Streetscape improvements planned for downtown Lithonia

Downtown Lithonia is getting a facelift that could help breathe life into the sleepy hamlet.

A $2.5 million streetscape improvement plan will transform Main Street, with sidewalks, pedestrian crosswalks, ornamental lighting and plantings, brick and granite pavings, and a central public park.

Residents who saw the plan last month at a public meeting, declared it the right medicine for city's ailments.

"We think it is very, very nice," said Nnamdi Ibebunjo, a downtown resident. "And we deserve it."

The half-mile project, between Max Cleland Avenue and Swift Street, was developed by PBSJ, an Atlanta engineering, landscape and architecture planning firm. It uses a gateway concept at the beginning and end of the improvements, and calls for major streetscape improvements throughout the commercial strip that will enhance the look and safety of the area.

Marcia Glenn, Lithonia's mayor, said the improvements are long overdue.

"It's a long time coming, people, but there is change coming to this area," Glenn told residents. "You can either be a part of the change or watch things happen."

The project is partially financed by federal Transportation Enhancement Funds, with a 20 percent match from DeKalb County. But the city needs an additional $400,000 to complete the endeavor.

John Boudreau, the PBSJ project manager, said the master plan was designed in phases so that implementation could start while the rest of the funds are being identified.

John Gurbal, the county's deputy director of engineering, said the purchase of rights-of-way for the project should be completed by October and that construction could begin by the end of year. The project could take eight months to complete.