We know that some of you are fans of this project and others less so, but regardless, we can now really see the end in sight of the Complete Streets upgrade to Boulder City Parkway.
It’s always hard to tell what the finished product of a project this big is going to look like. You see the drawings and know the theory, but seeing it in real-life when it’s nearly done is always the test.
Things we like are the beautification to the entrance to town, the greenery, the statues approaching town depicting the history of Hoover Dam, and the pedestrian crosswalks are all a big ‘win’. I took a few crossings myself to see how I would feel, and have to say that they were very thoughtful to make the pedestrian experience a good one. The improvement and impression you now have when approaching Boulder City is definitely improved.
However, we also know that not all of the businesses were happy on the Parkway, in terms of how their spaces were impacted.
Charles Williams of B & J Auto Body, told us, “As far as the way it looks, they did a nice job, but some of the businesses had to give up some size of their operation.” The NDOT right-of-way is 16 feet of the back of the curb. Most business already had a planter area, which encompassed that 16 feet. Charles says, “In my area they actually narrowed the scope of the planter area, they reduced it to 12 feet, so they narrowed it some.” He tells us he lost a few parking spaces but this was part of the NDOT right-of-way. But parking is now much tighter, such as he can’t get a motor home in his area.
Woodchucks has been hurt somewhat in terms of ingress and egress using just the driveway, due to a center planter in front of their place. Already we have heard that several large vehicles have knocked into that planter in order to turn into that business.
Cokie Booth of BC Real Estate is thrilled with the results, and has been in favor of this all along. “The City has done a great job in keeping us up to date on the progress, and it’s ultimately been great. I love, love, love it!” she tells us.
As the dust settles on the project and it nears completion, there are likely to be a few adjustments. Turn lanes are being adapted. Some lanes have been reconfigured for the better to help traffic flow into and out of town more efficiently.
For those who are fiscally conservative, do note that the impact to the City budget was minimal, which we told you about in our early article HERE. The project cost $17.5 million, and the City of Boulder City has spent $596,780 on the project.
Signs are still up in the construction area as work is not finished, so do please remain cautious as you drive through this 25 mile-per-hour zone until work is complete.
