THOMASVILLE — A section of West Jackson Street may be getting a makeover starting next year.

City of Thomasville officials revealed a plan for the streetscape of the road from Madison Street to the Remington Avenue railroad crossing.

The city collected more than 80 survey responses from residents and business owners, held open topic discussions and conducted two discovery walks. The streetscape plan was unveiled earlier this week with nearly 60 people in attendance at Trinity Anglican Church. 

Based on feedback, city officials said they tried to incorporate improved parking, safety for pedestrians and motorists, sidewalks and preserve that part of Jackson Street’s history and character.

“I think this plan is going to be much richer because of all the input,” said city urban designer Kenneth Thompson.

Cadence Kidwell of Fuzzy Goat, which is on West Jackson, applauded the city’s efforts to tap into local business owners and residents about the streetscape plan.

“They have had so much opportunity for us to have input into this,” she said.

West Jackson is considered a gateway into Thomasville’s downtown and the plan includes putting utilities underground to enhance the view. 

Putting utilities underground is costly, but Thompson said underground utilities will allow the city to plan larger trees and provide more share. The trees currently along the street provide very little shade, he said.

“There is a lot of brick and concrete and we want to infuse it with landscaping and green elements,” he said.

Placing utilities underground also has a long-term benefit beyond the visual appeal, city planner Brian Herrmann said.

“It is cost effective,” he said. “If you see the power lines in there, it just ruins the aesthetic. That was the thing at the top of the pyramid, bury the utility lines.”

Herrmann added the city is placing the utilities underground just for this area at the time.  

Respondents also told the city they felt parking and crossing the street was dangerous. The city is looking at the width of the two-lane road to accommodate on-street parking. There are 145 spaces along the road and nearby.

“There are plenty of spaces,” Thompson said. “It’s just that people don’t know where they are or how to get to them.”

During a discovery walk, the city used boards to simulate bumping out the parking alongside West Jackson Street.

“An amazing thing happened,” Thompson said. “The cars slowed down.”

Kidwell added her economic benefit and the investment she’s made into her property depend on people’s ability to get to her business.

“Slowing down the traffic and making it memorable are two of the important things for me,” she said.

A discovery walk also revealed an interesting piece of downtown — a creek that flows underneath Jackson Street. Thompson said the city is looking at ways of “daylighting” the creek and making it an amenity. 

“I didn’t believe this was real at first,” Thompson said. “It was a fascinating hidden gem as part of Thomasville’s history.”

Said Herrmann: “It was a little piece of nature in the heart of the city.”

There also has been a push to incorporate the area’s history as “The Bottom,” what it was called when it was a haven to Jewish- and African-American-owned businesses, into the plans. While West Jackson feeds into downtown and Broad Street, Thompson said they don’t want the streetscape to have a Victorian look.

“You want it to honor the history (and) add things to make it just as nice and lend it a different and unique character,” he said. “There are a lot of great stories about the historic businesses. One thing we wanted to do that was honor them, try to tell the story of the area and the businesses. We think there are a lot of great creative and artistic ways we can do that.”

Main Street Director April Norton said that talking to merchants along the corridor showed the lion’s share of their business comes from Florida.

“It is one of the gateways into our downtown,” she said. “There have been a lot of improvements to the area already with the amphitheater. It’s just a part of the whole piece.”

Work on the streetscape likely won’t take place until the summer, when customer traffic is slower.

“After Rose Show is probably the best time to begin,” Norton said. “We do want to make sure that not only our businesses who are directly affected but those who travel that path each day know the process and the plans.”

Herrmann pointed out a design charrette was started on the Creative District, three-and-a-half years ago, and it has led already to two significant undertakings, the amphitheater and the streetscape.

“That’s a plus to be able to pull all that off in five years,” he said.

The city has $750,000 in special purpose local option sales tax proceeds for the project. The next step is to present the plans to the city planning and zoning commission at its December 4 meeting at 5:30 p.m. From there, the city council will take up any recommendation from the planning and zoning board.

“Our hope would also be because this is a plan we literally have created together that this is something the community will truly support and get behind and be proud of,” said Lauren Radford, city director of public engagement and outreach.

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.