Pedestrian improvements made along Texas Street open access to Mission Valley
By Anthony King | SDUN Editor
At the northern entrance into University Heights and North Park on Texas Street, a new welcome sign for the two Uptown neighborhoods was revealed Tuesday, March 12, in part to unveil several dedicated pedestrian improvements that help facilitate easier access to and from Mission Valley.
The monument, which reads “Welcome to The Historic Communities of North Park & University Heights,” is situated at the bottom of Texas Street near its intersection with Camino Del Rio South.
Pedestrian improvements along Texas Street include widening of the street to make room for a sidewalk, a new half-mile pedestrian walkway that stretches from Mission Valley to Madison Avenue in University Heights, upgraded street lighting for safety and several retaining walls. The streetlights resemble the historic acorn-style lights already found in the neighborhoods.
“The monument sign, sidewalk and decorative streetlights are great additions to Texas Street,” Council President Todd Gloria said. Gloria’s council district, District Three, includes the two neighborhoods served by the improvements.
“The neighborhoods of North Park and University Heights will be well served by these improvements, and I personally appreciate the addition of a safe, active transportation element between these communities and Mission Valley,” he said.
The real estate group Sudberry Properties financed the improvements as part of the company’s “traffic mitigation responsibilities” for the Circa 37 development at Civita Mission Valley, event organizers said in a press release.
Civita is a 230-acre, multi-year and multi-million-dollar housing, commercial and park project near the center of Mission Valley owned by the Grant family. Sudberry Properties committed $47.5 million in off-site traffic improvements between their Mission Valley and Serra Mesa projects, including those along Texas Street unveiled March 12.
“Sudberry … went above and beyond the call of duty in navigating complex City restrictions and in assisting the community to achieve our goal of making Texas Street an attractive, walkable route,” said Vicki Granowitz, North Park Planning Committee chair, in the same release.
Along with Gloria, Granowitz and representatives from Sudberry Properties and the Grant family, former and current North Park Planning Committee members Rob Steppke, Rene Vidales and Dionné Carlson attended the unveiling ceremony.
