Third Street plaza project concept presented to GEIC

Third Street plaza project concept presented to GEIC News Staff Sat, 05/11/2024 - 12:54 pm

• (GRANT INGRAM | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) A concept of a Third Street plaza that was presented to the Graham Economic Improvement Corporation during their meeting Wednesday, May 8. The concept would close the street for traffic and parking.
• (GRANT INGRAM | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) A concept presented by Jacob and Martin to the Graham Economic Improvement Corporation for a Third Street plaza. The estimated cost of the project is just under $2 million and would take 12-14 months to complete. The project is still in the early phases.
• (GRANT INGRAM | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) A concept of a Third Street plaza that was presented to the Graham Economic Improvement Corporation during their meeting Wednesday, May 8. The concept would close the street for traffic and parking.

Thomas Wallner editor@grahamleader.com

A concept was presented this week by the engineering firm Jacob and Martin which would close Third Street inside the Graham downtown square and change it into a pedestrian plaza.

The presentation was made Wednesday, May 8 to the Graham Economic Improvement Corporation Board of Directors, who could be approached in the future to support the project. The GEIC board previously approved Jacob and Martin Civil Engineer Tristan King to develop a concept to turn the Third Street cut-across into a pedestrian plaza.

“Everything is going to center around the archway. We're going to be completely ripping up the pavement and starting over with concrete (and adding) new sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, trees (and a) fountain,” King said. “There's going to be no curb. It's a curbless approach, which means it's all ADA friendly. Crosswalks will have removable bollards on each side so that it's not subject to vehicular traffic, but they are removable in the event of an emergency or you guys are holding some kind of an event down here.”

King said an estimated construction timeline for completion would be 12-14 months and the estimated cost would be just under $2 million, which could be adjusted during the design process.

“We modeled this the best we could without doing really any major design. So we don't have a survey on it. It's not set to grade yet, but this is kind of what it's going to look like,” he said. “So what we're thinking (for) is landscape high contrast flower beds on the sides. We've got light poles and we have catenary lighting going across the street. Everything centered around the archway. ...There's a fountain with bubbling water in there.”

City Manager Eric Garretty said the city is not seeking to allocate money from the general fund for this project, but to reach out for support.

“What we're trying to do is raise awareness about it, potentially get donations (and) if the GEIC thought it was an economic incentive, get them to contribute. …We're trying to put all of that together so that we're not touching the money that supports the things the city always does,” he said. “This is an enhancement, but we're trying to pay for it out of other sources. And I know $2 million looks like a big price tag, and it is a lot of money, but I think the overall benefit to the community and the potential for additional economic drivers outweighs that $2 million price tag.”

The GEIC board spoke about the potential for obtaining grants for the project, which Mayor Alex Heartfield, who also chairs the Graham Parks Department Board of Directors, said could be a challenge.

“They're very difficult to qualify for and they take a long time. I mean, think about Firemen's Park (with) three years plus of just paperwork and over 10 years of planning for that park before we finally started breaking ground with construction. So you're talking a lot,” he said. “Part of the qualification for that is low income districts and Graham just doesn't qualify for a lot of those.”

Some of the challenges for the project are that there is no subsurface drainage due to having no storm drains in the area and the elimination of parking on Third Street for the Young County Courthouse and Old Post Office Museum and Art Center.

“We would be eliminating the parking all on the north side of the courthouse that would be relocated,” King said. “...We talked about the handicap entrance there (at the courthouse) and that can still be accommodated.”

GEIC Chair Jack Graham said the courthouse would be burdened by losing parking that they use for inmate transport and also its handicap access.

Young County Sheriff Travis Babcock said when transporting prisoners to the courthouse YCSO works to get them inside as quickly as possible for safety reasons.

“When we have prisoners that we take into court we have to use the handicap area because of their restraints. …It’s more secure the shorter (distance) we go,” he said. “We don’t have to worry about somebody that’s upset with that individual and coming over and attacking that person and the further that we have to walk the more exposed we are.”

OPOMAC Executive Director Lynsey Browning said she thinks the project is a exciting opportunity for the downtown area.

“We are excited about the thought of it being walkable and I think it would make it more attractive. We have all the side parking and could utilize our back parking lot as well,” she said. “If it is pretty, walkable and brings people into town we would be happy with it.”

Assistant City Manager Grant Ingram said those wanting to come out for an event will find parking wherever they can and walk.

“We've proven it time and time again with our Summer Concert Series, with (the) Food Truck (Championship of Texas), if there is a reason for people to be here they will find a spot to park and be able to walk,” he said. “Vehicular traffic just does not take top priority when you're talking about a vibrant downtown with your foot traffic and activity going on.”

With events like the Summer Concert Series drawing crowds downtown, the city hopes initiatives such as this could help bring more activity to the square.

“We're really on this strategic imperative about increasing pedestrian traffic, potentially increasing commerce in the square business district. Not ignoring the other business districts, but what could we do that we've not done before that would drive more pedestrian traffic to the square,” Garretty said. “...Having a venue like this (that) we're pitching to (the GEIC) could make that difference.”

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