Pueblo plans to install artwork and lighting in the Downtown and Bessemer neighborhoods to improve safety and beautify those areas.
The City Council on June 10 approved an ordinance establishing the Asphalt Art and Gateways Project. The city received a nearly $250,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation to create artwork on sidewalks and improve lighting along City Center Drive.
Artwork will also be painted on sidewalks near Ray Aguilera Park, formerly Bessemer Park.
The new lights will be installed at Headwaters Fountain, located in downtown Pueblo at City Center Plaza. Decorative entrance signs will also be created as part of the project.
Andrew Hayes, the city’s public works director, said work on the project is expected to begin this fall. The city is working with the Pueblo Arts Alliance to identify which artists will create the artwork and find a contractor to install the lights, he said.
“There has been a push for projects that really make our city more livable, improve quality of life and attract visitors,” Hayes said. “This (is) truly a community-driven, placemaking-type project that will draw both residents and visitors to these Downtown corridors and to Ray Aguilera Park.”
The project is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2025, although grant funds will be available until July 31, 2025, if the city’s partners need more time to complete it.
In the background document for the ordinance, the city stated that Mayor Heather Graham wants to “emphasize the revitalization and restoration of the area’s main streets” in response to a “century of underinvestment” in Downtown and Bessemer.
The city has a series of improvement projects in the works
The City Council has approved a number of other projects in recent weeks, one focused on improvements to Veteran’s Memorial Park near Lake Minnequa and another on upgrades to City Park and Mineral Palace Park.
In both cases, the city received grants to help build the projects.
While the projects are progressing as expected, Hayes called grant writer Luann Martinez “instrumental” in the city’s recent success in obtaining state and federal funds through grant opportunities.
“You have to explain what the need is, and what we would like to (need to) align with the goals of these grant providers,” Hayes said. “(Luann) does a fantastic job of communicating these points, so our grant applications have been extremely successful over the last few years.”
More local news: The East Side farmers’ market will initially receive approval from Pueblo planners to meet “critical need.”
Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news and subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe to chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo wants to beautify Downtown and Bessemer. Here’s how
