Bike rides take me past the west end of Water Avenue in Albany several times a week. So I see the transformation of this former industrial street into the “plaza street” envisioned by the city’s Waterfront Project.
On Monday I spent a few minutes watching a crew put down paving bricks where Washington Street and Water Avenue meet near the entrance to Monteith Riverpark.
They’ve only just begun. As I understand the plan, much of this end of Water is supposed to be covered with these brick-colored pavers. Behind the pavers already in place, you can see the narrow outline of the new one-way section of Water Avenue, going east from Washington to Ferry.
Last week I saw that contractors for Pacific Power had sawed off the tops of about half a dozen power poles after the electrical wires and transformers were removed. This was part of the operation, started last year, to move overhead wires under ground as required by the city because of the plaza street design…