Business Loop CID Board members meeting for progress report
Board members for Columbia’s Business Loop 70 Community Improvement District met Thursday to take a look at the progress of their renovation plan.
The CID is nearing finished with the planning phase of their 10 to 15-year plan to beautify the Business Loop corridor in northern Columbia.
The plan includes beautification projects like artwork and landscape. Beautification will be a majority of the plan.
Addressing safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists is also a part of the plan. At the group’s last public meeting, ideas for private bike lanes and sidewalks were presented.
Another large focus is to change traffic patterns to better serve businesses and create better access to them for drivers.
“We noticed there are a lot of people who are stopped at lights — to the point when people would avoid them by going through parking lots,” Carries Gartner, CID executive director, said. “That’s not safe. It’s not good for the businesses. We also realized with the median, it’s not easy to make U-turns. So roundabouts are built in a way to make a U-turn and access business.”
The proposed roundabouts will be at Rangeline Street and Garth Avenue. The CID is working with business owners to address any concerns and work on solutions.
“It’s a 10-year plan so we’re looking long-term,” Gartner said. “We don’t know what the make up the street will be 10 years from now, but we’re reaching out to the property and business owners and asking for their concerns and inputs.”
Gartner said they have already made adjustments based on feedback from property owners.
“We have found everyone is supportive of the roundabouts. It’s just when it gets on the details about how it impacts their property, there are concerns.”
In the meeting, the Board of Directors discussed the revenues from September and October. In September, the revenue was up $2,000 from September 2016. October’s revenue was up $8,500 from October 2016.
“We have a much stronger retail corridor than I think people in Columbia realize,” Gartner said. “We’ve got solid businesses that are doing well and we are seeing a little bit of an uptick from last year.”
Gartner said while they are trying to make the corridor more pedestrian and bike friendly, they are not trying to recreate downtown.
“We are a different area of town,” Gartner said. “We have different businesses. We have a different feel. What we want to do is enhance that. So what are known for on the loop and how do we do that better.”
The Business Loop is home to a number of different businesses from car lots to schools to restaurants. Gartner said they are trying to find a way to connect them all.
“That doesn’t require a walkable area that has peoples strolling by shopping, looking in windows,” Gartner said. “But what it does require is a connection between the schools and a place to get lunch or go buy something.”
