Rodney Square Renovation Begins

Renovations were to begin today at Rodney Square, and the good news is that bus stops at Rodney Square will not require relocation at this time - the bus transit hub will not experience service changes, at least not until June, when relocation of all Rodney Square bus stops has been proposed by DART. A final decision on that is still in the offing, following an overwhelmingly negative response from the public.

According to city officials, quoted in a Sunday article in The News Journal, a million dollars worth of renovations will be taking place on the King and 10th Street sides of the Rodney Square, with the main focus on new tree plantings and a reinforced soil substructure that will reduce compaction and allow trees to remain healthier.

According to the News Journal's article, "Dart First State does not anticipate the  work will cause any service changes, according to the city news release. Temporary traffic barriers will be set up to protect riders."

This portion of the project is to be completed in November. The 11th Street portion of the project has been neither scheduled nor funded at this time. The Market Street side was renovated 10 years ago, so no work will be required there.

I haven't been down to Rodney Square yet this week, but I'm hopeful that things go smoothly. Does anyone remember that Mayor Baker was quoted recently as saying, regarding DART's proposed June service change, that all the Rodney Square bus stops would have to be moved anyway, due to the renovations? Somehow that "necessity" seems to have disappeared for the moment. Hmmm.