Officials seek to ease upcoming construction inconveniences
The city of Davis is planning on making improvements to the section of Tim Spencer Alley that connects 2nd Street to 3rd Street between F and G streets.
On Nov. 8, Davis Downtown’s Visioning and Community Relations Committee organized a Brown Bag meeting at the Palm Court Hotel to discuss the Tim Spencer Alley Reconstruction Project and how it will impact downtown businesses as well as to have a conversation of how to best mitigate those impacts. City staff were on hand to provide an overview of the project plan and answer questions.
The purpose of the alley reconstruction project is to update utilities and resurface the alley. The closure of the alley during reconstruction will impact parking, utilities, deliveries, trash service and access.
The project will dig up and replace the water main, water services and water meter; rehabilitate the sewer by lining it and replacing sewer services and remove the existing asphalt pavement, replacing it with concrete.
Reconstruction is being done on the south end of the alley, which is sandwiched between businesses such as Davis Beer Shoppe and Woodstock’s Pizza on G Street and Bistro 33 and The Posh Bagel on F Street.
“Hopefully the project gets done quick so I don’t have to deal with the noise and lack of parking,” said Kristin Simon, who lives and parks her car near the alley in downtown Davis. “Once it’s finished though, it’ll be nice to see what they’ve done with an alley that has been sort of a sore spot for the neighborhood.”
The alley is going to be completely closed over the duration of the project. Construction is expected to occur from June 18 to Sept. 18 of 2018. Construction hours are going to be from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., beginning Sunday nights and ending Friday mornings. Parking will be relocated off-site.
“As with all construction work, there will be temporary disruption to daily routines, noise and dust and inconveniences,” said Terry Jue, the project manager and an associate civil engineer for the city of Davis. “We hope to minimize these inconveniences as best as possible by working with the business community, taking input and responding with a construction effort that minimizes impact to businesses.”
City staff visited and distributed project information and a questionnaire to surrounding businesses on Aug. 28, Aug. 30 and Nov. 2.
Davis Downtown Executive Director Stewart Savage indicated that the alley is more of a service alley for employee parking, deliveries and cleanups rather than a destination for pedestrians.
“The alley is not going to be an activated place,” Steward said. “It is utilized by local businesses rather than a spot for visitors.”
City representatives from the city manager’s office and Public Works Department plan to visit and speak individually with tenants and owners regarding the project. Group meetings may also be set up to discuss the project.
Written by: Dylan Svoboda — city@theaggie.org
