Winters Downtown Vision and Policy Plan

Walker led a robust community outreach effort and policy analysis to envision the future of downtown Winters through design and operations improvements.

Walker developed an actionable policy plan and design guidelines for programs such as public and business-owned outdoor dining parklets, consolidated waste collection, alley and parking management, and weekend festival street closures.

Winters, CA, has a vibrant downtown scene that draws many visitors on the weekends.  Restaurants, wine-tasting rooms, and shops are filled with people, and evening fests draw visitors from the entire region.  At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City installed outdoor parklets open to the public and began a weekend car-free street fest program. As a result of its wild success, the city needed a permanent policy and management structure and design guidelines for street closures, parklets, and outdoor seating to make the program durable in a post-pandemic environment. Most businesses collect waste from the rear alleys. This system is nearly maxed out for capacity. The City also wanted a plan for waste management to declutter the bins and dumpsters in alleys, which created circulation issues and sanitation concerns.

Walker led an extensive community and stakeholder outreach effort, with multiple well-attended community and business workshops, popups at community events, one-on-one outreach to all of the businesses on Main Street, surveys, commission, and council meetings to develop the vision for the future of downtown Winters.  Walker’s robust on-the-ground data collection supported our evaluation for policy and program changes. Walker’s project strategy enabled reaching agreeable, middle-ground solutions to develop design guidelines for both public parklets and private, business-run outdoor dining parklets, policies for weekend street closures and festivals, and alley, parking, and waste management. Walker also helped the Downtown Business Association come to an agreement about how to manage the wayfinding and business promotional signage program

The street closure program will be run on weekends with a schedule that balances the needs of restaurants, shops, pharmacies, and other diverse business interests. The parklet program designs and permit improvements will help bring aesthetic consistency to outdoor gathering areas and clarify how businesses and the City share
responsibility for management.  Recommendations for shared, off-site waste collection will improve the efficiency, sanitation, and usability of the alleys for circulation and other business operations.