By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Plans to give the downtown more green space won unanimous approval by the Bowling Green Planning Commission Wednesday evening.
A public hearing was held on plans to turn the street between the proposed city building and the county library into a green space. No one from the public was present to comment about vacating West Oak Street between North Main Street and North Church Street.
The goal is to make the street go green.
The one-way street currently allows westbound traffic between Wood County District Public Library and the former county senior center location – which is being used for the proposed city administration building.
The new city building is preserving the historic front facade of the former senior center, which was previously a post office. The new government building will have a larger footprint, but it will not extend further than the current sidewalk on West Oak Street.
Details of the proposed green space aren’t yet complete, but the area will be open for use by library patrons, city building customers and staff – and the public. Both the city and the library board petitioned for the alley to be vacated.
The west portion of the street property will be used as ingress and egress for the new city building’s parking lot.
Planning commission member Abhishek Bhati asked Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter to describe plans for the green space.
“That’s still being determined,” Tretter said. “We are still working on the final design.”
The city envisions it as a space to be used for library programming, by city workers and people downtown who want to have lunch outside, and by anyone who wants to take a break outside.
“We don’t want it to be a lawn,” Tretter said. “We want it to be an active space – another great space in our downtown area.”
Brian Paskvan, president of the library board of trustees, said the outdoor space will be welcomed by the library – which found outside space in demand during COVID-19 restrictions.
“The library is excited about having additional green space,” Paskvan said. Plans are being discussed to have doors to the outside installed in the children’s area of the library to give easy access to outdoor storytime, he said.
“It will give us more opportunity to get people outside,” Paskvan said.
The library board has approved spending up to $49,595 to move its book drop on Oak Street to the other side of the library on Court Street.
City Council will make the final decision about vacating West Oak Street in order to create the green space.
In other business Wednesday evening, the planning commission approved the plat for six additional single-family lots in the Cogan’s Crossing subdivision at the corner of Brim and Bishop roads on the north edge of Bowling Green.
Planning Director Heather Sayler reported that zoning requests in the city are up 12% from last year, with 307 so far this year compared to 270 at this time last year.
