South Barstow Open for Your Vehicular Pleasure
Last year the excitement on South Barstow Street came when you could drive both ways on it for the first time in decades. This summer, the excitement came when you could drive on the street period. On Aug. 9, a five-block stretch of South Barstow was opened to vehicle traffic for the first time since major reconstruction began May 28. During that time, contractors rebuilt the street, curb, gutter, and sidewalk as part of the $1.57 million project (while pedestrians walked amid construction equipment and stacks of bricks). While you can drive – and park – on the street again, the work isn’t quite finished. Contractors still have to install brick pavers in the boulevards, as well as pedestrian-scale light poles, and a new sound system, all by Sept. 13. After that, plantings – including 42 trees! – and an irrigation system are slated to be done by Oct. 31.
