The State Street Design Project has already resulted in the remodeling of most of the 100 block of the street, but delays due to Hurricane Rita pushed back the finishing touches until after the opening ceremony in October, State Street Design Project Oversight Committee members said Thursday.
With a mass exodus occurring in coastal Texas, many evacuees will find themselves in Houston, coincidentally the location of State Street's newest cosmetic feature called philosopher stones.
Due to Rita's rendering of the Texas highway system difficult to navigate, delivery and production of the stones will be delayed. These stones serve multiple purposes, doubling as sidewalk d??cor as well as crafty resting places for the weary walker.
Chair of the SSDPOC, Ted Crabb, expressed his concern for the tardy delivery of this crucial aesthetic element of State Street's new look.
\It hurts us to hear that the granite is sitting down in Houston waiting to be delivered and here is Rita coming in on Houston,"" Crabb said.
At the SSDPOC meeting Thursday committee members discussed additional bike parking as part of the massive remodeling job.
""A majority of the businesses want bike racks, especially on the square,"" said Susan Schmitz of Downtown Madison Incorporated. ""Their employees ride bikes and they ride bikes, and they assume that their customers ride bikes.""
""Clearly, no one wants to lock their bicycle to a tree. However, if the choice is doing so or risk theft, the decision is easy,"" Madison resident David Bogen said in a letter. ""If you want people to stop locking their bikes to every available object on State Street, you need to provide more bicycle racks.""
The committee addressed the issue of how delivery trucks will operate on the pedestrian mall and how businesses will cope with the construction.
""Obviously businesses have to have deliveries and if they don't have a back door they have to use State Street,"" Crabb said. ""The downer is what happens during the construction period, and the hope is when the street is finished, people will use State Street and it will be a draw as a community attraction space, a commercial area and a symbol for what Madison is all about.""
