ASHLAND — For years Fourth Street has been a one-way road with two wide lanes for traffic in Ashland.
At 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, it will be converted into a two-way street with one lane of traffic moving each direction.
The two-way road will stretch from Cottage Street to Miller Street. It will feature several parallel parking spaces along the north side of the route.
The traffic light sitting at Union Street and Fourth Street will continue to be a yellow-flashing light on Union Street and a red-flashing stop light on Fourth Street.
This resurfacing project is another step towards advancement in the City of Ashland’s “Targeted Action Plan,” which focuses on a renaissance of the area surrounding the former F.E. Myers and Pump House Ministries property.
“The reason why we are doing it is because this is one more step toward completing our vision to revitalize what we are calling the ‘Pump House District,’ ” Mayor Matt Miller said. “Earlier last year, the City of Ashland teamed up with the Ashland County Community Foundation and hired a professional planning and design firm to help us put together a plan for the Pump House District.
“We are hoping that the whole corridor will come back to life in a way like we’ve never seen featuring housing, public office space, as well as hopefully some commercial activity.”
A portion of Fourth Street was closed in April of 2019. It was then that resurfacing discussions and talks about transitioning the thoroughfare into a two-way street began.
Since then, Page Excavating has removed the Pump House manufacturing facility. The site is now being graded and grass seeds will be planted on the plot before the upcoming winter months.
“The county is still planning to move forward with their renovation of the pump house office building,” Miller said. “One of the major components of the Pump House District will be the installation of both housing units such as apartments and townhouses.
“Our hope is to find a developer who will assist us in developing mixed-use properties.”
Mixed-use properties would consist of business and/or office spaces on the first floor with apartment complexes constructed above.
“The folks at the Ashland Christian Health Center are so pleased with the change,” Miller said. “We do have concerns about the employees at Pioneer National Latex.
“For years they’ve only had to look one way because traffic was only coming one way. We are trying to make extra efforts to work with the plant manager to figure out how wee can make sure pedestrians are kept safe in that area.”
Drivers are reminded to use caution when travelling on the newly converted street; steadily maintaining a watchful eye for crossing pedestrians and other vehicles.
