Avenue within the Snider Plaza zoning.

Based on a survey funded by Snider Plaza merchants, according to Juliana McIlveene, an employee of Logos Bookstore, it was determined that eighty employees park in the garage, 214 parks behind their building, 232 park in the plaza, and 192 park in the surrounding neighborhood, excluding Hilltop employees.

McIlveene remarked, "Most shocking is the fact that there are so many employees in the plaza that they occupy more than half of the in-plaza parking because they have nowhere else to go." "Customer parking will undoubtedly benefit from the conquest of employee parking."

The co-owner of Logos Bookstore in Snider Plaza, Susan Lewis, called for additional measures to be taken, such as extending the parking program and adding more employee parking spaces. Our study's results indicate that about 800 employees at Snider Plaza will require parking in the future." "We need to provide employees with a parking area," Lewis explained.

Snider Plaza florist Angela Farris wants the surface improvement project scaled back instead of funding parking garage construction. "Let's acquire parking spaces, allocate funds, and formulate an impactful plan," Farris suggested.