New steps, park enhance Indiana's pedestrian amenities
Downtown Indiana is becoming safer and a more pleasant place for pedestrians as the third phase of the community's ongoing streetscape project is nearing completion.
Segment B2 of the project has included replacement of steps leading up Vinegar Hill and a retaining wall at the bottom of the hill along Water Street as well as development of a pedestrian park on adjacent North Seventh Street.
William Sutton, Indiana's police chief and borough manager, noted the Vinegar Hill steps were closed last year because they were in a deteriorated condition and had become hazardous to use.
“The Vinegar Hill retaining wall was also a hazard,” Sutton said. “It was leaning badly toward the street. It was a concern, but getting the money to replace it was also a concern.”
The original 69 steps to Vinegar Hill were more than 100 years old. In addition to the steps' poor condition, Sutton explained a dangerous situation existed because people descending the stairs had to step out directly into the traffic on Water Street. The reconstructed stairway has four landings, including one at the bottom where people can stand and wait to cross the street safely.
While the stairs may not see the same amount of foot traffic they did a century earlier, Sutton pointed out that many people still use them for exercise.
“Tourists frequently use them because they like to walk up to the top and see the house Jimmy Stewart grew up in,” he added. “A lot of them get pictures taken on the steps, too. I think the steps will be a lot more inviting now for the tourists.”
With that connection to the famous actor and Indiana native, the community has a sentimental attachment to the steps as well as seeing them as a convenience.
Sutton said Jimmy Stewart's father, Alex Stewart, was an Indiana firefighter and would be seen running down the steps to the firehouse every time the alarm rang.
A plaque is slated to be installed identifying the house that was Jimmy Stewart's boyhood home, but the property is privately owned and will not be open to the public.
Another plaque will explain to tourists how Vinegar Hill got its name. According to Sutton, there are several versions of how the hill was named, but the most accepted one is that an Irishman visiting in Indiana many years ago looked at the hill and said it reminded him of Vinegar Hill in Ireland.
Just across Water Street from the new steps and retaining wall is the pedestrian park, also referred to as “the people place.” It is a block long, running from Philadelphia Street to Water Street.
The official name of the area is IRMC Park since Indiana Regional Medical Center purchased the naming rights for the park.
Original plans called for all motorized traffic to be eliminated from the park, but further study determined that it wasn't feasible. Instead, one lane of traffic in each direction has been retained while a turning lane was eliminated.
“This could be a problem with daytime traffic,” Sutton said. He noted that those waiting to make a left turn “could really back things up. We'll have to wait and see. In the evening, it won't be an issue.”
Removing one lane of traffic provided space to widen the sidewalks and made room for tree plantings and outdoor dining and other gatherings.
Jessica Bowman, manager of Downtown Indiana, Inc., said construction of the park included new utility lines, which Peoples Natural Gas and Pennsylvania Water Company replaced at their own expense, as well as moving all overhead utilities underground, milling and resurfacing the street and installing decorative street lighting reminiscent of an earlier era.
An iron archway spans the entrance to the park and will soon display the name “IRMC Park” at its top.
According to Bowman, the hospital is planning events in the park next year to mark its 100th anniversary.
“The area can be closed to traffic for special events, especially in the evening,” Bowman said. “The It's A Wonderful Life Festival will be celebrated there with hot chocolate and marshmallow roasting along with music and other activities. We are working with Renda Broadcasting to brings concerts in the park in nice weather.
The cost of the current segment of the streetscape is $3.2 million.
In a recent article, Bowman noted that Downtown Indiana Inc. held a capital campaign to raise its share of the money for the project while Indiana Regional Medical Center has been a major donor.
EG&G, a Fairlawn, Ohio-based engineering firm, designed all four phases of the streetscape project and helped secure funding as part of a public-private partnership. Funding for the project also came from Indiana Borough, the Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, community development block grants issued through the state Department of Community and Economic Development and a $1 million state appropriation obtained with the help of state Sen. Don White, an Indiana Republican.
Funding for the Vinegar Hill steps has been augmented through the sale of four- by eight-inch plaques that will be installed on each step. Individuals, groups or companies may purchase a plaque for $500 and have four lines of text placed on it. Bowman said 50 of the plaques have been sold so far.
The first segment of the streetscape project occurred in 2009 in the 900 block of Philadelphia Street. It included new sidewalks, street lights, gas and water lines, burying utilities and resurfacing.
The second segment included similar work in the 500 block of Philadelphia Street.
The final phase will involve the 600, 700 and 800 blocks of Philadelphia Street and is scheduled to begin in 2014. Grant funds totaling $3.25 million have already been secured for that work.
The total cost of the Streetscape project is $13 million.
A ribbon cutting for the new steps and IRMC Park was originally scheduled to coincide with the It's A Wonderful Life Festival on Nov. 22, but Bowman said the ceremony has been postponed until spring, once trees and landscaping and the lettering on the arch are in place.
Jeanette Wolff is a freelance writer.
