March 27, 2010

CITY OF CHIPPEWA FALLS

DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT PLAN

The City of Chippewa Falls adopted the Downtown Riverfront Plan in October 2007.  The guiding principles of the plan include: 1) Publicly accessible waterfront – the plan will increase the use, access, and stewardship of the Chippewa River and Duncan Creek for Chippewa Falls residents and visitors.  The plan will reclaim the water’s edge in the downtown improving access to the waterfront, fishing locations, and boating access.  2) Improved entrances to the downtown – River Street will be improved with additional on-street parking, new street trees, and enhanced pedestrian crossings providing safe access to the new downtown riverfront park.  The plan will also improve Bridge Street with street trees, a median, and monuments that will mark the southern entrance to the downtown.  The first block of Bridge Street will be converted to two-way traffic to improve circulation and access to the core of the downtown.  3) New economic opportunities – Implementation of the plan and creation of the riverfront festival park will stimulate the redevelopment of underutilized properties in and adjacent to the park.  A permanent farmer’s market will be established that will create additional economic opportunities for small vendors and entrepreneurs to showcase their products.  Also, and perhaps most importantly, implementation of the plan will provide assurances to those who have already invested in the downtown that the downtown will continue to be strong and vital.  4) Regional and local connections – Western Wisconsin is becoming more known for its excellent bike trail system and scenic river ways.  The plan includes recommendations for how the downtown can take advantage of and connect with these systems.  5) Pragmatic, strategic implementation – the plan was created with implementation in mind through the creation of partnerships with numerous stakeholders.  Implementation of the plan will require the expenditure of millions of dollars.  Therefore, the plan will be implemented incrementally as partnerships are developed and funds are secured from a variety of sources. 

The plan has strong support from the Mayor, City Council, and public at large and implementation of the plan is well under way.  A major implementation project is described in the City News article entitled 2010 River Street/Bay Street Lift Station/Collection System Upgrade.  This project that will begin in Spring 2010 is being undertake for several reasons including replacing the aging north-side interceptor wastewater line, reconstruct River Street that is in very bad condition, increase the pumping capacity of the Bay Street Lift Station, and remove the raw sewage storage pond located on the bank of the Chippewa River.  Removing the storage pond is critical to the implementation of the Downtown Riverfront Plan.  However, the storage pond can only be removed by replacing the north-side interceptor line and increasing the capacity of the Bay Street Lift Station.  The estimated cost of the project is $2,800,000.  It will be funded with a $660,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant through the WI Department of Commerce and a $2,140,000 loan from the Clean Water Fund Program from the WIDNR.  

The City has also purchased several properties in the planning area including the previous Chieftain gas station, the pawnshop property, the used car lot on the corner of Bridge and River Streets, and the Empire building. The City is currently negotiating with the Wisconsin Central Limited Railroad to acquire about three acres of property they own where Duncan Creek empties into the Chippewa River.  Several of these properties are being purchased with funds obtained from two DNR grants the City was successful in being awarded.  These grant funds total $497,014 that includes a local match of $191,364.  The purpose of the DNR grants is to acquire properties in the floodplain of the Chippewa River that will be used for park purposes. 

The City Council also approved funding to retain a traffic engineer to conduct a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) to provide more detailed engineering plans per the traffic and street circulation recommendations contained in the Downtown Riverfront Plan.  The TIA is expected to cost about $30,000.  The study will analyze, among other items, converting the first block of Bridge Street from one-way to two-way traffic and the resulting changes that will be required at the intersection of Bridge and River Streets.

While the City is aggressively pursuing implementation of the recommendations of the Downtown Entrance Plan as exhibited by the above described actions many future actions remain to be attained.  There are still several properties that will have to be acquired, buildings razed, street construction improvements undertaken, and a considerable amount of final park planning and landscaping construction.  This will require additional funds to be attained through a variety of different sources including local funds, grants, and private sector participation.  Timing for park completion will be dependent on the City’s ability to acquire private properties, obtain funding, and appropriate local fund matches to accomplish the goals of the plan.  Given the scope of the project it is not unreasonable to expect the completion of the goals to take several years.  Having said that the projects which have already been completed and that will be completed in 2010 represent significant steps related to plan implementation.

Jayson Smith

City Planner