Mayor Jim Slowik and the majority of the Oak Harbor City Council deserved to be proud Tuesday when the first ceremonial shovels of dirt were turned for the Pioneer Way improvement project.

They overcame a Great Recession, great downtown opposition, and great budgetary concerns to come up with the money for the project. They refused to go half way. Even when the goal of under-grounding the maze of ugly utility wires seemed too expensive, they dug into a dwindling supply of real estate excise tax funds to get it paid for.

The project will be a major construction headache for downtown business owners during the summer and early fall, but the city is doing all it can to help with an accessible downtown construction office, outreach efforts and other direct communication with business owners.

When the budgeted $8.35 million is spent, downtown Pioneer Way will boast modern infrastructure, it will be more inviting to pedestrians and generally be much more attractive. Newly commissioned works of art will help give Oak Harbor its long-sought prominent place in Whidbey Island tourist guides. A lot of business turnover is expected, with the new replacing the old, but the result should be more and better shops and restaurants for the public to enjoy.

The city’s biggest and most controversial gamble is making the street one-way, but again you have to give the leadership credit for sticking to their vision. Voters will soon have their say on whether their vision is supported by the  community.

Oak Harbor residents have been talking about improving Pioneer Way for more than three decades, adopting and discarding and number of ideas along the way. Finally, in 2011, it’s actually getting done, thanks to a mayor and council willing to take the heat. Time will tell whether the project will turn around downtown’s economy, but we can no longer complain that nothing ever gets done around here.