Pedestrian path, pocket park planned for downtown

A new pedestrian path and pocket park is being planned for north of the alley linking downtown with the Newton Public Library. In a combined effort of Newton Main Street and the City of Newton, a grass-covered area with a concrete path will make a new, visually pleasing way to get to and from important city attractions.

“This is great use of a space that did not serve much of a purpose before,” Newton Main Street Executive Director Andrew Bassman said.

The space is behind Uncle Nancy’s and Aleya and the idea came up during a Newton Main Street Design committee meeting. Terri Swank and Marilyn Terlouw volunteered to create a site plan and then submitted the plan to the city. The proposal was welcomed by the city as it had thought of using the space in a similar fashion in a previous long-term planning document.

“It’s a great example of a project that the city and Main Street have collaborated on. It is something that we can point to as an immediate success with Main Street and is going to be a great opportunity to connect the library to the downtown,” Director of Planning and Zoning Erin Chambers said. “As we grow housing in the downtown area and want to promote second story living, pedestrian connections to all of our facilities is something we want to see happen.”

The sidewalk portion will be a part of a larger sidewalk package that was approved in the city’s annual budget on March 2. Newton Main Street committed money from its budget to help pay for additional items including bushes, decorative grasses, benches and other potential items, but is open to donations or sponsorships for items as well.

Completion of the project has yet to be determined but should be done by the end of construction season this year.

“It’s currently in the design phase with our engineering department. They will put together all of the plan specifications, the thickness of the concrete, the location and should be out to bid here in the near future, one or two weeks or so,” Chambers said.

Bassman said Main Street is excited to see the different entities working together on a project for the city, specifically in the downtown area.

“Hopefully it is a successful model that we can use for future projects,” Bassman said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com