Cary is looking into sprucing up a downtown street that has pedestrian-only access during warmer months.

It started as a way to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now vehicle access is shut off on the northern half of Spring Street in downtown Cary every summer to turn it into an outdoor eating-friendly “Alfresco Alley.” Now the village is looking for ways to upgrade the experience to match with its Main Street renovations.

During a recent Village Board meeting, landscape architects MKSK Studios presented preliminary ideas to transform Spring Street. Some improvements include a seat wall, pedestrian paving to match Main Street, overhead string lighting, bench seating and bike racks.

“The goal of this plan is really to make Spring Street feel like it flows directly into Main Street, and creates a really cohesive downtown experience for the village,” MKSK Studios Project Manager Abigail Fiala said.

Possible seasonal upgrades include a shade structure, shade pergolas, a wood deck and lawn tiles. These temporary additions would be used during the warmer months when the street is closed off to pedestrian access only.

Rough cost estimates for the permanent changes are approximately $737,700, which does not include any utility costs or any of the seasonal upgrades.

Numbers are “in flux,” and design elements can change to fit within whatever budget the village has, Weidl said.

The preliminary design plan suggests slightly relocating the large blue “Cary” sign to increase mobility on the sidewalk. Where it sits currently, the sign obstructs the path to the crosswalk, MKSK landscape architect Brett Weidl said.

The village asked for community input by hosting an open house event and opening an online survey earlier this month that received over 370 responses. String lights, more shading and more seating options were the most popular responses.

For the seasonal upgrades, many of the trustees were in favor of shading, but not so much for the wood deck and grass tiles. Before going forward with specific options, Trustee Rick Walrath suggested finding out the projected maintenance costs.

Projected costs for an overhead shading structure across the street are estimated to be $380,000, or $200 a square foot. Another option would be adding shade pergolas at $110 a square foot, according to the MKSK presentation.

To help with the costs, the village received an $850,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development specifically for the project. The area is also within the downtown tax increment financing district, Mayor Mark Kownick said.

“We have a hard deadline to use the $850,000,” Kownick said. “It has to be spent, otherwise we lose it.”

The next step for the project is creating a more specific design plan. Designers aim to have the final design completed by mid-April, and construction could start as early as this summer, Weidl said.

The village is also currently working on the second phase of the Downtown Streetscape Project with construction of a downtown plaza, fireplace and pavilion in the area of the former Metra station. The project is estimated to be completed by this spring, according to the village website.