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JAMESTOWN – The redesign of West Third Street in Jamestown was discussed during a public meeting between local leaders and residents on Monday night.
Presenting the plans was assistant civil engineer Mark Roetzer, who says that the remodeling will include new underground electric lines to the homes, new candlestick light poles similar to the ones on Third Street, and around 40 new trees.
“We had a nice turn out, a lot of homeowners came,” explained Roetzer. “They had questions that were thought out and made sense, it was a very nice event.”
Last week the remodeling plan was presented to City Council, with the lawmaking group waiting on feedback from residents, like Third Street homeowner John Norelli.
“We are a community,” stated Norelli. “It’s good for us to really talk about what we want rather than just have the city do it.”
Among the top topics of the night was the plan for planting trees. Many also reminisced on the past, citing the Cathedral Oak Trees that were cut down last year.
“The week that we moved in they started cutting down the trees, and part of the reason why we loved the neighborhood so much to begin with was the beautiful trees so that was really heartbreaking for us,” explained Norelli.
City Arborist Dan Stone tells us that there is no replicating the grand Oaks that lined Third Street, but new trees of many different species planned for the area will bring a resemblance to what was there before.
“I think what we got here is a nice clean slate to work with,” stated Stone. “We will never be able to replace the canopy of what we had here on West Third Street with the Cathedral Oaks, and I think we can make a really nice gateway entrance into our city, and make it a nice warm welcoming spot once again.”
The next step, to find a contractor and get the project underway. This could take until the middle of May or June until construction starts, and even longer until they are finished.
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