At the March 27-28th Design Rodeo workshop, attendees saw the planning process at work and weighed in on this topic as it continues to come together. The information and questions below seek to continue this community dialogue. Add your thoughts, by Friday, May 31st.

It's indisputable that St. Louis Catholic Church is everyone's favorite photo op. That, and the fact that so many community events center around the Square, it really IS the heart and soul of the community.

The site sketch below would be included in Castroville's Comprehensive Plan as the vision for Houston Square improvements. It's similar to plans envisioned for Houston Square in the past and reflects very little change to the existing layout. With a more defined parking area (see below), there are even more parking spaces, with room for a few amenities to be added:

1- A small plaza near St. Louis Cathedral along Angelo Street and Paris Street could provide space for open-air concerts, performances, or movie nights, using the greenspace of Houston Square as a lawn for attendees.

2- A row of trees parallel to Angelo Street and Madrid Street would serve as a pleasant walkway or gathering space most of the time, but would double as a hardscape for market vendors at special events.

3- A row of tiny sheds or kiosks along Paris Street would provide more retail space to incubate local small businesses and draw people further down Paris Street, enticing people to spend more time (and money) downtown. Movable furniture between would provide great people-watching space to sit as well as a nice place to get an espresso, glass of wine, or ice cream while watching the kids play on Houston Square.

Below is a rendering of how this plan might look in the real world.

The 2017 study to the left shows Houston Square would have approximately 167 parking spaces in its current configuration. Although Houston Square is rarely at 100% parking capacity during the week, special events are a different matter. It become essential to fit as many cars as possible here.

The Sketch of Recommended Improvements above actually increases the available parking spaces.

By defining the parking spaces within Houston Square, a more efficient use of space enables more cars to park on these peak usage days. The rest of the time, there's still enough room for larger vehicles (like an RV or a truck and a trailer) to take a few spaces in line or park as they please. Defining parking spaces can be accomplished in many ways, some more expensive than others: paint, colored pavers, and plantings can all serve to delineate parking spaces with varying degrees of visual prominence.

In addition to the cars parked within Houston Square, additional cars could parallel park on surrounding streets, adding even more capacity by simply defining the edges of the square more. With this in mind, Houston Square in the configuration above can accommodate more cars, even while expanding the green and "people-space" of Houston Square.

Please submit any comments that would improve upon this vision.