It's been 30 years in the making, but a Fourth Street pedestrian corridor should be under way next week, with ground breaking anticipated April 3.
A pedestrian corridor along Fourth Street was first outlined in Ketchum's 1977 comprehensive plan. The vision for the Leadville People's Park was to completely close Fourth Street to traffic between Leadville and East Avenue for "a walking, talking, siting and generally relaxing place for people to get together during late spring, summer and autumn."
"Leadville People's Park could restore to Ketchum the concept of the town square—where young and old, liberal and conservative, rich and poor gather to discuss the issues of the day, play a game of checkers, chess, backgammon or cribbage, or engage in people watching," states the 1977 comp plan, called Transitions. "In addition, it could provide a place for artists and craftsmen to display their wares."
The comp plan went on to call for "immediate formal action."
And so it is that this spring, a full 30 years later, formal action is being taken, but the scope of the project has grown considerably. The Fourth Street Heritage Corridor will include wider sidewalks, narrower streets and will run the entire length of Fourth Street, from Spruce to Second Avenue, an eight-block span.
It was through recent efforts during Ketchum's downtown master planning process and the ensuing formation of a Community Development Corporation that the pedestrian corridor is coming to fruition.
Construction of the entire eight-block mall should take three years, with the first of three phases linking Spuce with Leadville Avenue completed by July 4.
The Ketchum City Council is expected to decide on a contractor at a meeting Monday, April 2. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
The project will include widening of sidewalks and narrowing of streets, along with planting of red maples that will add a splash of red in an otherwise gold valley during autumn. It will include installation of sidewalk pavers, signs and street lights, and the sidewalks, which will be flush with street elevations, will be heated using "green" ground-source geothermal technology. The corridor will also accommodate the city's bike path and include public art and public gathering places.
"This is not a pedestrian mall," said Ketchum City Administrator Ron LeBlanc during a Monday tour of the corridor. "It is still a street." But it will, in fact, be both.
LeBlanc said the corridor will hopefully become a pedestrian friendly environment that will encourage people to get out of their cars.
"Over time, I think the business environment will try to market that," he said.
The first three-block phase will cost roughly $900,000, and the entire project could run in the neighborhood of $4.5 million.
LeBlanc said opposition to the corridor falls primarily into two camps: one concerned about the construction schedule and the other concerned about whether the money could be better spent elsewhere.
"Ketchum's Ketchum," he said. "You're always going to have dissenters. If everybody supported something, it would make you wonder if everyone understood it."
Fourth Street business owner Nicola Potts, proprietor of the Coffee Grinder and also a member of the Community Development Corporation's communications and development teams, is excited about the project.
"I'm very enthusiastic," she said. "I think it will be great for all the retailers. We need a main street, and I feel like Highway 75 is no longer user friendly. We need a street that's user friendly.
"I know the transition might be difficult, but I think it's something we will all be celebrating."
Potts said several events are planned to coincide with construction of the first three blocks this spring, including a ground-breaking party, a during construction hard-hat party, ribbon cutting and then a Fourth on Fourth party during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
"Come on everyone," she said. "Let's pump some life into this town."
Photo by Greg Stahl
