Rifle City Council votes to keep Railroad Avenue open postindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from postindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Following months of construction along Third Street and closing down a section of Railroad Avenue to through traffic, the fruits of downtown Rifle’s revitalization project are starting to ripen.
“When you actually get over to that west side, suddenly it feels totally different,” City Manager Scott Hahn told Rifle City Council on June 2. “It doesn’t feel like Rifle downtown, because you’re used to thinking how it used to be… I have business owners come out, and they’re extremely pleased with how it’s looking.”
City engineer Craig Spaulding said work began this week on the sidewalk on the opposite end of Railroad Avenue between Second and Third streets. Curb and gutter work are also underway.
Ray K. Erku / Post Independent
Downtown Rifle business owner Nick Beightel said business has decreased 75% since construction activity picked up in the area earlier this year.
In fact, when asked if COVID-19 or construction has been more of a detriment to foot traffic, Beightel, who owns One Jewelers, said construction is worse “by far.”
“The fact a lot of my customers are elderly people, they don’t want to walk a block or two to shop,” he said on Tuesday. “They want the convenience to pull up and leave. Where are they going to park? It’s hard for them.”
Large icicles hang from the ceiling of the lower ice cave, also known as the Ice Palace, dwarf a a visitor to Rifle Mountain Park last weekend north of Rifle. Kyle Mills / Citizen Telegram
Looking back at 2020, the city of Rifle and western Garfield County saw their fair share of interesting stories. Here’s a trip down memory lane as as we take a look back at some of the headlines from the Citizen Telegram in 2020:
BIG PLANS FOR DOWNTOWN
After visiting reconstruction concepts and receiving public feedback, the city of Rifle made final plans in February to revitalize downtown with a new project slated for 2021.