Following the completion of the Lake Harbour extension, the city of Ridgeland plans to rebrand West Jackson Street into Ridgeland’s own downtown area.
The previously busy street will no longer be the only route for commuters seeking to make an east-west journey between Highway 51 and Highland Colony.
Around 20 years ago, according to Mayor Gene McGee, the Lake Harbour extension project got underway. Its purpose was to ease traffic on West Jackson Street and provide an additional east-west route to the southwestern region of Ridgeland.
Now that Lake Harbour is finished, city officials can concentrate on plans for West Jackson street.
“Ridgeland has never had a downtown area, it’s always been spread out. We want to create a downtown area for people to enjoy, like a town center,” said Mayor McGee. “Over 15 years ago, the district was rezoned from residential to commercial. Now, it is an overlay district; it is zoned to allow both residential and commercial properties.
“When it’s done, and we are in the process of hiring a professional consultant, it should resemble towns like Williamsburg, Virginia. We want it to have a historical look.
“We want it to be a place where people can walk around and making it an overlay district will allow for parking on the streets. Another feature we want are speakers in the sidewalks,” said the mayor.
Currently, the board of alderman is in the process of hiring a professional consultant to develop a plan to make West Jackson Street a more downtown-friendly area. The Lake Harbour extension should help alleviate through traffic on the street, which is a major hindrance for foot traffic and shopping.
According to Mayor McGee the extension is already working.
“School busses are using it now, which used to crowd West Jackson street. Now we aren’t seeing any school busses on the street,” he said.
The project should be completed by February 2021. The mayor says he won’t ban through traffic on the road but plans to use signs to encourage using the new road. One change that he says must occur is the end of 18 wheelers using the road.
Other plans include stringing lights across the streets and opening new restaurants and stores. Last year Ridgeland branded West Jackson as the “railroad district,” because the railroad runs through the area.
