Discussions surrounding a deck park crossing State Highway 5 in McKinney have evolved and will next involve gathering community input.
The city has been pursuing phase one for a pedestrian connection feasibility study that aims to explore options for providing a park feature at the intersection of State Highway 5 between Virginia Street and Louisiana Street. The exploration comes ahead of planned improvements by the Texas Department of Transportation on SH 5 through the area.
On Tuesday, the McKinney City Council was presented with three different options for how to achieve the goal of increasing pedestrian connectivity across SH 5 and reuniting the communities formerly split when the highway was put in. McKinney Engineering Director Gary Graham told council members that goals also included enriching the community and enhancing the Downtown McKinney Cultural District.
A conceptual rendering of option one, which features a deck park at grade with a portion of State Highway 5 running underneath.
The three options presented included a deck park that would be at ground level with SH 5 running underneath the park; a grade-separated "inverted deck park" with SH 5 at ground level and the park dipping underneath the roadway to connect both sides; and an enhanced crossing at grade that would include two separate park spaces connected by pedestrian crossings that run through SH 5.
The renderings presented Tuesday served as conceptual designs that each were considered "best in class" to allow city officials to compare the ideas, Graham said.
Another conceptual rendering of option one, which involves a deck park with State Highway 5 running underneath.
The meeting served as an informational discussion that kicks off the initial "public engagement" portion of putting together an idea for the park. Graham said public engagement, which is expected to go through the summer season, would include an open-house style event with a presentation and a public comment opportunity.
After public engagement is complete, next steps include presenting a feasibility study to the City Council, possibly by late summer, and then initiating a phase two feasibility study and preliminary design in the fall, dependent upon City Council approval.
"I feel strongly we have an opportunity to do something really great," Mayor George Fuller said.
Fuller added that the project could potentially qualify as an environmental justice program, which would make it eligible for federal funding.
Park option one, inspired by the concept of "waves" and the Pacific Plaza in Dallas, would cost anywhere from $50-$70. Graham said the projected cost does not include building, operating or maintaining the park. In addition, option one would mean impacting 27 nearby properties for property acquisition.
Park option two, inspired by the concept of "rings" and Galaxy Soho Plaza in Beijing, would cost around $13-20 million (not including costs for building, operating and maintaining the park) and would impact five properties for property acquisitions.
A conceptual rendering of park option two, which would comprise a park dipping below State Highway 5. The highway would remain at grade.
Park option three, inspired by NorthPark Center in Dallas and Cityplace in Houston, would cost around $5-7 million (not including costs for building, operating and maintaining the park) and would also result in five properties being impacted by acquisitions. The design would involve pedestrians having to cross vehicular traffic to get from one side of SH 5 to another.
Fuller, Mayor Pro Tem Rainey Rogers and Councilwoman Geré Feltus spoke in favor of option two.
"I think it achieves everything and in a very unique way that is great for the city," Fuller said, citing the option's cost, connectivity and lesser disruption to properties.
Another conceptual rendering of park option two, which would comprise a park dipping below State Highway 5. The highway would remain at grade.
Councilman Justin Beller expressed concern about the project, adding that the downtown area was expected to deal with disruption as City Hall is expected to move to the other side of the highway.
"I think there are some other places we need to be putting our attention and our efforts into improving connectivity along the Highway 5 corridor and spurring development within our downtown and east side district, that I don't know that this really provides us a whole lot of benefit from," Beller said.
In response, Fuller spoke in favor of the project.
"I believe that the development that that will spur, the sense of place that it will create will by far, over a very short period of time, generate ad valorem value and sales tax dollars," he said, "and it'll be a place that people will travel from all over to experience, and we'll see the return on that many, many many fold."
Councilman Charlie Philips spoke in favor of option one, citing concerns about noise levels related to option two. Councilman Rick Franklin said he liked either options one or two.
Option three includes an enhanced pedestrian crossing through vehicular traffic. None of the McKinney City Council members spoke in favor of option three.
Councilman Patrick Cloutier spoke in favor of option two, adding that there would need to be significant participation at the federal or state level.
"I think it could be a home run for the city; I'm just very anxious to see what level of federal participation we can get with this," he said.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the council directed city staff to explore options one and two more deeply.
"With a kind encouragement to dream big," Philips added.
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