Pedestrian path completed through downtown alley

Improvements to a pedestrian path leading into the downtown Jackson Street parking garage have been completed, brightening the walkway with a colorful mural, bicycle racks and lighting.

The tunnel, an extension of Friendship Alley, creates a connection between Washington to Jackson streets. It was redesigned by Columbus architect Louis Joyner.

A large mural featuring a “Kaleidoscopic View” of the city inside the entryway was created by Ivy Tech Community College student Cristina Tuttle.

The mural, selected two years ago as a city bicentennial project, was developed in a community design workshop class that included Ivy Tech and high school students, said R. Lloyd Brooks, Ivy Tech Columbus program chair of visual communications.

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The painting, which took about 100 hours to complete in September and October of 2016, replaced what Brooks described as a dreary concrete wall.

“When a person comes through, they can probably discover something new,” Brooks said.

The mural features depictions of ivy that can be found on the Cummins corporate headquarters in downtown Columbus. A silhouette of windows found at the Bartholomew County Public Library has also been incorporated.

“It’s a design that allows viewers to interpret it however they want,” Brooks said. “It will be a destination for people to come and see it and enjoy it.”

New LED lights have made the entryway brighter — a safety component, said Joyner, who was paid by the city an amount not to exceed $11,750 for developing the design and project management services.

A Columbus-based contractor, Repp & Mundt Inc., was paid $147,609 for improvements funded by the city’s Jackson Street parking garage fund. A louvered steel fence was painted red, while drainage was added to help mitigate water in the area.

The city replaced 12 existing cameras and added 24 more cameras in the parking garage both inside and outside, said Heather Pope, city redevelopment director. Two cameras are in the pedestrian tunnel, while a third is located just outside of the tunnel, she said.

Joyner said the new LED lights were also added since the space had been dark and not well lit. Those lights will also highlight the mural, he said.

“The whole space bounces off the mural,” he said. “People’s perception is an important part of how people use the space.”

Brooks also said many of the enhancements will be beneficial.

“It was a win-win in a lot of ways for the city, residents and downtown,” he said.

Columbus resident Candace Schofield, who works at the Garage Pub & Grill, said the lights that have been added have made the space more visually appealing.

The entryway space, which has 10 silver bike racks, is a continuation of Friendship Alley, said Becky DeVries, an employee of Fresh Take Kitchen.

Friendship Alley features 21 different designs that had been presented to the city for consideration as a bicentennial project.

Because of the additional lighting, DeVries said she feels much safer in the entryway — especially in the evening.

But it’s also aesthetically pleasing, said DeVries, who relocated to Columbus from the Chicago area a year ago.

“It fits right in with what Columbus is about, with art and architecture,” she said.

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Here is a list of individuals, companies and other entities who have been involved with the pedestrian path extendion in downtown Columbus.

  • Louis Joyner, a Columbus architect
  • R. Lloyd Brooks, program chair of visual communications at Ivy Tech Community College – Columbus
  • Cristina Tuttle, Ivy Tech Community College Art & Design student
  • Repp & Mundt Inc., a contractor from Columbus
  • Columbus Redevelopment Commission

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