http://kunr-assets.trinityannex.com/audios/514_0817sutro-long-web.mp3
Sutro Street in Reno is going to be one of the next big revitalization projects in the area. The Federal Government awarded a million-dollar grant to spruce it up. The idea is ultimately to improve not only the street, but everything around it. As roadways go in the Reno area, Sutro Street is aesthetically unimpressive. The road itself needs work, badly. In fact the Regional Transportation Commission already had plans to resurface Sutro. But it was able to leverage that money to get a federal grant to do more. Now there'll be beautification and improvements for people who want to bike or walk here. Commission Spokeswoman Felicia Archer the project is going to go from Mill Street up to McCarran. "It's a long distance," says Archer. "[Sutro] passes through number of neighborhoods, residences and businesses." Archer says it's about more than adding bike lanes and nicer bus stops. It's about making this area attractive to visit and do business in. "We're looking at the opportunity to create economic development and improve prosperity along the route," Archer adds. To get an idea of what that looks like you can go to nearby Wells Avenue. Buddy Lumnark manages Rapscallion's restaurant, which sits on Wells. "It was a nightmare," Lumnark says of Wells Ave. before it got a facelift. But since the revamp (which also got federal funding) many businesses on Wells avenue are doing better. And Lumnark says they're making an effort to look like it. "Some of the businesses around here are actually starting to beautify theirs, put some greenery in, some plantings and things like that. Just trying to make it a little nicer." Big changes like that take time, but a nicer road can certainly give it a kick-start.