On Monday, October 7, contractors working for the City of Paducah will begin a project to rehabilitate the Broadway section of the block in downtown Paducah bounded by Second Street, Broadway, Water Street, and Jefferson.
Over the past year, the city-owned central portion of the block was revitalized with green space, a public promenade, and an improved parking area. The project beginning Monday will repair and enhance the city-owned parking area on the Broadway side of the lot which is approximately one-third of the block.
The project includes the removal of the existing parking surface and grading the area so that it transitions properly with the central section. Crews will then add pavement and striping. This section of the lot will be closed to the public during the project with the expectation that it will be completed before the Thanksgiving holidays. The central parking area and on-street parking will remain open for the public’s use.
Mayor George Bray said, “We are focused on enhancing the infrastructure in our vibrant and festive downtown. Revitalizing this section of the block that faces Broadway will make the area more visually appealing and provide a smoother and safer surface for vehicles and pedestrians. We are working to complete this project before the holiday shopping time with as little disruption as possible to our vital downtown businesses. It bears repeating that the parking in the center section of the lot, on-street parking, the Farmers’ Market lot, and the lot at 3rd and Kentucky are available for your shopping and dining experiences.”
The gazebo area at North 2nd and Broadway will remain intact and is not included in the project. As part of the project, the accessible parking areas will be shifted closer to several of the downtown businesses. Currently, the spaces are at the Water Street corner of the block.
Mayor Bray added, “We will continue to assess next steps on the Jefferson Street side of the block that was slated for a downtown hotel. Our intent is to take a pause and develop a process to receive input from both downtown businesses and community members on how to best utilize this valuable piece of downtown real estate.”
The City of Paducah has started the process to revert ownership of the Jefferson Street portion of the lot to the city.
###
