DELANO MULTIMODAL CENTER REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
A new multimodal transit center is currently in the planning stages, and we would like your input. This new center would sit in Wichita’s Delano district on the west side of Sycamore St, across from the new Riverfront baseball stadium, providing many amenities for transit, parking, bicycle, pedestrian, and ride-share services. We invite you to review the following conceptual summary and drawings and provide feedback.
Please submit comments to [email protected]
All public comments are due by September 30, 2020 Summary
The Conceptual Design for the Delano Multimodal Transit Center calls for it to be a multi-level transit center and parking structure located on the block bounded by Sycamore, Texas, Burton, and Oak Streets in the Delano District of Wichita, KS.
The structure will feature multi-modal accommodations including bus loading and unloading areas, electric bus charging stations, overnight storage room for ċƭƙĚƙȡČūDŽĚƑĚēċĿŒĚîŠēƙČūūƥĚƑƎîƑŒĿŠijȡČūDŽĚƑĚēDŽĚĺĿČŕĚƎîƑŒĿŠijȡîŠēūIJǛČĚƙ for transit administration staff.
The site sits on a parcel measuring 72,925 SF/ 1.67 acres on a city block measuring 265’ x 275’. After accounting for landscaping, streetscaping, screening, and pedestrian features, the Center footprint will cover the entire site. Bus operations will be located on the west half of the site (approximately 36,000 square feet), where nine bus bays will be located on-site with three additional bays along the east curb of Oak Street. Bus bays are split evenly between northbound and southbound access.
The proposed parking structure will encompass the east half of the site along Sycamore Street frontage. The parking structure will be a 7-level facility with space for transit operations and retail, as well a parking entry plaza, on the lower level. Levels 2 through 7 will be devoted to parking and contain 551 total spaces; each Level is approximately 35,000 square feet. The lower level of the parking structure will include approximately 12,533 SF of usable space, with the balance of the lower level (approximately 23,000 square feet) devoted to the structure’s vehicle entry/ exit point and ramping necessary to reach parking level 2.
Delano Multimodal Center- Wichita, Kansas Project Scope Description
The Delano Multimodal Center will be located on a parcel measuring 72,925 SF/ 1.67 acres and bounded by Sycamore (east), Texas (north), Oak (west), and Burton (south) in the Delano neighborhood, west of downtown Wichita. The site is adjacent to Riverfront Stadium, the new Triple-A baseball stadium completed in spring 2020, and one block south of Douglas Avenue (2- lanes), the primary thoroughfare through the neighborhood and east into the downtown core. The facility will serve as the new operations hub for Wichita Transit upon completion, featuring local and intercity bus bays, as well as office, support, and customer service space for those operations, and will provide parking for the surrounding businesses and for stadium events. Existing Conditions. The site is owned by the City of Wichita and currently includes seven abandoned structures, which are a mix of single family, multifamily, and light commercial uses. All structures will be removed as part of site preparation work. Local electric power and telecommunications providers have relocated aerial lines from the site, moving them to the north side of Texas and south side of Burton. An existing sanitary sewer main that served structures on site extends from the west through the former alley. This main will be removed as part of site work and a new terminal manhole placed on-site in a location to be determined during site design. Gas lines are located within right-of-way along both Texas and Sycamore, while a water main parallels Sycamore in the west right-of-way, none of which will be significantly impacted by site development. The closest storm sewer to the site is both one block north (24- inch pipe) and one block south (18-inch pipe) on Sycamore. Existing trees on site will be cleared, with the possible exception being some select trees within rights-of-way. Site Layout. The project site encompasses a city block and measures 265’ x 275’. The proposed parking structure will encompass the east half of the site along Sycamore Street frontage, and the west half of the site will feature covered bus bays. The lower level of the parking structure will include approximately 12,533 SF of usable space, with the balance of the lower level devoted to the structure’s vehicle entry/ exit point and ramping necessary to reach parking level 2. Most of the lower level usable space, as well as the building’s primary elevator and stair core, are located in the north half of the structure to take advantage of a large plaza and major entry to Riverfront Stadium located near the Texas and Sycamore intersection. Due to the anticipated congestion of Sycamore on game days, there are no vehicle access points to the site from Sycamore. Bus operations will be located on the west half of the site, where 9 bus bays will be located on- site with 3 additional bays along the east curb of Oak Street. Bus bays are split evenly between northbound and southbound access. The intent is for Oak Street to become the primary route for east side and west side buses to reach to facility when arriving from both Maple Street and Douglas Avenue. Arriving at the site, buses will enter and exit the bus bays from Texas and Burton. The exception is the three northbound bays along Oak, where buses will utilize a curbside pullout along the east side of the street. A supplemental bus pullout is located along the west curb of Sycamore and will be used for event shuttle buses, as well as daily rideshare operations. Bus bays are laid out in a sawtooth configuration, each measuring 66-feet long, allowing buses to pull into and out of spaces easily and safely without obstruction by adjacent parked buses. The two-way drive lane is 47-feet wide, while the one-way drive lane is 22-feet wide. A continuous, 24-inch wide detectable warning strip is located at the back of all curbs at bus bays,
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in compliance with ADA guidelines. A trio of steel pipe bollards is located at the head of each bus bay to provide visual cues of curb location for drivers, as well as protection for patrons on sidewalks adjacent to the bays. Bus bays will feature overhead canopies to protect patrons from inclement weather and the hot summer sun. Each bay will also include patron seating. Along the west side of the parking structure, the west wall of level one is offset 13-feet from the parking levels above to provide additional covered waiting space for patrons. As this location is near the transit center entry and could become congested during peak usage, the additional space will create a safer experience for patrons and transit operators. A central pedestrian spine will bisect the bus bays, east to west, and will provide a single, well-defined location to direct patrons to and from the transit center and limit crossings of drive lanes. The canopy above this route will also be a signature architectural feature of the bus bays. As part of transit operations, Wichita Transit intends to utilize this facility for overnight parking and charging of Q-Line trolleys. The site design includes means of securing the bus bays along the two-way drive lane using 30-foot wide overhead roll-up doors at the north and south driveways and decorative perimeter fencing with pedestrian gates that can be secured overnight. Infrastructure will be included at bus bays which will facilitate charging of these vehicles. Parking Structure Function. The parking structure will be a 7-level facility with space for transit operations and retail, as well a parking entry plaza, on the lower level. Levels 2 through 7 will be devoted to parking and contain 551 total spaces. The primary elevator and stair core is located near the northeast corner of the building, along Sycamore, and will be an architectural feature of the facility. A secondary stair tower is in the southwest corner of the building. The parking entry plaza is a three-lane, access control point located on Burton, with one lane each for entering and exiting traffic, as well as a third flexible center lane which can be used for high traffic events. For exiting traffic after a large events, all three lanes could be utilized for egress as well. Use of each level is described in the following text.
x Level 1 includes 12,533 SF of usable space, divided as follows:
FUNCTION DIMENSION SQ. FOOTAGE TRANSIT 109’-6” x 64’–6” 6,181 RETAIL 109’-6” x 43’ 4,708 BIKE SHARE/ STORAGE 60’ x 27’-6” 1,644 TOTALS n/a 12,533
Due to the tight confines of the site and need to maintain adequate ceiling heights in the occupied spaces in the north half of the building, much of the south half of the lower level is used to provide necessary ramping to parking levels two and three and is not usable.
Transit. The transit suite will include space for customer service and intercity bus staff, as well as dispatch/ operations work areas, a driver break room, indoor seating area for patrons, a security office, and accessible public restrooms. A wide circulation corridor will allow patrons to enter or exit from Sycamore and pass through to a doorway at the platforms.
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Interior signage would include wayfinding to orient users arriving and departing the facility, as well as display boards providing real-time arrival and departure information for bus routes and the bays each is assigned to in the bus plaza. Similar display boards would be found in the plaza, with supplemental displays providing route-specific information at each bus bay.
For planning purposes, the following spatial relationship diagram indicates the approximate square footage and arrangement of space within the transit center.
Retail. The retail space is well suited for a restaurant or café, due to its highly visible location closest to the left field stadium entry plaza and includes over 155 linear feet of total frontage on both Sycamore and Texas. Activation of public spaces is critical to success of the retail space, as well enhancement of the growing Delano business district, so outdoor seating is included with the site concept. Within property boundaries, space exists for at least 24 outdoor seats along Sycamore, while an additional 36 seats could be added along Texas within right-of-way. A City of Wichita permit would be necessary for the Texas Street seating option.
Bike Share/ Storage. An enclosed space in the southeast corner of the lower level features a ceiling height slightly less than 9-feet, and while not ideal for retail uses, it would be well suited for climate-controlled, secure bike storage. Such ceiling height can accommodate two-tier bike parking systems. Based on best practices at similar facilities in peer cities, this facility should feature not only a storage element, but also lockers for users, bike repair station, and possibly shower facilities, with access controlled by keycard if it will not be staffed. Adjacent to the bike shop storefront, along Burton, is an outdoor bike storage space, which could also be used as staging for local bikeshare racks or scooter services.
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x Levels 2 through 7 are devoted to personal vehicle parking. Standard parking spaces are 9’ by 18’, while universally accessible spaces are 11’ x 18’, with 5’ wide access aisles. Accessible spaces are distributed on levels 3 through 6 adjacent to the primary elevator and stair core. Electric vehicle parking is also included on level 2 and will include charging stations. Parking is distributed as follows:
LEVEL STANDARD ACCESSIBLE E.V. TOTAL/LEVEL 1 2 0 0 2 2 20 0 29 49 3 97 4 0 101 4 97 4 0 101 5 100 2 0 102 6 100 2 0 102 7 94 0 0 94 TOTALS 510 12 29 551
Pedestrian Circulation. Available right-of-way behind the curb along the perimeter of the site is wider than typically found in the city, so new sidewalks and public spaces can be wider to accommodate larger crowds and more pedestrian-level activities. Along Sycamore, the parking structure is set back 15-feet from the right-of-way. Part of this decision allows the primary elevator and stair core to be located outside the primary footprint and become a prominent architectural feature of the front-facing façade. However, the primary function of the setback is to allow greater space for pedestrians and queuing for event shuttles and rideshare. It is anticipated that the entirety of the Sycamore Street frontage will be paved to extend the urban streetscape environment found along Douglas nearby. Closer to Burton, frontage along the building’s east facade will include sheltered queuing space and seating for patrons waiting for shuttles or rideshare vehicles. Along Texas Street, the wider right-of-way will accommodate permitted outdoor seating for a restaurant or café which could occupy a portion of the lower level. Ample sidewalk space exists between proposed outdoor seating and the curb line to accommodate larger crowds. Pedestrian access from Texas to the bus bays is available at the covered platform at the west side of the parking structure. A 10-foot wide sidewalk continues west to Oak Street. A 13-foot wide sidewalk along Oak Street will accommodate passenger loading and unloading for the three on-street bus bays. The central pedestrian spine through the bus bays intersects with the Oak Street sidewalk and provides a safe, direct connection through the bus plaza to the indoor transit suite. The sidewalk along Burton is wide as well and crosses not only the bus driveways, but the parking structure entry. An additional sidewalk access point to the covered bus platform beneath the parking structure is located on Burton, adjacent to the southwest stair tower. Adjacent to the bike storage space, the wider right-of-way can accommodate additional outdoor bike parking, as well as seating. Architectural Style. Standing seven stories high, the structure will be carefully integrated into the site and the Delano neighborhood. The building mass is located along the Sycamore frontage to provide more pedestrian scale site elements closer to Oak Street, where existing single-
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family homes are located across the street from the multimodal center. New multi-story structures are being constructed north of Douglas and planned private development on land north of the stadium will feature taller structures as well, so the location of the parking structure along Sycamore fits within the developing character of the neighborhood and maintains more intense uses along that corridor. The most-used material in Delano is brick, primarily in darker reds and grays. Newer construction integrates limestone accents and the use of colored and/ or textured metal panels. The multimodal center will match the design vocabulary of Delano and feature brick with stone accents on the lower two levels to provide more design detail at the pedestrian level, matching the one- and two-story structures that dominate older parts of Delano. A curb and cable rail system will be utilized along the perimeter of each parking level for safety and will aid in minimizing the visual mass of each floor, while a 12” wide ledge has been designed on each floor outside the railing for possible architectural treatments, including parapets, in strategic locations to break up the mass of the structure. The proposed concept utilizes decorative metal panel screening on the upper five levels of the structure for visual interest. Canopies in the bus plaza and near the event shuttle queuing area will be developed to minimize visual impact. Design intent is for those structures to be sleek and airy, with primary colors being darker, matching some of the architectural elements found at Riverfront Stadium and other new construction in the Delano neighborhood. Structural posts will be wrapped with brick to extend the Delano design vocabulary. Screening and Landscaping. As the neighborhood transitions, there will be remaining land uses from which the multimodal center will be screened. Various screening methods will be used around the bus plaza perimeter. Within rights-of-way, tree wells at 30-foot spacing will be planted with durable street trees to aid in not only screening, but to provide needed shade. On- site, landscape beds have been created in which plant materials can help soften site edges and screen the site. Closer to Oak Street intersections at Texas and Burton, larger raised planting beds will feature trees and screening shrubs. Opportunity exists within the narrow planting beds along Oak Street to add decorative metal screening, possibly as part of a public art program. Larger planting beds have bene created along Texas and Burton, at the ends of the bus bays, which can not only contain possible utility infrastructure (notably transformers and other equipment for electric vehicle charging), but accommodate additional larger screening plant materials. Streetscape along Texas, Burton and Sycamore will consist primarily of tree wells, with pockets of curbed planters to aid in defining outdoor spaces and directing pedestrian traffic to crosswalks. Plant materials used will be durable and tolerant of urban street conditions. As an urban site, turf is not proposed due to maintenance and water needs. Instead, shrubs, groundcovers, and ornamental grasses are proposed, as well as larger screening shrubs where appropriate. For tree wells, it is recommended that structural soils or soil cells be utilized to enhance tree establishment and growth. The city of Wichita piloted a soil cell system for a series of new street tree plantings approximately one mile from the site on Douglas Avenue, near Broadway,
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with great success and used a similar system at Naftzger Park in downtown. Tree grates specified will be cast iron and meet accessibility requirements for opening sizes for pedestrians. Plant materials will be irrigated utilizing drip irrigation and bubblers, which are effective means to water plant materials directly at the soil level and minimize water waste. Green Infrastructure. As part of the facility’s development, several green infrastructure strategies are proposed. On level two of the structure, 29 parking spaces will be devoted to electric vehicles and will include charging stations. The facility will also be designed to accommodate future addition of rechargeable scooters. A rooftop photovoltaic (PV) array is proposed to provide electricity for the facility and serve the dual purpose of providing shade for a portion of the rooftop parking level. PV panels can also be added to the top of bus plaza canopies. Lighting on each parking level can be controlled based on ambient light level, turning off fixtures when daylight is adequate for safe lighting of each floor. While storm sewer will need to be extended to the site from a location less than one block away, strategies for runoff reduction under consideration are: - Use of permeable pavers in pedestrian walkways. The gravel subgrade can serve a storage function, while accommodating percolation into existing soils, and a perforated pipe subdrain connected to storm sewer can serve as a secondary outlet in heavy rain events. - Create small storage basins in bus plaza landscape areas as space allows. - Consider the use of green roofs on bus canopies to reduce runoff. Further discussion with the city’s Stormwater Management Department will be undertaken upon commencement of design development.
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