Those who travel through downtown Marshalltown have probably noticed some major changes lately as the State Street project has moved into its second phase from North 3rd Street to just west of North 1st Street, and city officials continue to engage in conversations on how the new and improved district should look when all is said and done.

During last week’s city council meeting, the final agenda discussion item on the downtown implementation plan for East Main Street ended up taking over an hour and a half before adjournment as Public Works Director Heather Thomas — along with Bolton and Menk’s Greg Broussard — ran through several topics and solicited council and public input. Thomas estimated the cost for the East Main project at about $8.35 million in all with engineering included, and the city would need to contribute about $7.3 million with Marshalltown Water Works also pitching in to replace a water main.

She added that the earliest construction would likely begin on Main Street would be late summer or fall of 2024 but warned that it could possibly be pushed back to 2025 depending on schedules, the availability of materials and the ability to avoid winter construction.

From there, Thomas and Broussard asked the council for direction on a host of key items — angle parking, a Center Street bike lane, lighting, vegetation and berms, outdoor dining spaces, private vaults and stairs in the city’s right of way, fire lines and the potential for “amenity zones” with art incorporated.

Broussard touted some of the benefits of back-in angle parking, which has been incorporated in cities like Des Moines and Muscatine, and said that while it may take some getting used to, it could be safer and easier in the long run. He also suggested 1st Avenue just east of the courthouse as a “test block” that could be utilized to help drivers become acquainted with the practice.

“With our current project, we would recommend that angle parking on the west side of the courthouse and then all along the south side of Main Street,” he said. “Wherever the downtown implementation plan made recommendations for angle parking, we would look at doing back-in angle parking in those locations.”

During the public comment period, Erin Carpenter called back-in angle parking “the best thing since sliced bread” and said it was a much safer option than the alternatives. Councilor Gary Thompson motioned to direct staff to install “back-in angle parking everywhere,” and it passed by a 6-1 vote with Al Hoop opposed.

On the bike lanes issue, Thomas said she received a request at a recent stakeholder meeting to remove them from Center Street, and Broussard presented some options on a potential reroute to 2nd Street. Councilor Jeff Schneider, who also serves as the president of TRAILS Inc., said he liked a “straight shot” option for safety purposes.

Carpenter also weighed in on this matter during the public comment period.

“I think that this comes down to a fundamental question of who we’re designing the streetscape for. Are we designing it for people or for cars?” she asked. “I would like to see more opportunities for bicycle traffic, not less. I’m so excited about this project. I think it’s gonna be beautiful. I think that Marshalltown deserves to have a gorgeous downtown streetscape like this, and I want us to think about how we can be progressive in terms of accommodating all types of traffic and making it as safe as possible for the most number of people.”

Cindy Parks echoed an earlier comment and said she did not feel safe biking on Main Street and would like to see the straight shot Schneider had mentioned. Linda Clark expressed concern about bicyclists not following safety protocols and making the community unsafe for pedestrians, especially those who are older and need handicap accessible accommodations.

Thomas recommended moving them to 2nd Street, and Schneider’s motion to do so carried 6-1 with Hoop again opposed.

On the lights, Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer said she often hears about how dark downtown is and would like to see a brighter option to make people feel safer.

“I want to light up the downtown,” she said.

Citing a desire to “do downtown right,” Councilor Mike Ladehoff motioned to spend the approximately $335,000 to purchase new light poles, and Thompson said that while he agreed with Ladehoff and Schneider’s comments, he hoped the historic look of the poles could be preserved. The motion was carried by a 6-1 vote with Hoop opposed.

A motion was then made to continue the relationship with the MCBD to maintain the berms as proposed along Main Street, and it passed. It was followed by a motion on eating spaces to proceed with “a design that balances parking downtown while providing for select intersection bump-out amenity zones that could incorporate outdoor seating for take-out dining opportunities” that also passed.

The council then passed another motion to move forward with the right of way and stairs offered to property owners at an estimated cost of $75,000, along with a subsequent motion to stub out each property downtown for fire lines, which was carried unanimously.

With regard to art and amenity zones, the council agreed to “meaningfully engage” on what it might look like in the future but did not take official action.

On the State Street project, Thomas does not expect construction on the third and final section — the center two blocks — to begin until next year.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.