DAPHNE — Plans are being prepared for a Main Street improvement program that will transform downtown Daphne, Mayor Robin Lejeune said.

The Daphne City Council voted Monday, Feb. 6 to give initial approval to an ordinance to pay $848,525 to Jade Consulting for engineering services for the first phase of the Main Street Revitalization Plan. The council is scheduled to vote on final approval at its next meeting on Feb. 20.

LeJeune said the plan includes moving utilities underground, adding on-street parking and a center lane to Main Street in the downtown area.

"It'll transform downtown. You're talking about slowing traffic down," LeJeune said. "We're hoping it will entice more business down here with on-street parking and adding additional parking, sidewalks on both sides all the way down and with landscaping and everything else. Just having the underground utilities will transform the look of the downtown streets."

He said some of the improvements will be similar to work done in downtown Fairhope where center lanes and on-street parking were added.

LeJeune said the project may take two years to complete, but the engineering approval is a first step toward downtown improvements. He said the final cost and schedule of the project will depend on the recommendations of the engineers and what work is approved by the city council.

"It's purely just engineering drawings done and all that stuff and then the council can decide on what they want to do to move forward," LeJeune said.

The work approved Feb. 6 includes civil design and construction documentation preparation for the phase of improvements extending from Potters Mill Avenue to Lott Park.

The money for the $848,525 cost will come from occupancy fees paid to the city Lodging Tax Fund, according to city reports.

Jade Consulting had already been hired by the city to provide the master plan for the Main Street in Olde Town Daphne project.