Germantown Avenue Gets a Facelift

The Germantown Avenue Construction Project that is scheduled to completely rebuild the Avenue from Church Lane to Ashmead Street is sparking some serious conversation and raising some major concerns.

The plan: rebuilding of the roadway— block-by-block, replacement of the sidewalks, new sidewalks with new granite curbs, replacement of the trolley tracks and their concrete settings, new street lights and traffic signals, new trees, and replacement or repair of gas mains, water mains and sewers.

Expected duration: about one year, from now to January, 2010

I wonder how this construction will affect the lives of Germantown residents. Heavy traffic forced onto narrow, one-way streets and even less parking for store visitors. What about bus routes? Will businesses lose money?

Apparently, I'am not the only one with questions. Officials are holding weekly meetings at Germantown Friends School so that project officials, residents and business owners can exchange information and so that the concerns of community members and neighborhood representatives can be addressed.

We'll see how this turns out...