Kent Downtown Partnership (KDP) and the city of Kent want to brighten up Meeker Street under the State Route 167 overpass.
KDP is raising funds to help install lighting under the poorly lit bridge to make it more inviting for pedestrians and motorists alike.
“Even during the day time it is pretty dark,” said Bill Ellis, economic development analyst for the city of Kent. “There is a cave-like feel underneath the overpass. You don’t know who people are coming into the shadows right now as you walk through the overpass.”
So far, KDP has raised about $20,000 for the project. Initial estimates put the costs between $60,000 and $80,000, Ellis said. The city’s Economic Development Department will match the funds raised by KDP and provide some of the engineering for the project.
“The cost could change,” Ellis said. “There might be some choices that help bring it down and get what we want. What we want is to remove the cave-like feel. That is the No. 1 reason we are doing this and to make it a more attractive gateway.”
The lighting upgrades, which could include installing LED lights that could be programmed different colors, would brighten the sidewalks and roadway beneath the overpass day and night.
“Currently how the lighting is set up under the bridge, it can only run at night,” Ellis said. “It can’t run during the day.”
The recent addition of two apartment complexes downtown has created more foot traffic along Meeker Street, necessitating better lighting, KDP’s executive director Barb Smith said.
“People like to walk and they would like to shop, maybe at Safeway or somewhere, and this not very inviting,” Smith said of the overpass. “It doesn’t feel very safe for them, and now we are hearing more (apartments) are being built, so we need to make this more user friendly.”
An art-like lighting installation could also promote tourism in downtown, Smith said.
“Something unique like that could be a destination for a while,” she said. “People actually want to drive through just because it will be an experience. We feel there’s a lot of pluses…. We want to see it happen.”
The improvements to the overpass are part of the city’s larger Meet Me on Meeker project, aimed at unifying the Meeker Street corridor from roughly the Green River to the railroad tracks near Central Avenue.
Meeker Street is a gateway to Kent, Ellis said.
“It is the old historic location into town but this location (the overpass) in particular is kind of a gateway into historic downtown,” Ellis said.
The Meet Me on Meeker project is in the early stages, Ellis said, but city officials are dedicated to see it come to fruition.
In December, the City Council agreed to earmark $500,000 from the internal utility tax for design and construction costs on the Meeker Street Project.
“We have put funds toward that entire project,” Councilwoman Dana Ralph told the KDP at a breakfast meeting last month. “I really am appreciative of the partnership we can have between the city and KDP and our downtown residents. I think it speaks to the fact that it is important to all of us.”
To donate to the lighting project, call KDP at 253-813-6976 or email kdpadminassistant@kentdowntown.org.
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