Facelift for Virginia street
Susan Voyles
Reno Gazette-Journal
8/30/2006
A pedestrian crosses Virginia Street at Second Street on Tuesday in this view looking north on Virginia Street from near the Truckee River in downtown Reno. Photo by Tim Dunn.
After being talked about for decades, downtown Virginia Street is getting a makeover.
Wider sidewalks for outdoor cafes, more old-fashioned lampposts with hanging flower baskets, new intersections and a narrower street are envisioned.
In the heart of downtown Reno, Virginia street will be reduced from four lanes to three lanes for four city blocks to make the street pedestrian-friendly.
After approving the concept last week, the Reno City Council today plans to consider a $3.56 million contract with TW Construction Co. Inc. of Sparks for renovating the first two blocks of Virginia between the Truckee River and Second Street. Other work brings the amount to $3.9 million.
Two more blocks to the north will be considered Sept. 27.
The middle lane on Virginia Street will be reserved for left turns, keeping traffic in the other two travel lanes moving. And new traffic light settings will give pedestrians their own time to cross without having to compete with motorists.
While supporting the makeover, downtown resident Frank Partlow asked the council to devote as much attention to dealing with construction detours as it did for the downtown Reno railroad trench project.
"Do you want to go out there now?" Partlow asked, in challenging city officials to check the street barricades up and down Sierra and Center streets because of construction. He said he doesn't expect the current boom in downtown construction, including a number of condo projects, to end until 2010.
City officials plan to maintain a route for pedestrians on the sidewalks throughout construction.
But some traffic lanes, intersections or sections of Virginia Street along the four blocks would be closed on and off to traffic until the project is finished in late spring. Closing the street entirely will be a last resort, officials said.
To help motorists, the city already has detours mapped and will be putting up daily changes on its Web site with an interactive map.
At Mayor Bob Cashell's request, the council ordered city staff to check in with business owners on Virginia every day to see if they need help in dealing with inconveniences.
With the narrowing of the street, about 4,500 of 20,000 motorists a day are expected to shift to Sierra and Center streets. Virginia Street could hit a "D" in traffic congestion, which is still considered acceptable at peak traffic in evenings.
Dan Grayuski, of Fehr & Peers, told the Council the delay to motorists would be minor. "We're talking seconds, not minutes."
A study by Fehr & Peers, a Reno traffic engineering firm, found no fatal flaws in narrowing the street because nearby Sierra, Center and Evans streets can handle more traffic to take motorists north and south.
Council on Sept. 27 expects to consider another construction project with Granite Construction Co. to rebuild Virginia Street between Second and Fourth streets, fronting Harrah's Reno and the Eldorado Hotel Casino.
If costs for the second two blocks are similar to the first two blocks, the entire project would total about $8 million. Rental income from railroad properties from the train trench project and federal train trench grants largely will pay for the entire project.
In approving the new look for Virginia Street, the council agreed to give downtown a new paint job. The ultra-modern red cherry paint that's on everything from newspaper racks and garbage receptacles to traffic lights will be repainted black.
Sidewalks containing paving stones that came all the way from China will be ripped out and replaced with a stamped concrete pattern. The paving stones are a maintenance nightmare because they crack or pop out of the ground. Officials said they have been the subject of a number of trip-and-fall claims against the city.
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City council OKs contracts for downtown construction
Staff Report
Reno Gazette Journal
8/31/2006
The Reno City Council on Wednesday approved two contracts to start construction for the first two blocks of a major makeover for downtown Virginia Street.
Virginia Street will be narrowed to three lanes from four, providing for wider sidewalks. The street will be repaved with cement and will be stamped concrete used for the sidewalks. Work is to begin Sept. 25.
For the first two blocks between the Truckee River bridge and First Street, TW Construction Co. Inc. of Sparks won the contract with a low bid of $3.56 million.
VPoint, a Las Vegas civil engineering firm, will be paid $470,000 to oversee the project. In its contract, billing rates range from $125 an hour for a survey manager to $60 an hour for a clerical worker.
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Either way, they are making slow, but steady progress on cleaning up downtown. I think once more people actually live down there it will only improve. 
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