Texas Department of Transportation

Mansfield Plans for More Foot Traffic Downtown

Leaders in the city of Mansfield say there is more truck traffic than foot traffic through their historic downtown, so there is hope a new plan can help change that.

When Kara Coley looks out the front door of her Mansfield clothing store, she sees a Main Street that looks more like a highway.

“This is more of a thoroughfare for 18-wheelers, a lot of fast moving traffic,” said Coley, who owns Hip Together. “People getting from point A to point B. We get a lot of that here.”

She’s been in business along Main Street for more than two years and she enjoys being there. But she admits there are days she wishes the area would feel more like a historic downtown.

“You know, slower moving traffic, more people stopping to smell the roses and look at the shops,” said Coley.

She’s not the only one who feels that way.

“The traffic is so heavy and loud, it really doesn’t create the kind of atmosphere you want for a historic downtown,” said Belinda Willis, spokesperson for the city of Mansfield.

The city estimates 18,000 vehicles use that stretch of Main Street daily and that half of that traffic is large trucks.

“We want to be able to slow down the speeds,” said Mansfield Public Works Director Steve Freeman. “We want to be able to reduce some of the volumes, bring some things in.”

But for a long time that hasn’t been possible because Main Street is part of a state-controlled roadway.

That changed recently, however, when the Mansfield City Council approved an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to take over a two-and-a-half mile stretch of Main Street between Mouser Way and Heritage Parkway.

That will allow the city to reroute trucks away from downtown and onto bigger highways and to lower speed limits through the area.

It will also allow the city to close Main Street for special events without having to get approval from TxDOT, which officials say in turn could mean more events downtown.

“The historic downtown is a really big part of our heritage and we believe it’s a really big part of our future,” said Willis.

City leaders hope these moves will breathe new life into downtown, and Coley says she’s down with that.

“Oh yeah!” said Coley.

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