5 Reasons to Look Forward to Downtown Clawson Project

1. The city held a well-attended workshop on Tuesday where details of the Downtown Clawson pedestrian and bicycle plan, financing and next steps were discussed. There, representatives of Clawson's business, residential, and governmental community came together to better understand the project and get their questions answered.

2. Estimated costs for the project, including a $267,000 grant from the Southeastn Michigan Council of Governments which was approved last month, were available for review on Tuesday. The city will contribute just under $144,000, or 35 percent, to help fund the project.

3. Artist renderings of the new pedestrian islands were shown bright and a large on the big screen. Three of the islands will be on 14 Mile Road, east of Main Street, while a fourth will be constructed west of Main Street, near the intersection of 14 Mile and Washington.

4. The development of the plan in itself was led by a public engagement process. An online survey with 185 participants and two public open houses with 33 participants were previously held to gather input from the community and help guide the design process.

5. With construction slated to begin next summer, for completion by September 2014, it could be less than one year until the pedestrian islands are put to use.