As Council Prepares to Vote on Sylvan Thirty Plan, Bike Lanes Proposed Along Sylvan Ave.

Last I looked, Sylvan Thirty -- the proposed mixed-use development across the street from the Belmont -- was closer to conceptual than actual. As in: Short a few million, developer Brent Jackson more than likely will have to partner with the city to actually get the thing built, as we explained a few weeks back. Nevertheless, after much hand-wringing before the rezoning hearing in front of the City Plan Commission last month, Sylvan Thirty's going before the city council next Wednesday, as you'll see on the other side, where I've stashed 88 pages' worth of docs sent to the council, which I'm sure will read every word. In case not, long story short:

New development should support future light rail along the northern edge of the subdistrict. Preserving historic buildings through adaptive re-use is a priority. This subdistrict will be the most densely developed urban subdistrict due to its proximity to the Trinity River and downtown. The mix of uses should lean more towards commercial, although residential development is essential to the success of the mixed uses. Buildings should front the street with broad sidewalks. Street trees should line the street edge. On-street parking should be parallel parking along West Commerce Street and Fort Worth Avenue. Off-street parking should be provided behind buildings or in parking structures and shared between adjacent lots. This subdistrict should have an overall urban feel, but still provide pedestrian amenities.

This proposed street design approach places emphasis on establishing a design that balances vehicle movement while incorporating amenities that accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and public transit users and are consistent with the vision of the community. The proposed amendment includes reducing the designated number of travel lanes from six to four and adding bicycle lanes along the corridor.

z101 279..evdoc.cc 12-14-11