BELFAST – Aside from some new-fallen snow, Cross Street may not look any different today than yesterday, but the street, which is slated for a number of improvements by the city, got a little bit wider on Tuesday night. At least on paper. 

The overhaul of Cross Street dates back to the summer of 2012 when the city received a $500,000 downtown revitalization grant. The purpose of grant was to make street, sidewalk, lighting and other basic improvements to an area designated as being in a state of “slum and blight.”

City officials convened a committee and ultimately hired Sebago Technics of South Portland to come up with a plan for Cross Street, which runs between Lower Main Street and Belfast Common. Plans recently presented emphasize a visual connection between Main Street and the otherwise unremarkable entrance to the Common at Miller Street. Benches and lighting would be added to the Main Street end and the current access road at the park would be expanded into a small plaza with some basic amenities and possibly a sculpture.

The plans would also convert a portion at the south end of the street to one-way traffic to allow for more on-street parking. A total of 40 parking spaces would be added on Cross, Spring and Miller Streets under the current plan.

In the process of studying the idea, Cross Street was found to narrower than originally believed. City officials believed there would not be enough room for the planned improvements and undertook negotiations with abutting property owners.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved land swaps with three land owners of parcels abutting Cross Street. In exchange for a strip of easements along the east side of Cross Street, the city agree to give the property owners rights to portions of city rights of way on adjacent streets.

The city’s rights of way extend a set distance from the center of roads and often include areas that appear to be part of private properties, including front lawns of many houses inside the bypass.

Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge said the areas given on Tuesday to private property owners would not affect traffic or the use of any of the adjacent city streets.

City Manager Joe Slocum noted one parcel on Miller Street that the city would transfer to a property owner as a good trade for the city. The area, just east of Cross Street on the north side of Miller, rises steeply from the street and would be difficult for the city to use for another purpose, he said.

The Council unanimously approved the land swaps.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com