The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY MIKE McCARTHY | MIRROR EDITOR — The city of Maumee’s uptown streetscape revitalization project has made massive strides in recent weeks as construction workers race the calendar in an earnest attempt to get as much work done as possible before the snow flies and the construction season comes to an end.
West Dudley Street
In the past two weeks, much of the work has been centered on the 100 block of West Dudley Street with the creation of several new parking spaces located in front of and adjoining Jacky’s Depot at the corner of West Dudley and Allen streets.
For the sum of one dollar, the city has purchased the land surrounding the footprint of the Jacky’s Depot building with the goal of creating public space at that intersection for the benefit of the Maumee community at large. Plans call for a new patio area, landscaping, public seating and festive catenary outdoor lighting to make the area attractive and family friendly.
Eight new diagonal parking spaces have been created on Allen Street directly in front of Jacky’s Depot with another 10 in the immediate vicinity just around the corner on West Dudley Street. Those spaces will soon be joined by at least 20 other newly created diagonal parking spaces located on the south side of West Dudley Street between Conant and Allen streets.
Work will soon begin on the creation of several new diagonal parking spaces on the north side of the 100 block of West Dudley Street, located adjacent to the customer parking lot of KeyBank and close in proximity to the intersection of Conant Street.
Several new diagonal parking spaces will be constructed in that area with a few additional parallel parking spaces being created on the west side of the KeyBank parking lot approach drive on West Dudley. From that point, the parallel parking spaces will continue all the way toward the intersection of Allen Street.
While all of that is going on, several other uptown side streets have been getting maximum attention in the past few days with much work scheduled to be completed during the last few remaining weeks of the construction season.
Following is a summary of the work that has been completed to date and the projects that are scheduled for completion before winter arrives, as well as those projects that will be undertaken in the spring:
West John Street
The 100 block of West John Street has been completed with the creation of 13 new diagonal parking spaces on the north side of the street and another 19 on the south side of the street, including one handicapped parking space. All the parking spaces have been striped and are available for public use.
East John Street
The 100 block of East John Street is nearly finished with the approach drive to the new municipal parking lot completed.
The only remaining work on East John Street is the reconstruction of the two corner crosswalks at the intersection of Gibbs Street to meet ADA compliance requirements.
A few parallel parking spots were also created on the street near the side of the new Uptown Fondue + Wine Bar, located at 422 Conant St. The new restaurant is presently undergoing a time-consuming building inspection process and its opening date is uncertain at this time.
East Dudley Street
Other than tree removal and the painting of light poles, no work has been started on the 100 block of East Dudley Street.
Several new diagonal parking spaces are planned for both sides of the street between Conant and Gibbs streets. The project will begin in the spring and is scheduled to be completed by June 15.
East Wayne Street
Twenty-nine new diagonal parking spaces have been created on the south side of the 100 block of East Wayne Street. Three of those parking spaces are located near the vacant Monnette’s property and 26 of them are located directly in front of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and its adjoining property near Gibbs Street.
The north side of the 100 block has been completely excavated and several new diagonal parking spaces will soon be installed along the entire length of the street, interrupted only by the approach drive of the East Mews parking lot.
West Wayne Street
Other than the removal of several dead or incompatible trees in the spring, the only work that has been done on this street is the repainting of the light poles from a faded rust color to a classic black.
Due to the complexity of this segment of the uptown area, work will be delayed until spring. New electrical conduits and irrigation systems, along with the significant construction challenges that will be presented by the number of remaining trees, will likely make this a lengthy project.
East Broadway Street
The 100 block of East Broadway Street has been completed with the installation of eight parallel parking spaces on the north side of the street and 21 diagonal parking spaces, including two handicapped spaces, on the south side of the street near the St. Joseph Community Center.
Eastward, in front of the church, new parallel parking spots have been installed to accommodate school buses, TARTA transport vehicles, vans and hearses.
East Broadway Street
The 100 block of East Broadway Street features 16 new diagonal parking spaces located directly in front of Union School, including one handicapped parking space.
On the north side of the street, a major construction project will soon begin with the excavation of the high natural embankment and the creation of several new diagonal parking spaces.
A retaining wall will be constructed along East Broadway to accommodate the additional area needed for the parking spaces.
East Harrison Street
The 100 block of East Harrison Street has been completed, with a new road surface and updated ADA-compliant intersections installed. The road has been resurfaced all the way to the White Street intersection.
A T-shaped turnaround area near the dead end at Conant Street allows vehicles to turn around on East Harrison Street without pulling into residential driveways.
West Harrison Street
The 100 block of West Harrison Street still needs a T-shaped turnaround bump-out area near the dead end near Conant Street. That project may be delayed until spring.
West William Street
The 100 block of West William Street will see 23 new diagonal parking spaces created near the Maumee Indoor Theater. Work is expected to take place in the spring.
The project is being delayed until Toledo Edison removes a power line over Conant Street. Once the line is relocated, a safe path will be cleared to allow for the construction of one of the four uptown Maumee arches.
Allen Street
Eleven new parking spaces will be constructed on Allen Street near the St. Joseph Community Center in the 100 block of West Broadway. The work is expected to take place in the spring.
Arches Over Conant
Two of the four new arches that will rise over Conant Street are currently in production.
The first arch is expected to be ready for installation sometime in November, according to Maumee city administrator Dr. Patrick Burtch.
Conant Street will have to be closed in both directions for a few hours on the day the arch is installed due to safety concerns.
River Road Repaving
The repaving of River Road went much faster than many people expected. Workers were able to repave the badly worn road surface from Gibbs Street all the way to Michigan Avenue in approximately two weeks.
Along the way, work crews also updated the crosswalks for ADA compliance in a quick and efficient manner.
The remainder of River Road will be completed in the spring, unless Maumee City Council is able to find a way to extend the project before the weather makes it prohibitive.
