New curbs have been poured for the drastically narrowed Scott Avenue south of Broadway leading to the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave.
The curbs are the only new element in place right now for a new streetscape that will bring wide sidewalks plus trees, bushes and benches by early May.
The narrowness of the future street between the curbs is an optical illusion, given that the new Scott Avenue will sit within the spacious 48-foot wide street surface of the old Scott Avenue.
“When I saw it, I couldn’t believe how narrow it is, but it’s 22 feet,” said Fran LaSala, assistant to the city manager.
The narrower driving surface will make way for 8-foot-wide sidewalks that are flanked on both sides with 8- to 10-foot strips of trees and potted plants along with early 20th-century period light posts and occasional benches.
“We’re pouring curbs and sidewalks and we have some light poles up,” LaSala said. “We’re still shooting for early May” to finish Scott Avenue.
The $4.8 million project being done by Archer Western Contractors is funded with Rio Nuevo tax increment financing, LaSala said.
The Scott Avenue streetscape work is the first phase of downtown infrastructure work that will move to Congress Street in coming months to replace and move utility lines beneath the street to make way for streetcar tracks.