Pueblo plans to install artwork and lighting in the Downtown and Bessemer neighborhoods to improve the safety in those areas and beautify them.

City council approved an ordinance on June 10 that establishes the Asphalt Art and Gateways Project. The city was awarded a nearly $250,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation to create artwork on sidewalks and improve lighting along City Center Drive.

Artwork will also be painted on sidewalks near Ray Aguilera Park, formerly Bessemer Park.

The new lights will be installed at Headwaters Fountain, which is located in Downtown Pueblo at City Center Plaza.  Decorative gateway signs will also be created as part of the project.

Andrew Hayes, director of public works for the city, said work on the project is tentatively expected to begin this fall. The city is working with the Pueblo Arts Alliance to identify which artists will create the artwork and find a contractor to install the lights, he said.

“There was a push for projects that really kind of make our city more livable, improve quality of life and attract visitors,” Hayes said. “This (is) really a community-driven, placemaking type of project that will attract both residents and visitors to these Downtown corridors and to Ray Aguilera Park.”

The project is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2025, though the grant funds are available until July 31, 2025, if the city’s partners need more time to finish it.

In the background paper for the ordinance, the city stated Mayor Heather Graham wants to “emphasize the revitalization and redressing of the areas’ main streets” in response to a “century of underinvestment” in Downtown and Bessemer.

City has string of improvement projects in the works

City council in recent weeks approved a few other projects, one centered on improvements to Veteran’s Memorial Park near Lake Minnequa and another on upgrades to City Park and Mineral Palace Park.

In each instance, the city was awarded grant funding to help construct the projects.

Though the projects are progressing as expected, Hayes called grant writer Luann Martinez “instrumental” in the city’s recent success in obtaining state and federal funds through grant opportunities.

“You’ve got to explain the need, and what we are desiring to have (needs to) align with these grantors’ objectives as well,” Hayes said. “(Luann) does a fantastic job at conveying those points, so our grant applications have been extremely successful over these past few years.”

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Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo wants to beautify Downtown and Bessemer. Here’s how