BID presents new street scape plans to residents

The BID (Business Improvement District) presented the new street scape plans at a meeting at City Hall last night. The main job is to change out the sidewalks, which will entail replacing many of the current trees. Many familiar faces were there, concerned neighbors who were interested in the plans. Scott Silver, member of the BID board hosted the evening. Ida Curtis from Curtis + Rogers Design Studio, a landscape architectural firm in the Grove, conducted a large part of the meeting and so did Albert Sosa, Assistant Director of Capital Improvements for the City.


The sidewalks are an accident waiting to happen and even if it's not just for aesthetics, the safety issue is paramount, as I am sure the city doesn't want law suits from people tripping over the loose bricks. People trip daily on the Grove sidewalks, one friend broke a couple of bones with a severe fall and one local restaurant is currently being sued due to a fall in front of their establishment.


Another issue is the widening of the sidewalks in some areas. This one area at the end of Main Highway at McFarlane makes it impossible for two people to walk side-by-side. You can see this couple trying to maneuver the "path," which it is at this point. This will also allow for a wider sidewalk in front of Le Bouchon, which will allow them to put tables out front.

Diagrams shown last night include these here. If you click on them, they will open larger and you'll see the details. Above is the whole Center Grove area, that will be affected by the project. It is every major street and sidewalk.

This is Commodore Plaza, again, please click on the image for a larger view. The main change here is the widening of the sidewalks on the Main Highway end. Two parking spots on each side (total of four) will be taken away on Commodore to be make wider wider sidewalks for the restaurant tables, but also to allow for more pedestrian friendly sidewalks and it will also allow people to cross the street in a safer manner. The plaza-effect is pretty nice and the restaurants, Greenstreets and Lulu's, are a main draw in Coconut Grove, so more space for them would be a good thing, too.

Trees will need to be changed out, which does concern many. But the way they are now, the roots are coming up through the bricks in search of water. There is a system called the Silva Cell, which allows for deep roots to grow underground, without disturbing the sidewalks. That may be seen in detail here. Jim Urban, one of the creators of the Silva Cell spoke at last night's meeting. He explained and showed the type of bricks that will be used, too.

Come back in a bit for more details on the plan.