Downtown Image Initiative

The image of downtown is critical to its market success. Downtowns that offer a sense of “place” – an atmosphere of pedestrian scale, visual interest, market opportunity and activity – tend to be the most successful, and demonstrate longevity as they create their own identity. Given the location and nature of downtown today, a series of actions are needed to inform people of its presence, build upon its traditional character, and firmly develop a perception of downtown Urbana as a distinct and special place.

Revitalization strategies also need to focus on strengthening downtown's existing destinations. As Figure 14, What Are the Key Destinations?, shows, Urbana residents who participated in the Town Hall meeting identified a number of important places: the Urbana Free Library, Lincoln Square, Strawberry Fields natural food store, and Main Street.  Approaches that use these institutions in catalyzing revitalization will be the most successful in the long run.

Downtown Districts

Downtown’s functions need definition. The establishment of place requires that the City, through its zoning and planning activities, clearly identify the function of particular areas so that land use requirements and public and private improvements can work towards common improvement goals. As shown by Figure 15, Proposed Downtown Districts, the following districts are proposed:

Main Street Entertainment District: The key pedestrian district oriented to niche markets stressing food, entertainment and downtown housing.

Government District: The area dedicated to government uses and containing associated parking and services.

Near North Housing District:An area of proposed redevelopment to contain multi-family housing units, some of which would be built over ground floor business uses.

Auto-Oriented District:The University/Vine fringe of the downtown where retail uses are designed primarily for accessibility via auto. Special criteria should be developed to facilitate a transition from auto-oriented commercial toward a more pedestrian environment in areas where this district abuts the Near North Housing District. It is important to stress that while it is anticipated that most uses in this district will focus on auto access, the design image imparted along the street should transition to the downtown character of development. Therefore, buildings along Cunningham and University should be located close to the street so as to create a “streetwall” image reminiscent of the downtown. (See Figure 16, Cunningham and University.)

Downtown Residential District:The areas surrounding the core where housing predominates, but allowance can be made to accommodate transitional or modest business uses as long as they reflect residential character. Several other blocks are identified which are given over to present uses not expected to change. Appropriate zoning and urban design guidelines should be developed for each of these districts.

Downtown Access: Traffic does not seem to be an issue downtown. But access is a problem. Downtown is no longer part of the regional arterial system, which, in this area, is served primarily by University Avenue, Cunningham Street and, to a degree, Vine Street.  (See Figure 17, Circulation Map.)  The separation of the downtown core from this system removes it from the daily routes of many local residents and most tourists. This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it allows downtown to develop a pedestrian character; the curse is that much marketing must be done to get the people to sense and see that character.

The solution to this problem is not to relocate the arterials, but to make the image of downtown, as well as access to downtown, apparent from them. Consider the following:

Gateways: Visible and attractive gateways to downtown must be established at locations where arterial system users can recognize downtown. As noted on the concept plan, each of these gateways should be subject to particular design treatment, which includes intersection designs that bring the downtown’s historic character and pedestrian image into the view of the motorists. Figure 18, Gateway Feature at University and Cunningham, shows a proposed gateway for the southwest corner of University and Cunningham Avenues.

Main Street: Main Street is the focal point of downtown. Buildings are built close to the street and streetscape elements, such as trees, lighting, crosswalks and street furniture provide human-scaled elements that make downtown an inviting place to be. As such, the pedestrian-oriented scale and physical character of Main Street should be enhanced in order to set the tone for new development throughout the downtown area. Every effort should be made to improve pedestrian safety and the built environment of downtown.

Currently, Main Street has four lanes of vehicular travel that invites higher speed traffic through downtown. High speed traffic works against efforts to provide a pedestrian-scaled environment. Motorists should know that they have entered a special place, unlike others in the community, and accordingly, should slow down as they pass through. Consideration should be given to the development of traffic calming measures on Main Street in order to create a better pedestrian environment. One improvement to consider would place herringbone parking down the center of Main Street with a single drive lane, bike lane and parallel parking lane for both east and west directions. Another option to consider would construct a planted median down the center of Main with single drive lanes, bike lanes and parallel parking on both sides of the street. Similar options are illustrated in the following section.

Broadway Avenue:This street is a key entrance into the downtown and should be subject to special treatment to reduce its’ wide expanse down to a friendly pedestrian scale. Three options are illustrated in Figure 19, Broadway Avenue Special Treatment. The herringbone parking option is based upon the historic parking configuration that once was typical of downtown. Parking bays would be located in the center of the street and terminated at street intersections with planted medians. One drive lane each would accommodate north and south vehicular circulation respectively, and bike lanes would be located along sidewalk curbing. The planted median option would place a raised planting bed down the center of Broadway. One drive lane each would accommodate north and south vehicular circulation and parallel parking would be located along sidewalk curbing. Bike lanes are located between drive lanes and parking stalls. The public trolley option would locate train tracks down the center of Broadway to accommodate train service into downtown. As illustrated, a metal structure could be erected along the tracks to accommodate banners and plant containers, and to frame the vista into downtown towards the mall. One drive lane each would accommodate north and south vehicular circulation and parallel parking would be located along sidewalk curbing. Bike lanes are located between drive lanes and parking stalls.

Bicycle Access:Bicycle access downtown needs to be improved. It is an important mode of transportation in Urbana. A clearly designated bicycle system should be developed downtown with connections to the University along Elm or Green Street and to Crystal Lake Park along Race Broadway Avenue. Downtown streets should be designed to be “bicycle friendly.” Suitable bike storage facilities should be provided throughout the downtown.

Sidewalk and Pedestrian Access:Pedestrian access should be a major design concern for downtown. All new development proposals should be reviewed in terms of pedestrian access in the same manner as concern is now shown for the provision of vehicular access and parking. Such design concerns should be reflected in parking lot and structure design, as well as in sidewalk and other pedestrian design. It is important to develop a streetscape design palette that can be applied in various areas of the downtown as new development or infrastructure occurs and the opportunity to make such improvements arises. This palette should be tested and illustrated through a series of prototypical applications that are applicable to settings such as the Main Street Entertainment District, the Government district, the auto-oriented district, Lincoln Square and adjacent residential neighborhoods.

Lincoln Square:The mall must be better connected to the rest of downtown – both physically and perceptually. The interior concourses should be treated as parts of the downtown pedestrian system to the degree that “air doors” might be considered at the entries so as to create the illusion of sidewalk continuity. For the same reason, it would be desirable, over time, to change the flooring to reflect a downtown pedestrian design scheme. More direct pedestrian linkages south to the High School and west to Green Street need to be developed for similar purposes. Figure 20, Mall Connections and Visual Access, illustrates one possible design approach.

Downtown Streets:Specific design improvements should be provided to key streets within downtown, along a portion of Lincoln Avenue, and along select streets to connect downtown to the University. Figure 21, Street Classifications, identifies key streets and groups them into three categories described as follows. Auto-oriented streets are large arterials that handle high amounts of vehicular traffic. Typically, pedestrian circulation along these streets is limited. In the downtown, University and Cunningham Avenues, and a portion of Vine Street, are auto-oriented. Streetscape treatments along these streets should include decorative poles for traffic signals that correspond to the poles used downtown, festive banners and directional signage. Infill buildings should be located along frontage property lines and landscaping standards used to establish a unified image along the street edge. Pedestrian-oriented streets place emphasis on areas where buildings abut the streets and should feature streetscape elements that include landscape plantings, street lighting and street furniture such as bench seating. Main, Race, Elm, and Water Streets, and parts of Broadway Avenue, are designated pedestrian-oriented. Identity streets feature streetscape treatments that extend the character of downtown into the larger community, and thus invite people to come into downtown. These treatments typically include street lighting, banners, paving and landscape materials and gateway features. The streets that should fulfill this role are Lincoln, Springfield and Green Streets, Illinois Street along the south perimeter of Lincoln Square Mall, Broadway Avenue and portions of Vine Street.

Access from the University: Access from the University is critical to the success of the downtown. Downtown and the University precincts are separated by as little as one-half mile. Actions should be taken to extend the image of downtown west to key intersections along Lincoln Avenue – especially to Green and Springfield Streets.

Key projects that might be developed for this purpose include:

1. Expand the banner and street lighting program to extend downtown identity.
2. Modify the present Mixed Office Residential (MOR) zoning district to better accommodate limited mixing of non-residential uses in the residential areas.
3. Design and locate downtown identity signs to link Lincoln Avenue to downtown.
4. Accommodate higher density, yet neighborhood-scaled, apartments within the area to increase the number of residents adjacent to downtown. These units should be a combination of ownership and rental units. They should be oriented toward a variety of housing markets including “empty nesters,” young professionals, seniors and students.
5. Strengthen the Green Street connection by focusing downtown image design improvements along it in concert with improving bicycle access. Further a redesign of the entry to Jumers and Lincoln Square, at the east end of Green should be considered. This is the visual terminus of the approach from campus. Presently it is very nondescript and should be redesigned to provide a strong visual focal point when downtown is viewed along the length of Green Street.

A long term, yet exciting potential for connecting the University to downtown might be through some form of fixed guideway system. While substantial feasibility testing is needed – reflecting the economics and physical ramifications of location — this possibility has been raised by individuals with significant experience in transit management and operations. One concept envisions connecting downtown to Campustown along Green Street, routing the fixed guideway south along Race or Broadway, and then connecting it to the Carle Medical Center area via the Conrail Railroad tracks.This improvement reflects the use of rail transit to stimulate downtown activity by creating a useable, yet highly entertaining and attractive form of transportation. It is similar in purpose to that underlying the recent construction of a similar short line trolley serving portions of downtown Kenosha,Wisconsin,and the adjacent lakefront.

Parking

Parking is a critical use for downtown. Downtown Urbana has never had an oversupply of parking based upon available square footage. However, because it has been “underdeveloped,” a suitable number of spaces have been available.

Assuming continued revitalization of Lincoln Square, and that the proposed housing development is built, there will be a need for additional parking. As some of the existing parking locations might best be used for redevelopment, it is important to look at a reorganization of potential parking and the identification of new sites for this use. Input from the Town Hall meeting indicated that more parking could be useful north of Main Street between Race Street and Broadway, and at the municipal parking deck, as illustrated by Figure 23, Where Would You Put New Parking?. As shown on the concept plan, new parking areas might be considered adjacent to the proposed Leal Park expansion, the Civic Center, north of the Courier Restaurant, and by adding levels to the existing parking structures.

Figure 22, Parking Analysis, provides an inventory and location diagram of parking within an area around the downtown core. Public parking lots include 1,940 spaces fairly well distributed around downtown as illustrated in blue. Concentrations of these spaces are located in the municipal parking deck at Broadway and Elm Street, and the surface lots around Lincoln Square Mall. There are 137 on-street parking spaces located primarily along Main Street and Broadway. Private parking lots include 3,075 spaces located in surface lots dispersed around the Study Area as illustrated in red. All totaled, there are 5,152 parking spaces downtown which equates to a ratio of almost three spaces per 1,000 square feet of downtown building space. By comparison, three per 1,000 is the ratio used for new suburban office development, double the allotment for typical downtowns.

Open Space

Public squares and open spaces should be placed within downtown to reinforce its pedestrian orientation, establish gathering spaces and provide an attractive setting. The concept plan shows the location of three four potential areas – Central Post Office Square, the Main-Springfield Triangle, Busey Plaza and Near North. These areas should be landscaped as pedestrian attractions.Central Post Office Square should be carefully designed to accommodate ceremonial occasions.

Leal Park, the only significant existing park in the downtown area, should be maintained and improved. Upon abandonment of the railroad tracks, Leal Park the park should be expanded by extending it south within the railroad right-of-way, thereby providing access from the downtown. This expansion should be in conjunction with a bike trail reuse of that right-of-way. (See Figure 24, Pedestrian Corridor and Bike Path.) This action can also help to accommodate a pedestrian linkage between Carle Medical Center and the downtown. This is an important improvement given the substantial employment within, and use of, the Medical Center, and its potential market impact upon the downtown. Every action ought to be taken to encourage the patrons and employees of the Medical Center to use downtown. Further, additional housing might be considered in lieu of auto oriented uses along Race, to the east of the park if proper park and adjacent housing connections can be created.