Opportunities & Constraints

Opportunities & Constraints Downtown Temple Charrette 2014 Infrastructure

Parking

Stakeholders expressed their issues with the lack and proximity of parking to their intended destination. The biggest issue with parking is more of a perception than an actual issue which this plan addresses in several ways. Street Widths

Many streets are oversized, causing unsafe and unfriendly pedestrian conditions which should be addressed.

Adjacencies

TMED Proximity

The most prominent north-south corridor connects downtown Temple with TMED. Third Street connects the two hubs however many lower income pedestrians with limited mobility find it hard to traverse this corridor due to lack of sidewalks, ramps and overall poor conditions. Third Street has a great opportunity to create a grand entry to and from downtown with the bridge that crosses the rail line. Neighborhood Services

Many typical neighborhood services such as groceries and pharmacies are located outside of downtown and towards the highway, making it difficult for residents to the North and East to shop and run necessary errands. The plan recommends creating stronger connections to the Mercado, which is a local, Mexican grocery and a local favorite. The city should consider seeking out and facilitating spaces for more of these neighborhood amenities. Land Acquisition

The City of Temple has been purchasing tracts of land in the urban core of downtown which creates a great opportunity for growth and control over quality development which follows the proposed Master Plan.

Oversized Roadway Oversized Roadway

Master Plan Downtown Temple Charrette 2014 Key Ideas

Create an Overlay District / City Ordinances

An overlay district is recommended in order to incorporate modern zoning, land use and street standards appropriate to a downtown. Current standards allow for an unhealthy range of zoning and suburban standards which hinder walkability and viability of a downtown, urban area.

1. Land Use / Zoning

During the survey review, it was apparent that many inappropriate land uses are still allowed in the urban core. The recommended action is that the land use and zoning codes should be updated as quickly as possible in order to avoid further unwanted development.

2. Street Standards

Current Street Standards are recommended to be updated to meet more modern urban street standards. Some improvements have been made to the streetscape in Temple however many of the street widths are oversized. Many of these oversized roads can be used as opportunities for expanding the pedestrian realm and allowing for sidewalk 15 cafes and spillout from retail. Refer to “Street Standards” on page 19 for recommended street types.

3. Parking Standards

In any downtown, too much or too little parking always seems to be an issue. For Temple, studies show that parking is low for the expected growth but the bigger issue seems to be the lack of congruent streetscape activity which subconsciously makes the pedestrian feel as though they are walking farther than what they are actually walking. Modern urban street standards are designed to increase the ease and safety of walking for pedestrians and provide safe, efficient movement for automobiles.

4. Designated food truck locations

Designated food truck locations are popping up all around the nation. Food trucks generate foot traffic, especially in transitional locations. One suggested location is street designated parking for trucks on the southeast side of S. Main Street and E. Central Avenue. The old facade of the building which has been converted into a parking lot would be a great transition area into a temporary plaza space with seating while the trucks are open. Convert Central and Adams to two-ways

Perceptions of parking issues prohibit people from wanting to travel to downtown. One solution to this problem, is to convert Central and Adams to two-way streets. When every other street is one-way, a driver looking for on-street parking would have to pass through 8 intersections in order to loop back around to the same area. If these two streets convert to two-way, the loop for the driver is cut by 3/4 and the amount of intersections is only four. Branding at Gateways

Temple has a unique opportunity that three main gateways into the downtown area are large bridges that slope gradually over the railways surrounding the core of downtown. This provides Temple with a place making opportunity to brand these bridges. Currently the bridges provide little to no safe pedestrian access and provide even more challenges to disabled pedestrians.