Downtown Melbourne may get $3 million-plus in streetscaping upgrades on New Haven Avenue
Good luck maneuvering downtown Melbourne's aging streetscaped curbs and sidewalks east of the post office if you're disabled, an Orlando urban-planning expert says.
“There is no way you can go up and down New Haven Avenue in a wheelchair or a scooter without running into a tree or a crack or a hole — or something that really makes it uncomfortable and unsafe for people," said Pat Tyjeski, principal planner with Inspire Placemaking Collective.
Wednesday night, Tyjeski led an open house at the Front Street Civic Center to collect public opinion on Melbourne's upcoming multi-million-dollar downtown streetscaping revamp. Construction boundaries will extend along the New Haven Avenue corridor from Livingston Street across U.S. 1 to Front Street Park.
This aging streetscaping in the heart of the downtown retail district — think sidewalks, shade trees, brick pavers, decorative lampposts, crosswalks, landscaping and concrete curbing — dates to the mid-1980s.
Community Development Director Cindy Dittmer said $3 million is budgeted for construction during the 2024-25 fiscal year, but rising building and material costs could easily outpace that sum.
For now, the streetscaping project remains in the conceptual stage. Roughly 70 people braved a thunderstorm to attend Wednesday's open house, which was punctuated by rumbling thunder and rain pounding against windows facing the Indian River Lagoon.
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Dittmer said the city hired Inspire Placemaking Collective, an Orlando urban-planning firm, for $80,000 to help shape the streetscape design. A website with an online survey is collecting opinions through Aug. 4 at inspire-engagement.com/new-haven-ave, which also features an interactive map that will remain active until the end of August.
Online participants can mark specific locations on the map and add suggestions and comments on topics like trees, sidewalks, lighting, bike lanes, on-street parking and street furniture.
Tyjeski said public workshops will be scheduled in September and October before a final conceptual design is submitted to City Hall. Afterward, Dittmer said $175,000 in design-engineering work may kick off early next year.
As key goals, Tyjeski said planners should redesign New Haven Avenue to:
Improve pedestrian connectivity and walkability.
Improve Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility.
Promote economic development along the corridor.
Create a vibrant urban corridor within downtown.
“We don't want people to drive to downtown, go buy something and then leave. Or come have lunch — and disappear," Tyjeski told open-house attendees.
"We want them to come and stay: go to the next business, and the next business, and the next business. And spend time in the downtown, create a community. That’s the feel that we want to create,” she said.
In November 2007, a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated a $2.3 million project that extended New Haven Avenue streetscaping roughly five blocks westward, from the post office to the Strawbridge Avenue triangle.
That project added the steel-and-aluminum "Historic Downtown Melbourne" arched entryway sign, along with landscaped curb "bulb-outs" that slightly narrowed sections of New Haven Avenue to slow down vehicles.
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Tuesday morning, a Melbourne water distribution crew responded to a leaking water line beneath the sidewalk in front of the retail arcade housing Mugsy's on Main. Puddles formed along the curb.
By Wednesday, an orange-and-white metal sawhorse, an orange cone and red tape blocked off the area from pedestrians.
Tyjeski said parking and trees routinely rank among the most controversial issues during downtown streetscaping projects. She said the topic of trees alone can spark disagreement among merchants over species, sizes, shade, safety, sign visibility, root damages, trimming costs, allergies and acorns.
Streetscaping opinions wanted from residents
A website with an online survey is collecting opinions through Aug. 4 at inspire-engagement.com/new-haven-ave, which also features an interactive map that will remain active until the end of August.
Online participants can mark specific locations on the map and add suggestions and comments on topics like trees, sidewalks, lighting, bike lanes, on-street parking and street furniture.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne planning $3M+ streetscaping project along New Haven Avenue
