Madison’s signature street is one step closer to undergoing a complete transformation that will update and improve both its appearance and accessibility.

After a year of researching, reviewing and planning, final proposal recommendations for the State Street Design Project were unveiled Monday evening at a public meeting at the Madison Civic Center.

Presented by the Philadelphia-based design firm Wallace, Roberts and Todd, the design proposal is highlighted by renovations to improve the street’s functional and aesthetic qualities. Recommendations include plans to make State Street more bike and transit-friendly, as well as improvements addressing sidewalk paving, benches, streetlights and accomodations for outdoor caf?s.

The proposal seeks to bring a more coordinated and traditional look to the area, including plans for public art through the addition of a granite band along the sidewalk to allow for the integration of text and images. Reconstruction is also planned for areas near State Street, including Concrete Park.

The proposal is the direct result of a community-wide strategic effort that will update the street’s current 25-year-old design and layout. According to Bill Fruhling, Principle Planner with the Madison Department of Planning and Development, community involvement and input shaped the final proposal.

“This was a very public process and involved so many people,” Fruhling said. “A lot of people in the community feel a strong tie with State Street.”

Response from the public was positive and directed at specifics.

“There were good questions tonight,” designer Ignacio Bunster-Ossa said. “[The public] showed a level of interest attentive to detail.”

Chuck Bauer, owner of the Soap Opera, 319 State St., and president of the Greater State Street Business Association, has watched the process of implementing a design unfold since the State Street Strategic Plan was adopted by the Madison Common Council in December 1999. The City Council passed a resolution one year later allowing the project to begin.

Overall, the process has been smooth, Bauer said.

“Everyone wants public areas to look the best,” he said. “When an area can benefit from an updating, it benefits everyone who has a stake in it.”

Sandy Glaeve, owner of the Peacock, 512 State St., knows business will be disrupted on the street during construction, but hopes the city has planned for all possible obstacles for local businesses.

“There is a limit to the amount of assets small stores can carry,” Glaeve said. “You can only get so many dollars out of so many square feet.”

Visitors to State Street can expect a complete overhaul that will change both the street’s appearance and its utility. Fruhling described the final proposal as a design flexible with the action and happenings on Madison’s most popular street. He pointed to better-lit bus shelters, a consistent design for bike racks and removable benches to accommodate large crowds and winter weather as key changes that will help improve the area.

The next phase of implementing the project involves presenting it before several city boards, commissions and committees for review and recommendations.

The plan will then go to the Common Council for final approval before it is put into action.

Fruhling said he is confident the plan will be approved and estimates the improvements will be phased in over several years. He said it will be well received for its timelessness and the way it appeals to everyone.

“The challenge has been to come up with a proposal that can accommodate what’s going on now and things not yet on the radar screen,” he said. “The plan is constructed so that they can be accommodated in the future without many changes.”

Eileen Boyce, City/county Editor, contributed to this story.