Mansfield, Texas, is one of the fastest-growing cities in one of the fastest-growing states. In 1970, its population was just 3,658, but it has doubled in size each decade since and is now home to 80,000 people. Mansfield’s historic 19th-century downtown, at the intersection of Main and Broad Streets, has been overrun with vehicles, robbing the community of a downtown identity and holding back the success of small businesses. The municipality won back control of its roads from Texas DOT but needed a plan to restore walkability and safety at the community’s core.

Speck Dempsey’s plan, developed in partnership with Stantec Urban Places, adds trees, parking, and the city’s first protected bicycle facilities. Drawing from inspiration on Lancaster Boulevard in California, where a downtown strip is now a successful commercial district and civic center, the design reduces five lanes of travel to two, puts a tree-covered parking plaza in the center of the road, and incorporates arrival architecture to establish a sense of place. It also creates a distinctive bowtie median where the mid-street parking is removed in favor of exceptionally deep sidewalks within the retail core.

The plan quickly won City Council approval and is currently in engineering and moving toward construction.