The transformation of Tyrone’s downtown district will continue thanks to approved funding for the borough’s Streetscape project.
Mayor Patricia Stoner explained the project has been broken down into three phases as funding for each phase had to be obtained during the last several years since the project was first envisioned in the late 90s.
“We started with the historic district first and that area has already been completed,” said Stoner. “We have funding in place for $314,000 to begin phase two. We actually should have started that phase last year, but things were delay for a number of reasons.”
Stoner explained work around the Burger King area needs to be completed including conduits, lights and trees, plus a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue across the street. Also in phase two, work will be done on 10th Street between Logan Avenue and Herald Street in the area were the farmer’s markets are held.
“We only finished one side in front the funeral home, but not the other because of possible changes considered by others including the fire department. Also down in front of the VFW, one side has been completed, but not the other because of possible development plans,” said Stoner.
She explained it was not possible to complete the work until other entities had completed their work or made decisions about possible plans.
The mayor also detailed the origins of the funding for the Streetscape project and said it was connected to former Congressman Bud Shuster and state Senator Robert Jubelirer. Stoner noted that she hoped for funding in the late 90s did not materialize when Shuster left office, so instead the borough went about applying for funding through the Transportation Enhancement Project or TEP money.
“The borough received a windfall, six communities were chosen to receive funding through PENNDOT when (former Transportation Secretary) Brad Mallory was in charge. No matching funds were required. All we had to do was pay for engineering and design,” Stoner told The Daily Herald.
“We were used in PENNDOT promotional films for the Streetscape project. We are the prototype,” she said.
Last month, Borough Manager Nathan George went before the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Blair County to apply for funding to complete the third phase of the project which will include the area from Radio Shack down to the underpass.
Mayor Stoner sits on the MPO which is administered through the Blair County Planning Commission. She explained each board member ranks the projects which are up for funding throughout Blair County and decisions are made regarding which projects will receive funding and how much money is allocated to those receiving approval.
In the latest round, two area projects ranked in the top two out of seven which received consideration. The Streetscape project and a project in Antis Township for the Bells Gap Railroad/Logan Valley Streetcar Trail.
The Antis Township project ranked number one with the Tyrone project coming in number two. A project in Altoona was ranked third, but there wasn’t nearly enough funding available to cover its projected costs.
The current round of funding from the state offered $368,000. The Allegheny Ridge Corporation was seeking around $300,000 and needs more than three quarters of a million dollars in funding for the Altoona Heritage District Center.
Tyrone was seeking about $230,000 in funding for the third phase of the Streetscape project.
Stoner explained Tyrone was approved for $187,900 in funding with approval also given to the Antis Township project. At one point, during the recent meeting held at the courthouse in Hollidaysburg, the MPO was considering giving the Altoona project $100,000. The figure was then revised to a good faith amount of $50,000 before the group finally settled on $25,000.
The money was deducted from Tyrone’s allocation which left funding for Streetscape Phase IIB at $162,900. Stoner indicated the remaining amount needed is being applied for by the Blair County Planning Commission through a request to PENNDOT.
The approval for the additional $74,900 may not come before October and the final phase of the Streetscape project would not begin until at least 2005.
“When people get off that interstate they have got to like what they see. You have to make the downtown attractive to businesses,” explained Stoner while professing the importance of projects like Streetscape.
“We are already starting to see it with businesses who have told me they wouldn’t have located here if it wasn’t for the downtown improvements,” concluded the mayor.
The Transportation Enhancement Project funds are federal money given to individual states to disperse through their own programs. Phase II of the Streetscape project is expected to commence later this year.
