TYLER, Texas — The Tyler City Council on Wednesday approved a study that will evaluate ways to improve downtown Tyler traffic patterns through signals and electric vehicle infrastructure.
City council members voted in favor of giving an engineering contract to Kimley-Horn for $195,900 to develop a downtown Tyler traffic study. The city will pay for the upfront costs but will be reimbursed fully through a Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization grant.
According to the city of Tyler, the study will use recommendations from Toole Design that has been working with the city to create a concept to support revitalization efforts in the downtown area.
The study will include an engineering analysis before the council is presented with a list of recommended improvement.
This study will review the following traffic patterns:
- Which intersections should or shouldn't have signals
- A detailed proposal for a street network of one-way or two-way streets
- Improvements to be made to infrastructure to accommodate emerging technology
- A phased implementation plan to prioritize improvements
- Assessment of existing or planned Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure in the Downtown core area to determine the need, priority, locations and/or pricing related to EV readiness
The study is expected to take nine months and should be complete around late spring 2023, the city of Tyler said.
Recent improvements to downtown include the Fair Plaza parking garage, Smith County Jail, People’s Petroleum Building and Plaza Tower.
In August, Smith County commissioners called a bond election for November to fund a new Smith County courthouse.
