"Get ready for a sea change," says Rick Gray.

Lancaster's enthusiastic mayor is talking about how the downtown will look next spring, when the first visitors arrive at the Lancaster County Convention Center and Marriott Hotel on Penn Square.

If all goes as planned, the difference will be dramatic. Sidewalks, lighting, benches and trash receptacles will be standardized by then to unify the downtown streetscape. And new street trees will be planted.

Beyond these improvements, the city plans to enhance public spaces and work to make things "clean and safe."

These changes are among many being planned for the downtown before the convention center opens.

Transportation routes into and out of the city and movement of vehicles within the city are under review.

And restaurants, art galleries, retail stores and other downtown amenities are preparing for a surge in visitors.

Nothing is more important to planners than streetscape improvements.

Standards for downtowns have changed "dramatically" over the past decade, notes the James Street Improvement District's annual report, "with the expectations of visitors much higher as to... streetscape enhancements such as street furniture and adequate signage, retail amenities and customer service."

To make sure a sea change occurs within the year, Gray meets once a month with other city officials and representatives of the James Street Improvement District, Convention Center Authority and other groups playing a role in downtown preparations.

Their goal is to do what they can to ensure that visitors' first impressions when they walk outside the center are positive.

"The scale and the feeling the convention center has with the street is really great," notes Jack Howell, president of the downtown-boosting Lancaster Campaign. "You can walk out of the place and do some urban exploring."

Explorers will find radically altered sidewalks if City Council passes, as anticipated, a proposed mandatory streetscape ordinance that is on its agenda next Tuesday.

Standardization of sidewalks, which could begin as early as summer, would feature a band of herringbone-patterned brick running between the concrete sidewalk and the curb. Some mid-block crosswalks and "bulb-outs" at some intersections also would be added.

The band of brick would run along sidewalks in an area bounded by Prince, Queen, Lemon and Vine streets, as well as in the first blocks of East King and South Duke streets.

The ordinance also would regulate trash cans, benches and street trees. It would authorize the city to standardize lighting for both street and sidewalk traffic.

The uniformity of design is intended to provide a sense of unity to the downtown, says Randy Patterson, the city's director of economic development.

But, more than that, he says, "if you follow those areas that have brick banding and pedestrian lighting, you are likely to find a lot of the restaurants, shops and other locations you want to visit."

In addition, the city plans to improve Penn and Lancaster squares.

The northwest quadrant of Penn Square and the Central Market area will be completely revamped before the convention center opens.

New bricks will cover much of the quadrant. New trees, lighting, curbs, handicap ramps and short, traffic-restricting posts called bollards will be added. The historic plaques will be relocated in the quadrant, although the site has not yet been determined.

And there will be movable tables and chairs, with umbrellas covering them.

"It's going to be quite a different look," says Charlotte Katzenmoyer, the city's public works director. "Hopefully, it will be more historical in perspective."

Lancaster Square presents a greater challenge, but the ultimate goal is to make the "concrete monstrosity" on the east side as attractive as Binns Park on the west.

The city plans to demolish the top tier of the concrete mass and some other features between the Brunswick Hotel and Bulova building as early as this summer. The square's plaza also will be improved.

The goal is to open up the area and attract development.

"The scale of the square will change significantly," says Patterson. "It will match the west side."

Many of these changes have been designed with pedestrians in mind. The idea is to make Lancaster more "walkable" by cleaning up sidewalks and squares.

"Walkability is what the new urbanism is all about," says Gray. "Will people want to walk for blocks around the convention center? Yeah, people will walk."

As for cleanliness and safety, Gray says the city is adding trash cans and security cameras. New lighting also will enhance pedestrians' sense of safety.

The convention center/hotel will have its own security officials and video surveillance, says Mark Moosic, who will manage the project for Interstate Hotels and Resorts. Security will cover the interior as well as the perimeter of the complex.

Patterson and Lisa Riggs, president of the West James Street Improvement District, say all of these changes represent "best practices" in urban design in American cities.

Lancaster will remain unique because of its distinctive architecture, they say, but the elements of the streetscape that can be controlled should be similar to those in other cities.

And they emphasize that these changes would have been made with or without a new convention center.

"This is not necessarily for the benefit of the convention center but for all county residents," explains Riggs. "The convention center did give us a huge sense of urgency to get things done."

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The convention center is being constructed by the public Lancaster County Convention Center Authority. The authority's partners in the project are the Lancaster City Redevelopment Authority, which owns the hotel site, and Penn Square Partners, the private-sector developers of the hotel.

The limited Penn Square partnership consists of general partners Penn Square General Corp., a High Industries affiliate, and Penn Square Ltd. LLC, an affiliate of Lancaster Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Lancaster New Era, Intelligencer Journal and Sunday News.

Staff writer Jack Brubaker can be reached at jbrubaker@LNPnews.com or 291-8781.