The city of McKinney is exploring an ambitious new project.
It’s looking at three ways to make it safer for pedestrians to cross Highway 5 between Louisiana and Virginia Streets, connecting historic downtown McKinney with “legacy” neighborhoods east of Highway 5.
Tuesday night, dozens of McKinney residents provided feedback during a public input meeting held at the McKinney Performing Arts Center.
“Our council, our mayor wants to truly do something bold, something truly unique to McKinney that really knits these two parts of the city back together,” said Assistant City Manager Kim Flom.
Options under consideration include:
1. Deck Park – S.H. 5 will be lowered below ground to allow a deck park corridor constructed above S.H. 5. between Virginia and Louisiana streets.
2. Inverted Deck Park – A park corridor would be constructed under S.H. 5. between Virginia and Louisiana streets.
3. Improvements to the Existing Crossing – Minimal enhancements to the existing S.H. 5 crossings at Virginia and Louisiana streets with wider sidewalks, but no parks would be created.
Public feedback, Flom says, will be presented to the city council this fall. Paying for the projects, she adds, could come from grants and private funding.
“All three projects are viable and absolutely there are technical differences, there are budget differences, there’s coordination differences,” Flom said.
The city says it will work with TxDOT to determine how the improvements may impact TxDOT’s planned roadway improvements in the area.
Opinions of which option is best varied among McKinney residents.
Cynthia and Steve Vanlandingham feel McKinney would benefit most from option one, the deck park, which is most similar to Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas.
“Seeing that success leads me to think that this version or this option should do the same,” said Steve Vanlandingham.
Others, like Nina Dowell Ringley, feel option three, improvements to the existing crossing, maintaining the area’s historic appeal.
“The rest just doesn’t have the historic feel for me and this is the historic district,” Ringley said.
You can still submit feedback if you couldn’t make it to Tuesday’s meeting.
