The Warrenton Downtown Association last week unveiled plans for what a revitalized Main Street might one day look like.

New greenery, improved parking and pedestrian features were key elements of a proposal presented by landscape architect Andy Kalback Sept. 17. He described the plans as “recapturing” space in the downtown area that is currently not being used well.

One of the comments provided by Kalback is that the city government was right to remove trees from where they were planted along Main Street in 2018. He said the city’s sidewalks through the main part of downtown aren’t wide enough for large trees, and said some types of trees can cause nuisances.

Instead, Kalback recommended green features such as planter gardens along the curb or in “islands” that would project into parking areas along the street.

“Those would give you spaces for greenery and beautification that would elevate the downtown,” Kalback commented.

He added that it’s possible for trees to be reintroduced to downtown by working with private property owners who have yard frontage, or by planting them in the islands along the street, further away from the buildings.

Despite designing the planted islands to occupy current parking spaces on Main Street, Kalback said the rest of the parking slots could be revised to actually fit more cars on Main Street alongside the extra landscaping.

“Those are pretty wide parking spaces,” Kalback commented. “There’s enough asphalt out there to not only accommodate more parking, but also accommodate landscaping. There’s at least 35 to 50 more parking spaces that can be provided on the downtown Main Street.”

Along with improving the appearance of Main Street, the proposed plans include small improvements for pedestrians. Sidewalks would be pushed out at every street corner with ADA ramps added to make pedestrian crossing easier.

Kalback also presented a suggestion for a small park space outside Warrenton City Hall at Main Street and South West Street.

Next steps

Stacey Blondin, president of the Warrenton Downtown Association, said she’s excited to have the proposal for improving the area.

“I’m hopeful for what this town could look like down here, versus a lot of empty concrete,” Blondin said. “The landscaping and adding more parking spaces are really important. ... Making it more inviting altogether, bringing people down here.”

The next step in the process will be for Warrenton’s aldermen and mayor to meet with the downtown association and discuss any changes to the proposed streetscape plans, said City Administrator Terri Thorn.

“From that point, the city can begin to plan for phases to accomplish the desired outcome. Most likely, there will be multiple phases necessary to accomplish this from a financial standpoint,” Thorn said. “The (downtown association) did a great job in getting an initial proposal completed.”

Alderman Gary Miller commented that the city government is committed to making this project a reality.

“We are dedicated to revitalizing downtown. It is going to happen,” Miller stated. “It’s going to be in steps, but we’ve got to start somewhere.”