19 - BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT - Laserfiche WebLink

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grant programs to assist property owners with the costs of improvements. It is cheaper to just build new on the low. Depending on the type and size of a business, the loop may very well be a better location. However, land on the loop is almost always more expensive, and traffic patterns and volumes there support a different type of business than will thrive in a downtown. Depending on the building you select and factors such as age, condition, and size, it can be much cheaper to locate downtown. Paris needs to be like Sulphur Springs. Sulphur Springs has a very nice, active downtown area with enhanced paving and landscaping. However, Paris's downtown is far larger, contains many more businesses, has much higher traffic counts, and a larger surrounding population from which to draw customers. Paris is improving its sidewalks and added loo new trees in 2016. In addition to many festivals and special events, Paris has the rapidly growing farmers' market, downtown skate park, historic plaza and fountain, Bywaters Park, and a new spray park for kids. There is no public restroom. This is no longer true. In cooperation with a number of local partners, the city recently constructed a new public restroom at the corner of Lamar and 3rd Street NE. There are too many empty buildings used Just for storage and that creates potential code and fire safety issues. We agree. In response, we are changing some of the old, inappropriate downtown zoning, and have also started a program whereby larger under -used buildings are more closely monitored and periodically inspected for fire safety issues. Traffic goes by too fast to see the businesses. The maximum speed limit 4/27/16 through downtown is 30 mph. The more traffic and visitors there are downtown, the slower the average speed will be. And traffic here is still dramatically slower than in any other retail area of the city. Old utility lines mean low pressure, poor water quality, and frequent sewer stoppages. That is true, but the city will spend several million dollars on utility line replacements downtown in 2oi6 -17. The sidewalks are inadequate. The entire downtown is served by sidewalks. TXDOT recently improved accessibility issues, and the city is working with the state to replace two to three blocks of older sidewalks each year. Significant progress has been made. For interested owners, the city also has a program whereby we will share the costs of a new sidewalk with contiguous property owners.