City diving into 3rd St. ‘bump-out’ project in an effort to make downtown more ‘pedestrian-friendly’
By Per Peterson
Downtown Tracy could undergo a noticeable facelift if a so-called “pedestrian-friendly” project that includes “bump-outs” is eventually approved.
At the most recent city council meeting, Tracy City Administrator Kris Ambeuhl outlined how proposed infrastructure changes would affect the downtown area. The biggest change would come in the form of the sidewalk “bump-outs” where 3rd St. intersects with South, Morgan and Rowland streets.
A couple of different downtown options have been discussed in recent months, including making the downtown more of a “mall-like” area, or changing to a one-way with angled parking. In the end, Ambuehl said the most likely option — if any changes are made — would be to follow the Sabongi Plan, which was developed in the late 1990s.
“We could do benches, or trees or things like that,” he said. “That would get a little detailed in the engineering plan, if approved.
Ambuehl added that businesses were not all on board with the “mall” idea or angled parking.
“I even had one person tell me they circle the block until a (parking) place is open in front of a certain business,” he said.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.