A new project is driving forward that some business owners in downtown Rockford hope will steer more people to their doors. Here's the latest on a proposal to replace the Main Street pedestrian mall with a road.
Rockford aldermen approved the funding for the project Monday night, paving the way to tear out the concrete walking mall and lay down asphalt.
Many area business owners and city leaders say instead of attracting people to downtown, the walking mall just disrupts traffic. It's on Main Street, a block in each direction from West State. Now the plan is to tear it up and connect Main street as a two-way thoroughfare through downtown.
Aldermen will use capital improvements money, that was originally set aside for the Riverwalk. That project stalled when a lease agreement fell through.
The total project is expected to cost around two and a half million dollars. Nine hundred fifty thousand will come from the Riverwalk money. Aldermen have to find funding for the rest.
"This is a new project, one that was not originally planned for and I was concerned that we keep the commitments that we made to the voters on the roads that we're going to do and ask questions generally about how we're going to find the new money that would help pay for this, and where in that program we could divert money that would help to pay for it," says Rockford Alderman Jeff Holt.
Construction could begin this fall or in the spring on the south side of the Main Street mall. The north side will come later.
Part of the diverted Riverwalk money will also pay for improvements to a crumbling stretch of Rural Street.
Rockford aldermen also approved spending 370-thousand dollars for new security cameras to be placed in crime hotspots. They can also be moved to other areas that need monitoring when crime occurs.