Paint Creek Bridge in Downtown Rochester Will Get New Look

Walkers, runners and bikers who follow the Paint Creek Trail under Main Street in Rochester will soon be greeted by a whole new landscape.

Rochester City Council approved funding for enhancements to the bridge and walkway after a presentation Monday night by the Downtown Development Authority, whose board members said they considered the project a part of their overall vision for downtown.

The bridge and walkway enhancements will cost $698,000 and will include a waterfall and scenic overlook.

The work will be completed this fall so that it will not interfere with the Main Street reconstruction project planned for 2012.

Pierre Atallah, chair of the DDA's Site Development Committee, said the project is designed to link the core downtown area south of University with the northern part of Main Street. 

"We have been talking about capital investments for a long time, and I think this is a wonderful capital investment for the city of Rochester," said Atallah, who has been a member of the DDA board since 2008.

In his presentation to City Council members, Atallah detailed the multiple revisions the bridge enhancement project has undergone since board members first proposed it two years ago.

From the original vision of major bridge enhancements, the project has been scaled back. Atallah explained that the Michigan Department of Transportation owns the bridge, and if the bridge needed to someday be structurally repaired, the aesthetic enhancements may not be preserved.

So in the end, the DDA board opted for a scaled-back version of the original plan, one that focused on enhancing the trail below the bridge.

Included in the enhancements:

• Planter boxes will be affixed to the top of the bridge, lining the eastern side and filled with plants that cascade down the side of the bridge.
• Stacks of Michigan stones will replace the metal railing on the trail underneath the bridge.
• A scenic lookout on the northeast side of the bridge, overlooking the trail, will have benches for people to watch what's happening below — whether it be fishermen in the creek or 5K runners along the trail.
• A small waterfall will flow from near the bridge through the rocks and into the creek below.

The council voted 6-1 in favor of funding the project. Council member Kim Russell cast the dissenting vote.

Russell expressed a concern with the timing of the request. She said she received information on the proposed project Friday and would have liked more time to consider it.

Atallah said time was "of the essence" regarding the project. He said council members needed to approve the project funding Monday night so that it could be completed before the end of October, when projects in the Paint Creek would be prohibited because of the possibility of disturbing fish and other wildlife.

Though he voted in favor of the project, council member David Zemens said he was "disappointed" that the DDA had already been billed $470,000 in design costs — mostly for previous versions of the proposed bridge — by consulting engineers.

Council member Ben Giovanelli praised the project as improving an area that is "dank and drab."

DDA board Chairman Mike Clayman said the project would enhance the pedestrian-friendly culture in the city and also would help the DDA expand its reach.

"At end of the day, it's what are we trying to achieve and what are we asking for," Clayman said.