West Main Street Public Realm and Streetscape Improvements
Spartanburg, SC
Project Summary
West Main Street serves as an important gateway to downtown Spartanburg. In recent years, residents have called for its transformation into a welcoming, connected space for both themselves and visitors.
To turn this vision into reality, Toole Design partnered with the City of Spartanburg to reimagine West Main Street. This streetscape improvement project contributes to the larger revitalization of the area, including private investment, a new baseball stadium, and mixed-use developments.
Designing for safety, comfort, and access
Our project team developed preliminary concept designs and explored alternatives for a multimodal corridor through extensive public engagement. From there, we advanced the project to final design review with the South Carolina DOT. Throughout the process, we balanced innovation with practicality, such as maintaining the existing curb and drainage infrastructure where feasible and minimizing utility conflicts. This approach helped deliver a cost-effective $2.5 million project.
Transforming Downtown
The reimagined corridor introduces the state’s first parking-protected bike lanes, creating separated directional bicycle facilities that enhance safety. Wider sidewalks, upgraded ADA-compliant curb ramps, and more accessible crossings also improve mobility for people walking and rolling. Street trees and landscaped buffers provide additional shade and physical separation from traffic while making the public realm more inviting.
With construction completed in Summer 2025, this critical downtown street is now open to the public. It not only serves as a gateway, but also supports economic activity, strengthens downtown connections, and sets a new standard for multimodal street design in South Carolina.