WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Walking safely down 25th Street can be a challenge, but after several months of city and community meetings and planning, that's going to change — courtesy of the 25th Street Corridor Project.
- The City of Waco along with other organizations like grassroots Waco and Kimley Horn Consulting all play a role in increasing walker safety, calming traffic, and creating better business access.
- Small steps towards creating a safer road include repairing damaged sidewalks in short sections, ADA-compliant ramps, amplifying visibility for pedestrian crossings, and then pedestrian lighting.
- Daysi Barrera says these changes will give business owners, everyday walkers, and drivers passing through, a source of pride to be a part of the neighborhood.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“I think it was time for 25th Street to have a change, something similar to Austin Avenue and Downtown, those are the expectations we have,” Daysi Barrera said.
Owner of 25th Street Furniture Daysi Barrera tells me improvements to 25th Street are a long time coming.
“I saw it as something so impossible, and I can’t believe that 10 years later, it’s happening,” Barrera said.
The City of Waco along with other organizations like grassroots Waco and Kimley Horn Consulting all play a role in increasing walker safety, calming traffic, and creating better business access.
“Repairing damaged sidewalks in short sections, ADA compliant ramps, amplify visibility for pedestrian crossings and then pedestrian lighting,” City planner Enrique Perez said.
So what happens next? Well, the city has finalized plans of what the corridor could like. Perez tells me one concept would turn 25th Street into a two-way road.
“Lane reductions, maybe a two-way conversion parking for businesses, especially in zone 3, which is the kind of central commercial corridor. There are a lot of ways you can implement different strategies to be able to calm traffic and make it safe for pedestrians, like increase lighting,” Perez said.
To help create a theme for 25th Street, the community came up with a vision statement:
“We aim to create a corridor that pays homage to the corridor’s historical roots, including inspiration from the Hispanic/Latino community, Victorian Arts and Craft-style homes, Art Deco architecture, and more."
Barrera says these changes will give business owners, everyday walkers, and drivers passing through, a source of pride to be a part of the neighborhood.
“People will be able to go and shop at any store, and support local and support Latino, and it will be a place that’s super safe,” Barrera said.
Right now, the city has the implementation options ready, they just need to find funds to start. Perez said they’re waiting to find out when and where the money will come from.
