City announces Centennial Bridge & Plaza ribbon cutting
–The City of Atascadero is pleased to announce the Ribbon Cutting for the Centennial Walking Bridge and Plaza Ribbon Cutting will be held on Friday, Dec. 1, at 9 a.m. This event will be the official grand opening of the Centennial Bridge connecting the downtown from Historic City Hall and Sunken Gardens to Galaxy Theatre and Colony Square. It will also be the opening for the new Centennial Plaza and City Hall parking lot.
For decades, the city has envisioned utilizing the Atascadero Creek Reservation area within the downtown to provide interaction with the beautiful riparian corridor and greater pedestrian connectivity. In 2005, the Downtown Revitalization Plan proposed an Atascadero Creek pedestrian bridge and a creek side trail that would connect the downtown to Colony Square. When Galaxy Theatre at Colony Square opened in 2011, the pedestrian bridge project became top priority of the city. At that time, the city acquired a 2,500 square foot vacant lot that fronts East Mall for the construction of Centennial Plaza. The project had to be placed on hold in 2013, after Redevelopment Agencies (RDA) in California were eliminated by the State and funding for existing and planned RDA projects were placed under review.
In 2015, it was determined that sufficient RDA funding was available to complete the original Pedestrian Bridge and Plaza project along with several other elements of the Downtown Revitalization Plan, including the reconstruction and expansion of the City Hall public parking lot. The total project will provide the following benefits:
- Pedestrian connection from Downtown and Sunken Gardens to Colony Square
- Improved downtown parking facilities and increased parking spaces
- Creek side pedestrian trail from El Camino Real to Lewis Avenue
- Creek restoration and improved public access with interpretive signage
- ADA parking spaces for City Hall and the Historical Society Colony House
- Improved access and visibility to the Historical Society Colony House
- Enhanced location for Tent City/Colony Days
- Addition of enhanced public spaces
- Removal of existing vacant and unused structures
Bringing the project from concept to completion has taken the efforts of many local companies. The design team was headed by North Coast Engineering and included Arris Studio Architects; Althouse & Meade Environmental Consultants; Earth Systems Pacific; Smith Structural Group; Thoma Electric and Firma Landscape Architects. Rick Engineering Company completed construction Management. JoAnn Head provided survey services and Terra Verde did environmental monitoring. CalPortland Construction has worked to complete the project, on time and within budget. Special thanks to the City’s Project Manager, Ryan Hayes.
