In April, the Department of Public Works removed planters on Cushman Street that had dead or damaged trees. Those planters will be re-purposed for use elsewhere within the City of Fairbanks. “I took an inventory of the remaining planters and created a new visual layout balancing green space, need for more green space and more open sidewalk space,” said Jeff Jacobson, the public works director at the City of Fairbanks, in an email.
The reconfiguration takes into account that each city block is unique and that a uniform number of planters on every block neither works nor is aesthetically appealing.
During the week of June 12, the department re-arranged the remaining planters on Cushman Street to open up more sidewalk space and provide additional greenery only where it made sense to have planters. They removed additional planters to maximize the use of sidewalk space both in summer and winter. Planters in front of areas that had trees planted near sidewalks (like near Alaska House Heart Gallery, City Hall and the Veterans Park) were removed.
According to Jacobson, the current number and configuration of planters is the model the City of Fairbanks plans on maintaining.