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SHICKSHINNY&#8212; The general appearance of the business sector of the borough is scheduled to improve this spring through a project that borough council has entitled &#8220;Streetscape.&#8221;Tom Reilly, of Reilly Associates Engineers of Pittston, presented on Thursday a review of the estimated $1.6 million project.Reilly said plans are to advertise for contract bids in March and for work to prospectively commence in May. Funding will be through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via the Luzerne County Office of Community Development.In the &#8220;Streetscape&#8221; plan developed by Reilly, landscaping, sidewalk and street paving and street lighting improvements are scheduled for a distance on Main Street commencing at Vine Street and extending north to McClintock Street.On Union Street, the distance will be west from Main Street to just beyond Bartoli&#8217;s Lane.Included in a preliminary budget is $610,000 for sidewalks, curbs, cross walks, tree lawns and LED lighting standards.Along Creek Alley and West Vine Street, the banks of Shickshinny Creek are scheduled to be landscaped with shubbery, trees and decorative metal fencing at a cost of $192,538.Another $130,000 has been earmarked, Reilly said, for the conversion of 62 light standards with LED lighting.Resurfacing on Canal, Susquehanna and Vine Streets is estimated at $290,000.Associated engineering and administrative costs are listed at $248,000.During the meeting, council members also encouraged Reilly to consider renovations to the Oak Street park and the outdoor basketball courts there. Overall, borough officials expressed a preference for decorative, blooming trees in contrast to trees which grow tall and have extensive root systems.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom HuntingtonFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 5770-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</shirttailMeta></div>

Streetscape project for Shickshinny moves forward