Aiken’s Makin’ may see some change due to parkway project
Work taking place in downtown parkways will not significantly affect Aiken’s Makin’, according to officials.
Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Jameson said the annual festival’s planning committee met with City officials on several different occasions during the planning phase of the City’s Green Infrastructure Project and found that the project will not significantly impact the festival.
For Aiken’s Makin’, vendors set up in parkways along Park Avenue between Chesterfield and Union streets to sell items such as arts and crafts and many types of food.
The Green Infrastructure Project will take place in several of the City’s parkways, including Park Avenue, where contractors are working on the early stages of the project. Eventually, bioretention ponds and rain gardens will be created in the parkways in an effort to absorb more rainwater and reduce storm water runoff in Hitchcock Woods.
Pervious pavement will also be installed in the streets where storm water runoff is prevalent. The project is being led by Clemson University professor Dr. Gene Eidson and his students.
According to Jameson, any changes that will need to be made at Aiken’s Makin’ once the project is finished will be minimal. He said some vendors may need to be relocated in some areas; however, officials will not know when until construction is complete.
“We may have to redesign some exhibit space, but it should work out fine,” he said.
City Manager Roger LeDuc said water and electrical lines will be placed underground in the parkways as a part of the project so that power and water will be more accessible to vendors during events.
“We want to try to make this a festival-friendly area,” LeDuc said.
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Project to lessen erosion in Woods
An effort to reduce storm water runoff in Hitchcock Woods is under way.
Representatives with Woolpert Inc. and Willing Construction were out on Park Avenue this week, beginning the City of Aiken’s Green Infrastructure Project.
The project is expected to greatly lessen the amount of storm water drained into Hitchcock’s Sand River canyon. The problem has plagued the City for decades, causing significant erosion in Hitchcock Woods. The City has contracted with the H.G. Reynolds construction company for the project.
Workers will install bioretention ponds and rain gardens in parkways and place pervious concrete and asphalt in downtown streets, all of which will absorb larger amounts of rainfall, officials said.
City Public Works Director Larry Morris said work will initially be done along Park Avenue, Barnwell Avenue, Union Street and near the Newberry Street Festival Site. A soil mixture that will treat water, improving its quality, will also be installed in parkways, he said. Full Details….
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