The City of Bishop has received a $2 million STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) grant for the refurbishment of Warren Street between Perry Motors and the Bowling Alley.

Warren Street runs parallel to Main Street, one block west.

Bishop City Administrator Keith Caldwell said this week that he hopes Warren Street can function as a “second Main Street.” The vision is of a walkable, user-friendly downtown business district which will encourage businesses to “develop their back doors.”

While 80-90% of the STIP funding will be used for paving and sidewalks, the project, which Public Works Director Dave Grah believes will be completed sometime in 2016, will incorporate public comment and “bits and pieces” from other communities such as Minden and Truckee.

As Caldwell said, Bishop’s General Plan Update from a year ago made it clear that city residents are opposed to a highway bypass. While Warren Street improvements probably won’t have much impact on vehicular flow through town, he expects a change in pedestrian flow which businesses will capitalize on.