Vancouver celebrated a promise kept on Wednesday night.
The city called it the Main Street Promise.
For one year and 10 months, businesses have been patiently waiting for the completion of a $26 million investment.
On Wednesday, the city and those businesses marked the completion of 10 blocks of underground utilities, wider sidewalks, accessible crossings, new lighting, as well as benches and tables. Plus, removable bollards which will allow the city to shut down the street in order to host parades, festivals, concerts, and more.
“We had this project forever and a day,” Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said. “The council made a decision. ‘Let’s go for it. Let’s get it done.’”
On Wednesday, the city threw a party.
“This is now the next generation of Main Street,” McEnerny-Ogle said. “Main streets in all cities were the beginning. This is the future.”
Senator Maria Cantwell also took part in the celebration. She was instrumental in securing federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“It was about making a place for this city and for people to spend more time together as a community, to visit friends and neighbors, to shop the businesses, and to help this community grow,” Cantwell said.
Michael Walker, executive director of Vancouver’s Downtown Association, said during the design phase, business owners were encouraged to think big.
“We sure did,” he said.
“Main Street has the scale and infrastructure to become a defining destination of the Portland-Vancouver region,” Walker said.
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