LJA Engineering official John Phillips outlines plans for proposed street changes.[/caption]

Katy Sections of Second and Third streets will become one way when the new City Hall opens next spring. The ordinance to make the street changes was approved by City Council at the Sept. 14 meeting.

Second Street will run west from East Avenue to Avenue D, and Third Street will run east from Avenue D  to East Avenue. LJA Engineering Inc. is redesigning drainage and streets in the area to accommodate the new City Hall.

The redesigned streets will be concrete with a gutter system, slant parking and decorative medallions that illustrate historic Katy icons, such as rice silos and the Katy Tigers football team. When the new facility opens and the old building is torn down, city officials said the block will be used as a heritage-inspired square.

Representatives from LJA Engineering, including director of planning John Phillips and senior project manager Chris LeBlanc, gave a presentation at the Sept. 14 meeting to announce plans for the two-phase street redesign. Phase 1 coincides with the opening of City Hall, while Phase 2 will be completed shortly thereafter, according to LeBlanc.

The new design will double the amount of drainage inlets to eight and add about 100 parking spaces,  Phillips said.