Eric Teela/Teela Photography
The 5th annual Idiots Swimacross launches the fun at this year’s Slush Cup. More Spring Carnival images here
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Eric Teela/Teela Photography The 5th annual Idiots Swimacross launches the fun at this year’s Slush Cup. More Spring Carnival images here |
By Luke Smithwick
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Construction will begin this summer for the park and ride parking lot at the corner of Girdwood Place and Holmgren Place. It’s the first in a series of construction projects to develop the new Girdwood Town Site.
According to Chief Project Engineer Todd Jacobson, construction will start immediately after the Girdwood Forest Fair, which ends July 8.
The park and ride project is the first phase of the new Town Square project, which is in its final design phase. The ambitious project will provide much needed infrastructure in the new Girdwood Town Site, such as paved roads and parking lots, improved drainage along the roads, street lighting, pedestrian walkways, and a central location for Girdwood commuters to park their vehicles and board a shuttle for Anchorage.
“We haven’t searched for a transportation provider for Girdwood-Anchorage transport, but it would be a private contractor,” said John Gallup, head of the Girdwood Board of Supervisors. Gallup mentioned other ideas for the lot including a Girdwood town shuttle. According to the Municipality of Anchorage’s online commuter cost calculator, commuting Girdwood residents could save up to $11,000 a year in personal transportation costs if they chose to use a park and ride program.
“We have a lot of ideas for the Town Square area; a lot of these ideas are starting to become a reality,” said Gallup.
The transportation center/ park and ride project on Girdwood Place will have 25 parking spaces and a bus turnout. Construction will also include the paving and adding of a sidewalk to the adjacent road, Girdwood Place, and the paving of a portion of Holmgren Place.
Forty-two on-street parking spaces will be constructed along Girdwood and Holmgren Place. The parking project construction is funded by the Municipality of Anchorage and a Federal Transportation Administration grant, said Jacobson.
“We’re just dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s,” he said. “Final contract documents and plans will be going to the Municipality of Anchorage purchasing department in the next few weeks.”
Jacobson also said that the landscaping features and designs for the Girdwood Place project will compliment the future Girdwood Town Square development with construction tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2008. The Girdwood Town Square project will include road paving and sidewalks for Lindblad Avenue, Girdwood Place, Hightower Road, and Holmgren Place.
“The main goals of the Girdwood Town Square project are to develop Hightower Road as Girdwood’s main street, to provide new and improved public parking for existing and future economic activities, and to have year-round pedestrian facilities and connections in the new Girdwood Town Site, adjacent parks, neighborhoods, and schools,” said Jacobson.
He added that final plans for next summer’s project are approaching 100 percent after utility and right of way agreements are finalized.
Some Girdwood residents expressed excitement about the new Town Square development.
“I’m really looking forward to having sidewalks in the Girdwood Town Square area” said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous. “I have kids and it’s tough to walk anywhere for a large portion of the year on Girdwood’s roads.”
The Girdwood Place and Town Square projects are coordinated with the Girdwood Streets and Drainage Improvements Project.
“I strongly support the Girdwood Town Square project as it will improve drainage in the area and allow building to take place on lots that currently don’t have adequate drainage” said Marco Zacorro, a Girdwood resident and architect. “The area is a floodplain, so adequate drainage and floodway infrastructure is important.”
Zacorro was also glad to hear that the town had decided to develop infrastructure in the town center, and, therefore, avoid the problem of sprawl that is evident in other mountain resort communities.
The Girdwood Town Square Park, to be located in the wooded area between the Mercantile, Laundromall and Chair 5, will have a memorial wall and bench, picnic areas, a labyrinth, and landscaping. Sidewalk access to the park will be from Lindblad Avenue, Hightower Road, Girdwood Place, and Holmgren Place.
On-street parking for the park will be on Girdwood Place and Holmgren Place. Sidewalks will also lead to the park, and allow pedestrians convenient access to Girdwood Town Square shops, offices, and restaurants.
The new construction will most likely increase business in the area, and now undeveloped lots adjacent to Girdwood Town Square could be prime locations for new businesses.
Some residents have voiced a need for a bank, hardware store, pharmacy, and other amenities. Undeveloped lots in the Town Square area may be prime locations for such businesses and provide closer alternatives for other Turnagain Arm residents living in Hope/Sunrise and Whittier.