Is Wayne Commons Doomed To Fail? Proposed Town Square In 'Vision For Wayne' Faces Doubts

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — The Radnor Township Board of Commissioners plans to vote Monday on the master plan guiding future development in Downtown Wayne. But the plan's crown jewel — a proposed park serving as a town square — faces an uncertain future due to concerns about the loss of parking spaces.

The proposed master plan — entitled "A Vision For Wayne" — would provide a local government-approved vision to improve Downtown Wayne and provide strategies to help get there. This would be the Wayne Business District's first new master plan in 20 years.

The 144-page draft plan released last week addresses public space, parking difficulties, creating opportunities for retail and more.

• Related coverage: Downtown Wayne Gets Modern Vision With Master Plan For Its Future Development

One of the central recommendations is converting the street-facing portion of the North Wayne Avenue Municipal Parking Lot with Wayne Commons: a "parklet" intended as a main gathering space in Downtown Wayne.

This park was initially proposed in 2003 but never came to fruition. The idea came up again during the community-engagement process for the new master plan.

But concerns over removing parking from a part of town where it's already difficult have led to a different possibility: making it a "hybrid" space for park use and parking instead of a full-time park.

The proposed master plan calls for a permanent green space. But it leaves room to consider alternatives by creating a temporary park in that location and testing the community impacts before building something permanent.

The completed park would eliminate 24 parking spaces, while the temporary one would remove seven of them.

But after local business owners and residents expressed concerns about the loss of parking at the Sept. 14 commissioners meeting, the governing body slowed down the timeline for building Wayne Commons, according to the meeting minutes (see pages 13-22 in this document).

Initially, township officials wanted to break ground on the temporary ("Phase 1") park this fall. But the commissioners decided to delay that until late winter.

At Monday's meeting, the commissioners will also vote on a resolution to authorize a study on the parklet's traffic impacts to help decide on the final plan.

The test park is set to open this spring. It will include easily removable fixtures such as public seating and decorative planters, according to a township advisory. The timeline for the next steps remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, the township has launched a "More Space for the Community" campaign to advocate for Wayne Commons, saying the proposed park will create a community-friendly space that also bolsters the local economy.

"Converting a slice of standard parking spaces into a public Commons creates a safer, walkable downtown experience," Ward 3 Commissioner Cathy Agnew said in a statement. "It offers a free, inviting place for residents to connect while actively strengthening the economic vitality of our local businesses."

Local business owners have expressed concerns about the park harming their businesses by making it even more difficult for patrons to find parking on North Wayne Avenue.

Township officials contend that there are other parking options nearby, but the township's signage to help people find those spots is lacking. They pointed to the 108-space West Avenue Parking Lot, which opened last year, and the 55-space South Wayne Avenue Parking Lot.

The proposed master plan has several recommendations to improve parking availability, including:

• expanding parking on Louella Court.
• developing a program to direct drivers to available spaces.
• pursuing shared parking agreements to open up private lots for public use at certain times, including the SEPTA lot during off-peak hours.

Simply adopting the master plan does not guarantee any of its suggestions — individual projects and developments would still need approval from the proper channels of government.

The next Radnor Township Board of Commissioners meeting, which is set to include a vote on the master plan, begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday. Here is the meeting agenda.

For more info on the master plan, visit avisionforwayne.com or check out the draft plan or the 26-page executive summary.