PRINCETON — The idea of permanently closing a section of Columbus Street to transform it into a public walkway is inching toward becoming a reality.

Mayor Joel Quiram reported at Monday’s city council meeting that only one issue with the closure has been brought to his attention and, for the most part, he’s heard nothing but positive feedback about the idea of improving the downtown space.

Last week, Quiram conducted a Facebook poll on his Mayor of Princeton page and the results he reported showed 467 (73%) in favor of the idea and 173 (27%) against the idea.

The one issue he’s heard about the closure came from Spoons Restaurant. He said the owner had concerns about getting delivery trucks in and out of the area, but ideas on how to work around it were discussed and Quiram said he’s waiting to see if those ideas work out OK.

The Columbus Street plan includes closing the street from Main Street to the parking lot behind Spoons Restaurant. The rest of the street will then be a two-way street to Church Street.

While the original plan was to reopen the Columbus Street after the trial basis was up at the end of this month, Quiram got council consensus Monday night to keep the street closed while the city council votes next month on two readings of an ordinance to permanently close the street. Quiram said he felt reopening the street would only cause confusion among traffic.

One thing to keep in mind next month is that two city council members will be seated after the April 6 consolidated election as council members Ray Swanson and Ray Mabry step down from their seats.

On Monday, Swanson commented that he will be gone from the council before an ordinance can be adopted, but suggested that a parking sign be posted by Meadows on Main to alert visitors of parking behind Main Street. Quiram said parking signs had been posted in the area, but a comment was made that the signs are too small and were hung too high. Plans were noted to fix the signs to make them more visible to motorists.

Mabry is planning to loan two trees in pots to the city that will be placed in the walkway to show the public how just a little “softening” can improve the look of that area. Quiram said a light had also been added in the area to improve the lighting in the walkway.

Moving forward, the city council plans to vote on two readings of an ordinance to permanently close the street. If approved, the Princeton Arts Commission and Princeton Historic Preservation Commission will get to work on renovation plans for the walkway. Work is then expected to begin in June or July.

“It’s going to be quite an improvement of what we see today,” Quiram said.