City looks at historic downtown
HUTTO — Drivers in the historic downtown district will soon need to be more aware of street signs as the city plans to turn several roads into one-way lanes.
The directional changes will be phased in one street at a time with signage and increased police presence early next year, officials said.
The City Council approved the measure at a Dec. 18 workshop and asked staffers to present an action plan and budget at a future council meeting.
“I don’t think that you rip the Band-aid and do all the streets at once. I would think it would be best to do all of each street at one time,” said City Engineer Matt Rector. “It’s going to be painful for a little bit while people figure it out.”
The city has been considering how to improve downtown conditions since August 2024, with an emphasis on drainage and sidewalks along with solving persistent parking and traffic-flow safety issues.
Downtown Hutto Business Association representative Gracie Matthews said the increase in parking spaces would be significant for downtown businesses, but the traffic-flow changes could present a problem.
“Businesses don’t want to lose people because it’s all of a sudden oneway, so I hope the city could help us communicate that out in phases with ample notice,” Matthews told council members.
Municipal staff conducted an online survey and held a public meeting as well as speaking to downtown business owners before developing the new traffic and drainage plan.
The traffic-flow changes are expected to start with East Street being northbound only. Main Street will become southbound only and West Street will become solely northbound.
Once enacted, vehicles will no longer be able to enter Main from U.S. 79.
Rector said statistics show the 79 and Main intersection has one of the highest collision counts along the highway.
The one-way flow will be from 79 to Live Oak Street, and two-way traffic will resume past Live Oak. East-west cross streets in the district will continue as two-way traffic.
The parking solution is estimated to take several years to complete due to added cost and the need to secure easements.
The plan increases downtown parking from 141 spaces to about 400 spaces. The majority will be angled parking and includes streets stretching into residential neighborhoods where there are no designated parking spots and drivers often park alongside the road.
Councilman Peter Gordon noted that while it is unusual to see angled parking in front of homes, he suspects many of the current residential properties will eventually become commercial.
As the adjoining blocks transform into more thriving commercial areas, property values will increase to where it becomes beneficial to flip residences into commercial sites, officials said.
Meanwhile, Gordon suggested starting the parking plan changes at the southernmost part of downtown, further from occupied homes.
