Midtown is about to see major renovations. Here's what the streets will look like in 2020

Mike Higdon | Reno Gazette-Journal

Corrections: The idea-to-construction process has taken five years. South Virginia Street is not scheduled to close completely at any point during construction. Dedicated bus lanes will be added from Mt. Rose Street to Plumb Lane. The story has been updated to reflect these changes.

Midtown Reno is about to get a whole lot messier before it looks better in 2020. Starting in September, the Regional Transportation Commission will start ripping up South Virginia Street from Liberty Street to Plumb Lane in preparation to rebuild the road, sidewalks and some side streets.

The process from idea to design to construction has taken more than five years. In that time, the RTC met with business owners and residents to ascertain how Midtown's infrastructure could meet the needs of as many people as possible.

From that, RTC now plans to build large sidewalks, a roundabout, upgraded bus stops and freshly repainted and repaved roads with different lane and parking configurations. Protected bike lanes didn't make the cut because business owners lobbied for parking instead, but a slower speed limit may offer hope for cyclists in the shared bus-bike-car lanes.

The whole project will cost about $80 million, half of which will come from federal matching grants. We break it all down here:

Phase one: Building new utilities under the road

After Labor Day, the RTC plans to cut open South Virginia Street between Liberty and Plumb to replace sewer lines, bury power lines and set up conduit for future utilities, such as AT&T's fiber optic internet lines.

More: AT&T gigabit fiber internet finally available in Reno

The RTC will start at Plumb Lane and work its way north toward Liberty Street. Traffic will close to northbound traffic, leaving one southbound lane open with detours. Northbound traffic will have to detour, for example taking Plumas Street past the construction.

"At the end of six months, that work will be done, but you'll mostly see patches in the ground," RTC engineering manager Doug Maloy said. "It'll look kind of messy for a while."

Phase 2: What an all-new Virginia Street might look like

In spring 2019, the RTC will start the second round of construction. That phase will replace sidewalks, resurface and repaint the roads, add trees and benches, reconfigure parking spots, add bus stops and add a roundabout to Virginia Street.

Scroll left and right on the below image to see the section from Liberty to Mary streets

Liberty to Mary/Center streets

The north portion of Midtown, from the federal courthouse south to Junkee Clothing Exchange, is currently two lanes with a center lane. The sidewalks in this section vary in size; some meet Americans With Disabilities Act requirements while most do not.

The plan is to push the sidewalks out to 12- and 19-feet wide, which would eliminate the center turn lane. Instead, the center turn lane will become a two-foot-wide concrete median with left turns cut in for some side streets.

One of the largest changes will happen at the intersection where Mary Street turns into Center Street as it crosses Virginia Street. Right now, a traffic light controls this intersection. In the future, that will become a roundabout.

Saint Lawrence and Tahoe streets

The intersection of Saint Lawrence and South Virginia streets is highly trafficked because of the restaurants and bars at The Stick retail center, Saint Lawrence Commons, the 777 Cheney building half a block south and Tahoe Street around the corner. For that reason, parking is at a premium and the roads are in terrible condition.

The plan is to convert all of the parallel parking spots on Saint Lawrence Street from about 28 to 24 diagonal spots and about 15 parallel spots on Tahoe Street to 22 diagonal spots.

While this block gains about three spots, most of which are handicap spots, other parts of Midtown may lose some. The total net loss is five to 10 parking spots in all of Midtown, according to an RTC engineer who is still finalizing the plan.

Scroll left and right on the below image to see the section from Mary Street to Plumb Lane

Vassar Street to Plumb Lane

South Virginia Street widens as it moves south past Vassar Street. Right now it has four lanes and decent sidewalks up to Mt. Rose Street. Then Virginia Street widens enough to get a center lane all the way to Plumb Lane.

In the future, the first half up to Mt. Rose will be converted to one lane both ways with a center median and left turn lanes at intersections. This will accommodate larger sidewalks, landscaping, lighting and seating. The Mt. Rose Street-to-Plumb Lane section will remain four lanes, with two of the lanes dedicated bus lanes.

Midtown businesses are still open

Between the two phases, Midtown could be under construction until 2020. Business owners are feeling a mixture of frustration, fear and excitement. The new Midtown infrastructure could mean higher foot traffic, better utilities and a safer road, according to RTC.

But many business owners told the RTC that two years of construction could also put them out of business.

More: Will lack of parking kill Midtown businesses?

The RTC met with the Midtown Merchants Association on Monday to let them know it plans to brainstorm ways to tell customers Midtown is still open. The RTC started a "Business Patronage Program" with the intention of helping businesses advertise through billboards, gift card purchases and similar ideas.

Paul Doege, owner of Recycled Records, wants the RTC to remind people Midtown businesses can be accessed — often more easily — from Sierra or Center streets. Numerous side streets offer far more parking, too.

Kasey Christensen, Midtown Merchants Association president and owner of Sup, suggested the RTC create a "Midtown Spirit" bus that can shuttle customers up and down Virginia Street from larger north- and south-end parking lots.

Amy Cummings, RTC deputy executive director, seemed interested in the idea.

Mike Higdon is the city life reporter at the RGJ and can be found on Instagram @MillennialMike, on Facebook at Mike Higdon, Reno Life and on Twitter @MikeHigdon.