Clovis officials, MainStreet hope to enhance streets

Residents and Clovis city officials gathered for one important goal Tuesday: to improve Main Street so locals and visitors might experience the cultural history downtown has to offer.

Hosted by the city of Clovis and Clovis MainStreet, the community was invited to attend a Clovis Great Blocks meeting. Officials displayed several conceptual designs aiming to enhance the streetscape.

Three streetscape schematics, along with a few designs for pocket park and a plaza were presented to attendees by Pland Collaborative Principal Landscape Architect Rob Loftis and Associate Landscape Architect Jeff Stuart.

“We were kinda looking for something with a historic feel to it, so that you knew you were in the historic district. We really wanted something that identifies the district.” said Executive Director of Clovis MainStreet Lisa Pellegrino-Spear.

The most favored design for the street would remove the turning lanes within the road and integrate a parking space in the middle of the road as two lanes follow it. Loftis said the goal would be to keep the 16-foot sidewalks in front of businesses and establish a crosswalk in the center of Main Street. The design integrates new street lighting and adds non-invasive trees.

Some of the concerns discussed at the meeting were brought by resident Paul Tankersley, who owns Tankersley’s Clothing. He said the final design should include more parking for customers, but without interfering with special events such as parades. He also didn’t favor loading bay areas being designated on the street and suggested shipping companies should strictly use the alleyways.

The existing parking count within the project area is 174, whereas the new design would reduce it to 146 spaces.

Pellegrino-Spear said she hoped more business owners would attend the meeting so the city can have a better idea on their perspectives.

“I knew some of their (business owners) concerns. But that’s why I feel like getting some of their feedback or presenting these ideas maybe a little more publicly would help us get a better understanding on what residents want,” Pellegrino-Spear said.

She said Clovis MainStreet still plans on informing every business owner about the upcoming changes, by posting the schematic designs and requesting feedback for improvement. Pellegrino-Spear said the goal is to make a place that can invite new people into town, but also respect the culture and history the current residents love so much.

“I think those business owners would feel a little bit more confident in the fact that there’s access to their buildings as long as they know the public feels safe getting to and from their parking,” Pellegrino-Spear said.

Loftis said in the meeting this was only the planning period and for the city to conceptualize some of the goals it wants to obtain. He said financing the projects is still being figured out. Pellegrino-Spear said MainStreet had set aside a $55,000 grant so far to begin the conceptual designs of the project, while the city had recently received $500,000 to establish better lighting around the street.

City Manager Justin Howalt said officials were unsure if $500,000 would cover the entire project or only half. Pellegrino-Spear said this was only to get “the ball rolling” as both the city and MainStreet will continue to seek federal funding to continue the project.

“New Mexico MainStreet will work with us to continue to find funding to make these possible, once we have the designs in place,” Pellegrino-Spear said.

Most attendees in the meeting had agreed the first agenda was to establish more lighting in the area so residents can feel safer traversing Main Street at night.