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City Grateful for its Support from Senator
Byrd
Washington, D.C. - The City of Charles Town is
pleased that the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, led by
West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd, has finalized a transportation
spending bill that provides $300,000 to Charles Town for its
"Gateway Revitalization" project to improve the eastern
entrance to the City on Route 115/Washington Street. Mayor Randy
Hilton says that, "Charles Town seeks to work in partnership
with Senator Byrd, the state highway department, Jefferson County,
Charles Town Races & Gaming, local businesses, and all citizens
to turn the jumbled, congested entrance to our community into
a safe, well designed approach fitting for a charming, historic
town. The strong support of Senator Byrd can help to turn this
vision into reality. We thank him for his commitment to the
improvement of our community and the entire region."
The legislation in which Senator Byrd added the
Charles Town funding now moves to the full Senate for further
consideration. Although there are still several procedural steps
ahead before the measure is signed into law, Charles Town is
excited about the opportunity for progress created by the Senate
funding Bill. Mayor Hilton and Charles Town Councilman Matt
Ward presented the idea of the Charles Town Gateway Revitalization
project to City Council in April, which unanimously approved
moving forward with the project. The Route 115/Washington Street
corridor at the eastern entrance to Charles Town has become
unsafe, clogged, and inconsistent with the historic heritage
of Charles Town. Massive increases in vehicle traffic and hectic
activity in strips of commercial and retail shops on both sides
of the roadway corridor, vie with numerous pedestrians whose
safety is threatened by the lack of sidewalks or even road shoulders.
The eastern entrance to Charles Town is a jumble of overhead
wires and neon signs, without any landscaping or other scenic
features.
Charles Town has identified a strategy for revitalizing
the eastern gateway to the City, improving traffic flow and
pedestrian safety, increasing commerce and tourism, and beautifying
the area. Councilman Matt Ward calls the project a "Key
to keeping Charles Town a charming, economically vital center
of Jefferson County as the region undergoes tremendous change."
The Gateway strategy seeks to:
- Re-engineer the roadway to improve vehicle flow, and to improve
pedestrian safety and accessibility through the installation
of sidewalks on both sides of the road;
- Install underground utility wires, provide street trees, benches,
and historically-styled street lamps, and implement a retail
sign beautification program with local merchants;
- Establish a "Gateway to Charles Town" welcome area
at the entrance to the City with historically-styled signs and
enhanced landscaping. This Gateway project will be closely linked
with and complement both the Washington Heritage Trail, and
the current Charles Town "Washington Corridor Revitalization
Project" for improvement of the downtown streetscape on
Washington Street (i.e., the main street portion of Route 115).
City Manager Jane Arnett explains that the first
step in the project will be to convene merchants on the corridor
together with citizens in a town hall meeting to identify how
the project can be undertaken in a way that improves the business
climate of the community while improving traffic flow and beautifying
the area. Next, the City can hire architects and roadway engineers
to identify options and start creating a plan and vision that
can excite the community about the potential improvements. With
a plan and picture, the City can gather additional funding and
support from a variety of sources. "By joining together
to improve this area of the community, Charles Town can become
a magnet for tourists, shoppers, and visitors who want a taste
of the charm and attractions offered by Charles Town,"
Arnett says.
The project is already gaining the support of businesses in
the community. President of Charles Town Races & Gaming,
Jim Buchanan, has publicly endorsed the Gateway Revitalization,
saying that, "this Gateway project should be good for our
businesses and good for all businesses, as well as ad a boost
to the quality of life for Charles Town citizens."
The federal transportation spending bill is expected to be considered
in the Senate in September. The House has yet to begin work
on its companion measure. If Byrd's efforts for Charles Town
are successful, the funding should be available in early 2003.
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