As Finlay Park stays busy, Columbia looks to slim down streets to add parking

As Finlay Park continues drawing large crowds after its $25 million renovation, Columbia officials are looking to slim down the many lanes on Taylor Street, with possible changes to Laurel Street as well, to add parking and to make the park safer to reach.

The plan would take part of Taylor Street’s current 6 lanes of one way traffic and “right-size” the road by converting some of that pavement into walking and biking paths, parking chutes, and traffic buffers, plus extra parking.

“We’ve obviously had a really successful opening,” said Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson of Finlay Park, which reopened in November after a $25 million effort to revive the previously dilapidated space. “A lot of attendance really does require that we try to establish a journey to get this done.”

Wilson and city planners discussed the proposal with city council members during a July work session.

Early concepts for the work include:

Up to 182 parking spaces
New shared-use paths for walkers and bikers
Narrower traffic lanes (11 ft.)
A transit shelter for bike storage and bus and rideshare pick-ups and drop-offs
Traffic ‘chutes’ that protect people parking from passing cars
Flashing pedestrian lights at Lincoln and Laurel streets
A protected 2-way bike track on Laurel

The work could cost close to $6 million, with Taylor Street at $3.47 million and Laurel Street about $2.40 million, according to city estimates. Planners stressed that the figures are early and will likely change.

The Finlay Park revitalization always included the goal to eventually address the roads, particularly Taylor Street, planners said. The city’s plans build on a state transportation proposal from 2025.

“The streets are very wide, and they create a barrier between the park and the community,” City Landscape Architect Todd Martin told council members.

It’s not immediately clear how many lanes Taylor Street will be when the work is finished. City planners were told by the state transportation department that they could cut the road down to as few as two lanes, given the amount of traffic the street sees.

Taylor Street sees roughly 13,000 daily vehicles, while Laurel Street conveys just 5,400 daily vehicles, according to SCDOT traffic data.

City plans have called for the one-way stretch of Taylor Street to be converted into a 2-way road in the future. The road project is being configured so that would still be possible, planners said, but the current concept keeps it one-way.

Members of the public will be able to weigh in on the plans in the future.

More to come

The road project comes as more development could soon be taking shape around the park. Developers are planning to turn the historic Veterans Administration building at 1801 Assembly Street into a full-service hotel with a rooftop bar overlooking the park.

At the same time, the Federal Government wants to sell or otherwise offload the adjacent Strom Thurmond Federal Building and Courthouse, and the city is considering buying them.

Leaders want Finlay Park to play a vital role in tourism and events in Columbia. The city is currently looking to hire an outside event planning firm to further “activate” the space by elevating an already full schedule of events being hosted at the park.

Since reopening in November, the park has hosted big music events like Jam Room and Songbird music festivals, holiday celebrations for Easter and July 4, and a rotating series of community activities.

Earlier this year, the park was recognized for innovation in design by a national recreation association.

The park has also faced growing pains. A recent festival held at the park was forced to end early when a rash of teen fights broke out shortly after police found loose ammunition in the park’s playground. That incident led the city to issue new rules, requiring all minors to be accompanied by someone 25 years or older in the park after 5 p.m.

As Finlay Park stays busy, Columbia looks to slim down streets to add parking

More to come

By admin