City advances Mercer Street pedestrian connector; plans to relocate shared dumpster and align with Stevenson project

City staff and consultant Chad Gilpin presented the Mercer Street Pedestrian Overlay (PO) breakout project on April 7 as the first funded segment of a larger downtown master plan. The project is intended to create an accessible pedestrian link from Mercer Street to the Stevenson building and the downtown parking project, add lighting and shade trees, address longstanding drainage problems near the restrooms, and create pedestrian amenities.

A key operational decision is to relocate a Stevenson-project dumpster to the rear of the old post office/property so trash pickup can continue without routing trucks through the new pedestrian area. Staff said the affected stakeholders — nearby property owners and businesses — had been contacted and are supportive of the shared-dumpster solution.

Design and permitting steps are underway; staff proposed using TUR funding and packaging the PO work as a change order to the Stevenson construction contract to coordinate contractors and achieve a single combined construction period. Staff indicated it hopes to bid the work in May–June and to complete construction in time to align with the Stevenson project (target October). Drainage work includes new curb cuts directing flow to a dry-well/rain‑garden feature and 15–20% of estimated project cost tied to drainage improvements.