Downtown Streets Circulation Project Redding

Location

Market Street at Yuba Street, Butte Street and Tehama Street

City or County Responsible for Project

City of Redding

Category

Complete Streets Projects

Author

Chuck Aukland, PE

Organization

City of Redding

Address

777 Cypress Avenue, Redding, CA 96001

Phone

(530) 245-7156

Project Description

The City of Redding Downtown Streets Circulation Project is an exemplary local road transportation project that is the centerpiece of downtown transformation and revitalization in Redding, California. This project utilized Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to reintroduce a local road that had been closed to vehicular traffic since 1972 and improve the facilities to better serve the downtown area and new residents of affordable housing calling the area home.

The reintroduction of Market Street and modifications to Butte Street and Yuba Street not only reintroduced vehicle traffic to the area, but improved pedestrian and cyclist circulation throughout the area.

The project to reintroduce the City streets was a $12.3M project that involved:
• Re-establishment of the formerly abandoned Market Street, Butte Street, and Yuba Street rights-of -way;
• Reconstruction of pedestrian and bicycle-friendly streets along portions of Market, Yuba, and Butte Streets;
• Extensive reconstruction of aging underground utilities including wastewater, water, and electric;
• Integration of permeable treatments to capture and treat storm water, throughout the project
• New sidewalks and streets with concrete, asphalt concrete, and concrete pavers;
• New street lights and landscaping to compliment the new and existing aesthetics of the redevelopment projects in this downtown area; and
• Reconstruct the traffic signal at the Tehama and Market Street intersection to open Market Street to vehicular traffic

One key achievement from the Downtown Streets Circulation Project has been the rebound of Market Street after reopening to pedestrians, bicycles and vehicle traffic. After the street had closed to vehicle traffic in 1972 the former right-of-way was converted into a covered pedestrian mall, before the roof was eventually removed to create an open pedestrian mall. Over time, the area became a three-block, isolated, commercial space with closed storefronts. Opening the area to pedestrians, bicycles and slow vehicle traffic, developing it as a complete street, and reinvesting in commercial spaces led the newly-named Market Center area to flourish with weekly community events, lively residents in mixed-use spaces along the reopened streets, and busy foot traffic to local restaurants, stores, offices, and the downtown campus of Shasta College.

Some additional, recognized community benefits from the project have been a renewed economic renaissance of the downtown area with new residents living-in and foot traffic through the space. Complete streets, expanded sidewalks, and new bike lanes have contributed to a public health benefit for the community that can only be realized over time.