$100K grant allocated to downtown sidewalks, parking improvements in Pflugerville

The Pflugerville Community Development Corp. approved June 17 a $100,000 community engagement grant to be allocated to funding sidewalks and parking improvements in downtown Pflugerville. The PCDC voted 6-0 in favor of the motion, with Board Member Jeff Coleman absent from the meeting.

The approved grant is a follow up to the 2019 version that helped fund Pflugeville's plaza off Main Street, dubbed the "Best Little Plaza in Texas."

Featured amenities from the 2020 grant include adding colored lights to buildings downtown that could be used for celebrations, holidays and other occasions, Planning Director Emily Barron said June 17. The city is currently hosting conversations with business owners regarding the addition of downtown lighting, Barron confirmed.

The expansion of the downtown plaza would include pedestrian crossings and gathering spaces to both enhance and promote community engagement, Barron added. Alongside increased pedestrian connections downtown, Barron said city staff are working to include new art pieces in the Best Little Plaza, such as large chess pieces and sculpture work.

The city is also looking into fire-based components, like a fireplace or fire pit, as well as into constructing additional shade elements, she said.

Parking improvements would be made at Railroad Avenue and First Street, Barron said.

Sept. 18 marks PARKing Day, a date where city staff and community members construct miniature parks in a single parking space, Barron said.

The goal for these upgrades, she said, includes completing the grant's scope of work prior to mid-September.

The project's total cost is around $100,000, Barron said, adding that the city worked to keep the scope of work tailored to the grant amount. Lighting would cost around $40,000 and is the most expensive component of the project, Barron said, followed by sidewalks, with those cost estimates yet to be determined.

The $100,000 grant was budgeted as a line item in the PCDC's fiscal year 2019-20 budget, and per certain allowances Type 4B funds can be used for public entity projects.