After deciding on a road alignment plan for downtown Wylie, councilmembers considered parking alternatives for the area.

Josh Smith from Lee Engineering presented different parking alignment options for the downtown area during the Tuesday, Oct. 11, council meeting. Various pedestrian improvements were also presented including adding traffic signals in the future and increased sidewalk widths.

Four parking options were presented to council, all of which were streetside. They included parking spaces aligned at 60 degrees, 45 degrees, 30 degrees and parallel parking curbside. Councilmembers were able to mix and match alignments they like as part of the feedback process for Lee Engineering.

As the angled parking degrees decreased, more sidewalk space was added, said Smith, adding that in some cases, the overall width of parking spaces could be problematic for some visitors downtown, notably the 45-degree angled parking.

With the exception of the parallel parking option, sidewalk space was not increased on Ballard Avenue, which currently has 10 feet of sidewalk space.

“In some places, there’s less than 4 feet [of space to maneuver] and someone with a wheelchair may not be able to get around,” Smith said. “With an extra two feet of space, you’re not going to be able to do much in terms of planters or sidewalk cafes.”

With the parallel parking option along Ballard Avenue, sidewalk space would be increased to 23 feet, which would provide for greater sidewalk usage by downtown businesses, said Smith. Sidewalks will also be expanded to 11 feet on the right side of Birmingham Street and 10 feet on the left side and 14 feet on the right side of Jackson Street.

Per the discussion at the Sept. 27 meeting, Ballard Avenue will be a one-way street traveling northbound, Jackson Street will continue to be open to two-way traffic and Birmingham Street will travel one-way southbound. Part of the plan also calls for the extension of Birmingham Street to Brown Street.

For the full story, see the Oct. 26 issue of The Wylie News.