England Street Streetscape Project
England Street Streetscape Project
The goal of this project is to combine current and successful standards in downtown Ashland with new ideas to create a holistic gateway into the downtown area at a pedestrian scale while working in partnership with the businesses of the downtown area.
A “streetscape” is a planned combination of improvements to beautify and improve the built environment along a roadway for the traveling public. It is often geared toward pedestrians in high-traffic areas, where shoppers, tourists, and other types of visitors are expected and desired. A streetscape will typically include a wide variety of site features, including street trees, street lighting, landscaping, enhanced sidewalks, site furniture, and related amenities.
For the Town of Ashland, England Street is the primary gateway into the downtown area. These planned streetscape improvements will help beautify and connect the public space. The streetscape master plan borrows elements from the streetscapes already in place in Ashland, such as the Railroad Avenue Streetscapes, the Municipal Parking Lot, the Plaza (at the library), the Town Hall grounds, the Ashland Train Station, and entry features for Randolph-Macon College.
Spanning the length of England Street from Railroad Avenue to US Route 1, this project will include:
- relocation of utility poles and lines to improve aesthetics and functionality
- widened sidewalks to enhance pedestrian access and accessibility
- crooked neck light fixtures to match those already in place along Railroad Ave
- increased landscaping and pedestrian-friendly benches
Contact Us
Questions or concerns? Reach out to the England Street Streetscape Project Manager, Kathleen Bison, at: kbison@ashlandva.gov or 804-752-6875, ext. 237.
UPDATE 12/08/25:
- Work is becoming increasingly weather dependent as the temperatures drop.
- The contractor is working toward the end of the northern side in the coming weeks.
UPDATE 10/20/25:
- Water line work is almost finished. A final water line connection at Henry Street will be completed in the next week or two.
- New sidewalk on Maple Street (between England Street and Robinson Street) was completed.
- A new American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramp has been started by the post office.
- This week, we will finish the ramp and restore the sidewalk between the ramp and the crossing at Henry Street.
- This week, we may begin demolishing the sidewalk in front of the old St. Ann’s Church building at the northwest corner of England Street and Henry Street, if time allows.
- We learned that Verizon had not finished its underground work, although they finished the critical phase of it. They do expect to complete the underground work this week. In the next week or so, Verizon will remove the overhead lines and the poles.