Downtown Streets

The Downtown Plano street grid was established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and included narrower streets and smaller blocks than are typically found in newer parts of the city. This helps promote a more walkable and pedestrian-friendly environment in the area but also creates challenges for new construction subject to the street design standards typical of development elsewhere in the city. The result of trying to implement the standard street classification system in the Downtown area has been a patchwork of inconsistent street rights-of-way and paving over the decades. It has also created challenges for implementing traditional front yard setbacks based on the distance from the property lines/edge of right-of-way in the Downtown area.

The city’s original 1963 Comprehensive Plan included a specialized thoroughfare plan for the Downtown area that did not follow the street system used elsewhere in the city. Instead, it established specific street right-of-way widths and building setbacks unique to the central business district. This specialized approach was used until the 1986 Comprehensive Plan shifted the entire city to the Type A-G street classification system that continues today.

The Street Design Standards project will re-establish a unique Downtown street classification system, creating a tailored approach to street design in the area and provide solutions to create practical and consistent setbacks in the BG district. The purpose of these standards will be to establish a consistent approach to street design in the Downtown area and are intended to apply to any new or existing street within the plan boundary when designed for construction or reconstruction.

In accordance with the Character Defining Elements of the Downtown Corridors future land use category, Downtown streets will support access for all modes of travel, enhance bicycle and pedestrian connections, and create attractive gateways. Typical street design features to support these priorities include wider sidewalks, on-street parking, designated space for street trees, hardscaping, and street furnishings (e.g., benches, planters, and pedestrian-scaled lighting). Additionally, some corridors have been identified as candidates for enhanced bicycle connections, either with a shared-use sidepath or on-street bike lanes. These include G Avenue, Municipal Avenue, and 18th Street, and would connect to the existing/planned off-street trail connections in the Downtown area.

HOW IT WORKS

Proposed updates to the Thoroughfare Plan Map include the creation of four land use contexts: Neighborhood, Corner, Commercial, and Mixed-use. This is in accordance with the underlying Character Defining Elements in the future land use categories. In addition to these changes, a Downtown streets inset map will be added to the Thoroughfare Plan Map to indicate that the design of these streets should follow specialized standards. This boundary includes the historic commercial core and the primary corridors into Downtown – 14th Street, 15th Street, 18th Street, and the K Avenue/Municipal Avenue couplet. The extent of this boundary is generally located within the larger Downtown Corridors (DT) future land use category. It also includes some older adjacent neighborhoods located within the Neighborhoods (N) future land use category.

Similar to how the design standards for Type A-G streets corresponding to the Thoroughfare Plan Map will be located in Section 2 of the Street Design Standards, the typical design standards for Downtown Streets corresponding to the Downtown Inset Map will be located in Section 4. These include cross sections that outline the right-of-way widths, number of travel lanes, median and parkway widths, and other associated dimensions for all Downtown street types.

Of note, the planned right-of-way widths are based on the most commonly available existing right-of-way to minimize impacts. On most streets, significant additional right-of-way will not be needed to accommodate the planned street sections; however, where right-of-way is currently constrained, additional right-of-way or easements would be needed to establish a consistent street design.