Hillsdale prepares to dress up downtown, improve area aesthetic
Flower pots, bike racks to adorn streets as part of $40,000 project
Michael Mayday
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
City of Hillsdale officials will soon implement small changes to the downtown area - hiring full-time maintenance workers, hanging flowerpots on lampposts - in hopes that they'll inspire a large-scale downtown revitalization. The suggestions come from several months' worth of studies conducted by a survey agency, which unveiled its results Monday evening.
Doyle Hyett, co-owner of HyettPalma, Inc., the downtown consulting firm Hillsdale hired, presented his company's suggestions to a group of residents and officials at the Hillsdale Community Library.
"What we were doing in this community was trying to find out what your aspirations were. What you wanted your downtown to be because you're the people that are dependent on what it is," he said.
The city plans to spend $40,000 on the project: $20,000 it received from the state of Michigan's Cool Cities program, and $20,000 from its own budget.
HyettPalma's plan focuses largely on aesthetic improvements, such as flowerpots and bike racks disguised as pieces of art. Hyett also said the traffic flow needs work - particularly the roads and signs around City Hall and the post office.
To alleviate the confusion, Hyett said road revisions and signposts could help visitors find their way around Hillsdale.
He also suggested that the police force step up its efforts in regulating speeding tickets and parking fines.
Hyett said city officials should also work on creating an atmosphere amiable to pedestrians. Lighting, crosswalks and occasional police patrols could establish a strong connection between Hillsdale's campus and downtown Hillsdale.
"College kids are going to be college kids," Hyett said. "What they want to be able to do is safely walk between that campus and this downtown and I think that one of the best ways to do it is to speak to the health movement by creating a biking and walking path downtown."
But Hyett also said current pedestrian crosswalks are too dangerous - they need more signs saying "yield to pedestrians."
Doyle Hyett, co-owner of HyettPalma, Inc., the downtown consulting firm Hillsdale hired, presented his company's suggestions to a group of residents and officials at the Hillsdale Community Library.
"What we were doing in this community was trying to find out what your aspirations were. What you wanted your downtown to be because you're the people that are dependent on what it is," he said.
The city plans to spend $40,000 on the project: $20,000 it received from the state of Michigan's Cool Cities program, and $20,000 from its own budget.
HyettPalma's plan focuses largely on aesthetic improvements, such as flowerpots and bike racks disguised as pieces of art. Hyett also said the traffic flow needs work - particularly the roads and signs around City Hall and the post office.
To alleviate the confusion, Hyett said road revisions and signposts could help visitors find their way around Hillsdale.
He also suggested that the police force step up its efforts in regulating speeding tickets and parking fines.
Hyett said city officials should also work on creating an atmosphere amiable to pedestrians. Lighting, crosswalks and occasional police patrols could establish a strong connection between Hillsdale's campus and downtown Hillsdale.
"College kids are going to be college kids," Hyett said. "What they want to be able to do is safely walk between that campus and this downtown and I think that one of the best ways to do it is to speak to the health movement by creating a biking and walking path downtown."
But Hyett also said current pedestrian crosswalks are too dangerous - they need more signs saying "yield to pedestrians."
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