San Marcos Downtown Area Plan

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS

Key Opportunities to Consider in Green Alleys Implementation

· Placemaking assets such as unique paving/pavers (stamped colored concrete), art, seating, and other furnishings and amenities · Green infrastructure such as stormwater drainage, water quality enhancement, permeable surfaces, and storm drain connectivity · Multimodal access for pedestrians, bikes, commercial deliveries, municipal services, and parking/building c onnections · Rear-building access, welcoming back doors, and back patios · Nighttime lighting and visibility · Landscaping, native plants and trees, and raised planters · Co-locating and screening dumpsters/ compactors for the block or half block with consolidated pick-up dates · Oil reclamation from restaurants · “Undergrounding” of overhead utility lines · One-way or yield vehicular traffic · Alley identification and interpretive signage · Adjacent property enhancements · Events and programming · Creation of joint/shared/public parking off of alleys using permeable pavement treatments · Potential for pre-designed spaces for grease traps or other building code needs to allow buildings to transition · Potential to embed local history · Maintenance costs associated with improvements and strategies for maintenance management.

Example of a painted sidewalk

Example of a stamped concrete sidewalk

SAN MARCOS DOWNTOWN AREA PLAN

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