If the city council goes along, Albany is about to spend $3.4 million on crossings along the Water Avenue railroad line.
The gate in the fence was open and no heavy machinery was moving around on Friday at Monteith Riverpark, giving me an opportunity to walk in and look around the construction site.
Well, that was quick — the sale, that is, of the former Wells Fargo Bank property in downtown Albany.
For someone in a wheelchair, trying to cross the railroad track on Water Avenue to reach the Dave Clark Path is an arduous adventure if it’s possible at all.
Albany city officials have been preparing to sell three downtown parking lots on Water Avenue to Obie Companies Inc., of Eugene, with the goal of develping them with mixed-use buildings.
It would be interesting to know who has made offers to buy and develop the lot at 300 West First Ave. in Albany, the site of the former and now demolished downtown branch of Wells Fargo Bank.
Water Avenue crossings: No real choice
Nobody on the Albany City Council liked the steep jump in the price of planned construction on railroad crossings along Water Avenue. But on Wednesday a majority approved funding to pay for the work because there wasn’t any realistic choice.
Tags: Albany council, Albany downtown, Albany riverfront, CARA, Portland & Western, rail crossings, Water Avenue