If you haven’t walked down Oak Street in Steamboat Springs lately, you’re in for a treat.Improvements to the downtown street are progressing ahead of schedule with new sidewalks, stamp concrete bump-outs at key intersections, new lighting, undergrounded utilities and some new flowerbeds.

After you take a stroll along Oak, travel a few blocks south, and walk along Yampa Street, where more improvements are on display. A second summer of construction has resulted in artfully designed sidewalks and curb and gutter on both sides of the riverside street, as well as built-in seating in front of several businesses, undergrounded utilities and strings of overhead festival lighting.

These improvements have been in the planning stages for years, and it’s nice to finally see the design renderings become reality. The project is being financed by an overall $11.2 million funding package, which was endorsed by the Steamboat Springs City Council last year. Money for the project comes from an inventive combination of capital reserves, debt financing using certificates of participation, special assessments, grants and utility franchise fees.

Read more at Steamboat Today.