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Eyesore no more? Urban renewal hopes to transform downtown railroad corridor By DAVID PRESZLER Makeshift parking lots, litter and weeds line the railroad tracks that bisect downtown Medford. Buildings designed for loading freight face Fir and Front streets. Most were converted to retail or office use years ago, inadvertently creating a stretch of wasteland behind them that runs through the city�s core. "Now, you have this big no man�s land," says Mike Webber of the Medford Urban Renewal Agency. That may start to change as early as this summer. Last year, the urban renewal agency purchased the land along the western side of tracks between Fourth and 10th streets. The agency plans to convert the excess railroad right-of-way into a tree-lined boulevard called Evergreen Street. It hopes to create an attractive, two-way street that will transform the 60- to 70-foot wide strip of land from an aesthetic liability to an asset. The first stretch of Evergreen to be completed will be the block between Main and West Eighth streets. Work could begin as early as this summer. That stretch will be done in conjunction with a multistory office complex to be built on the south side of West Main between the tracks and Fir Street. After that, pieces of Evergreen will be built over the next two to three years as funding and other development dictates. With the project still in the design phase, formal cost projections haven�t been done. Webber and other downtown advocates envision a quaint little street that offers parking and a friendly place to walk. They hope it will encourage retail development � from little shops to restaurant decks � that faces the tracks, making the area an attraction rather than a liability. Two restaurants along the tracks � Louisiana Grill and the currently vacant Medford Depot � already have outdoor seating that faces the railroad corridor. Michael Desimone, co-owner of Louisiana Grill, says improving the area around the tracks would be a wonderful thing. "It�ll spruce up that whole area," he says. "We�re looking forward to that." Desimone says the project would make the downtown that much more attractive, encouraging people to stroll through its streets more comfortably. Webber says the improvement would be a boon to the developing "restaurant row" along Front Street and across the tracks to the Louisiana Grill. With trains now passing through only once or twice a day, redeveloping the area makes good sense, he says. In fact, Webber thinks the remaining trains add character. The side of Evergreen closest to the tracks would likely have a wrought-iron fence for safety reasons, be lined with trees and offer curbside parking, Webber says. The other side would have a tree-lined sidewalk and, hopefully, a row of retail shops and outside restaurant seating. People walking along Evergreen would be able to see across to Front Street, tying the two sides of downtown together. "The idea is to create a boulevard effect," he says. Evergreen was originally conceived as a one-way arterial street that, along with a realigned Front Street, would take traffic off Central and Riverside avenues. That plan is being reconsidered but could still be adopted. Even if Evergreen does become an arterial, Webber says the improvements will make for a more attractive street. "It�ll be designed so it can be either or," he says. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA