Middle Allen Road Improvement Project
For 2009, the final phase of the “Middle Allen
Road Improvement Project” nears completion. The
project is a comprehensive downtown improvement plan
to enhance the pedestrian and customer experience in
Allen Park. The final phase saw the installation of
new street furniture including retro-style street
benches, bicycle racks, and trash receptacles.
The first phase featured the centerpiece of the
project, which is a downtown pocket park at the
corner of White and Allen Roads. The park features a
12-foot clock tower surrounded by brick pavers,
patterned concrete, new landscaping beds, new
seating areas, and game tables. Additionally, new
retro-style street light fixtures were installed
along Middle Allen Road to match those on Park
Avenue.
The second phase included re-construction of the
downtown alleyway, which was a confusing vehicular
route with no parking and utility poles in the drive
lanes. The entire alleyway was redesigned with new
13-feet wide sidewalks directly adjacent to the
businesses and the utility poles were removed for
safety. The
4-block sidewalk system features new retro-style
street light poles, new street trees, new outdoor
furniture, and new dumpster enclosures. Importantly,
the project created new pedestrian friendly
perpendicular parking directly adjacent to many
businesses.
The third phase featured new pavement in the
heart of downtown along Allen Road along with
reconfigured parking spaces. The intent of the plan
was to “calm” traffic creating a more pedestrian
friendly environment for downtown. The parking plan
was designed by Glatting Jackson. The existing
parallel parking was removed in favor of new angled
parking spaces, which tripled the amount of
available parking on Allen Road and created a
substantially better pedestrian environment.
Fortunately, there was no tax increase or millage
increase involved. The entire project was funded
with DDA tax increment revenues and bonds. Over $4.5
million was spent on this project without raising
taxes. The DDA finds the project to be a positive
step for the economic development of downtown Allen
Park.
The downtown is also home to the newly renovated
Allen Park Community Center complete with meeting
rooms, exercise facilities and an ice skating rink.
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