Council directs phased downtown parking overhaul, to begin one-way trial on East Street

At a Dec. 18 Hutto City Council work session, the council voted to direct staff to begin a phased overhaul of downtown parking, starting with a trial conversion of East Street to one-way traffic. The motion, moved from the dais and seconded during the session, asks staff to place electronic message boards and advance signage for a three-week period, then implement signage changes and enforcement before proceeding to Main and West streets. Matt Recker, the city's development and infrastructure executive, described the plan as conceptual based on GIS analysis and emphasized the need for on-the-ground survey work before final design.

The presentation said the conceptual layouts would raise estimated parking in the Old Town area from about 141 spaces to roughly 400 once full buildout is complete. Recker told the council that “all this design…was done by in house staff using GIS data” and that staff had “not done on the ground survey forms,” meaning utility locates and measurements must follow before curb work or final restriping. Council discussion focused on a phased approach, temporary striping and message boards to educate drivers, and short-term police enforcement while drivers adapt. The council directed staff to return with hard dates, budget estimates and survey results before permanent curb and gutter work.