Douglas Avenue Corridor

Client: City of Racine, Douglas Avenue BID

Location: Racine, WI

  • Racine Douglas Ave / Hamilton St Day Render

Douglas Avenue, a 3 mile road that stretches from the northern city boundary to State Street in Racine, is home to an array of dining, restaurants, services, and residential lots. Because of the diverse nature of the site, the needs and opportunities vary along the corridor; therefore, it is divided into 6 major sites that have the potential to be nodes of activity.

These nodes can serve as catalytic projects to promote economic development on surrounding sites. The areas of focus bring together permanent and temporary landscaping, signage, lighting, and art to help create an identity for Douglas Avenue, provide safer pedestrian access, create nodes of public green space, and beautify the overall streetscape.

CDS later proceeded to identify sites that could serve as parks or plazas to create a unique identity along the corridor. Two sites were selected for further design, one a landscaped plaza and the second a rest stop along the County bike trail. Each incorporate low maintenance landscape strategies, along with the reuse of trolley poles that were once prevalent in Racine.