Racine Downtown Public Realm and Parking Plan

Project Summary

Toole Design worked closely with Racine City officials and the Downtown Racine Corporation to create a public realm and parking plan for Downtown. The plan includes three interconnected components:

• Monument Square Re-design
  The Monument Square design features a flexible, flush curb street that expands into surrounding rights-of-way to accommodate a variety of civic festivals. This flexible space includes event lawns, shaded spaces for informal gatherings, a splash pad for warmer seasons that can serve other uses during winter months.

• Main Street Corridor Traffic Design
  The ultimate Main Street design includes right-sizing the street to one travel lane in each direction, on-street parking on both sides of the street with bulb-outs for additional street trees and raised separated bicycle lanes adjacent to the expanded sidewalk furnishing zones. The plan provides direction for curbside management needed for pick-up and delivery associated with adjacent businesses as well as ride share operations and micromobility options.

• Downtown Parking System Strategy
  Careful consideration was given to the short-term parking needs of surrounding retail uses and to the universal accessibility of the of the gathering spaces. The parking component balances long-term parking needs of employees with the short-term turnover that businesses require for customers. It also emphasizes parking technologies and pricing as ways to manage and share this public resource.

These elements promote the downtown as a welcoming destination, a place to arrive and stay, a thriving business and cultural center, and a place to call home. Toole Design worked closely with City officials and the Downtown Racine Corporation to deliver this publicly endorsed project within five months.

Expertise Applied

• Urban Design
• Parks and Plazas
• Traffic Engineering and Operations