The Downtown Canton Connector will encircle the City of Canton
The Canton Downtown Connector will provide a loop through the
downtown business district and connects this core to the West Branch Trail on the west and
the Upper Middle Branch Trail on the east. The route will use existing residential streets
with a primary north-south route through the downtown area. It will connect many of the cultural assets of downtown Canton and provide an important neighborhood link for nearby residential areas. It is envisioned
that the downtown loop will be an important economic development tool and will be constructed
in conjunction with streetscape improvements and other downtown revitalization projects.
From Monument Park along the West Branch Trail, a connection is proposed utilizing 11th
and 10th Streets. The route would be within the existing streets or along the
sidewalks. New streetscape improvements along this length would enhance the connection.
Cato would take the route past Summit School where intersection improvements
will be required. Tenth Street brings the route directly into the Civic Center and
Cultural Center for the Arts. It is recommended that the route be incorporated into
future landscape improvements so that it is not within
the public road system. Parking facilities for the complex can double as trailhead parking. From here, an extension of
Court Avenue through the parking and back lots of the Library and Palace
Theater would provide an exciting pedestrian improvement. Complimentary streetscape
improvements along Market Avenue, would provide a continuous loop opportunity
within the downtown business area, terminating at the Canton
Classic Car Museum.
About midway along the north-south downtown business loop of Court and Market, it is envisioned that the Canton Downtown Connector would be extended east along the one way pair of 5th and 6th Streets. Streetscape improvements would enhance this area and encourage continuation of housing revitalization. The 5th and 6th Street connections would extend to Riverside Park
and the Upper Middle Branch Trail and Greenway.
Revised: September 8, 2005.
