Wayne Commons: North Wayne Avenue Parking Lot Park Waits Until Spring 2027

The North Wayne Avenue municipal lot will keep its rows of spaces by the storefronts through this winter. On September 14, Radnor Township changed the order of the Wayne Commons work. The park comes later, and the parking help is supposed to come first.

According to the minutes of that Board of Commissioners meeting, much of what merchants said was about the calendar, meaning holiday shopping, winter weather, and the summer lull. The commissioners answered by changing the schedule and keeping the park. That choice decides what downtown Wayne looks like between now and next spring.

What the Board Actually Passed

The resolution started out as a two-phase plan. In that plan, a temporary test park would come first and take out seven parking spaces. A permanent park on the full footprint would follow and take out 24, according to Patch's October 8 report. Township officials had hoped to break ground on the test park this fall.

The amendment that passed 7–0 changed this. Here is the core language from the September 14 meeting minutes:

"...while continuing the evaluation of the proposed use of the space between a full-time park versus a hybrid of park use and continued public parking, directing Township Staff to immediately being the Parking and Wayfinding branding and improvements identified in the draft Wayne Master Plan, and amending the installation plan to combine the two phases into one, and delay the installation until the Spring, 2027, as soon as weather reaches temperatures to allow for the repaving."

That paragraph contains three decisions. The two phases are now a single installation. Work waits until it's warm enough to repave. Staff are told to start on parking and wayfinding right away. A fourth question is still open. The board didn't decide whether the finished space will be a full-time park or a hybrid that keeps some public parking.

The money is set aside, but the price isn't final. The resolution approves an estimated $155,000 from the Park & Open Space Bonds, Series 2016. Township Manager Bill White told the board that the bid will set the price and that it will come back for another vote.

Why the Calendar Drove the Debate

Read the public comments in order and you can see how timing took over the conversation. Before the amendment, Christopher's spoke about the parking numbers. It pointed out that the master plan hadn't been published yet and asked the board to wait until spring. Gingy's suggested using the space as a hybrid in winter, when bad weather makes longer parking matter, so businesses would have time to prepare their customers. Mama-San said it loved the idea of a park and asked for barriers and safety guards for small children, but said the timing was off.

Other comments recorded earlier in the minutes covered the same ground. Be Devoted passed along customer complaints about parking and asked that construction not happen before the holidays. Main Point Books raised concerns about parking and about how the project would affect its business. Not everyone made a timing argument. One North Wayne Avenue business owner spoke directly against removing parking.

Even after the board moved the work to spring, the calendar kept coming up. Be Devoted said it had hoped for a summer start because many people are away then. Commissioner Larkin replied that planting can't be done in summer. The Wayne Music Festival asked the township to plan around its 2027 date and requested 17-foot lights in the park. The township engineer said the 2027 Wheels of Wayne date also had to be considered, and that he would get the bid out in time for a spring start.

So spring has a lot to fit around: repaving weather, planting season, the music festival, and Wheels of Wayne. The township has announced a late-winter groundbreaking and a spring 2027 ribbon-cutting. The motion itself ties the start date to the weather, not to a date on the calendar.

The Parking That Already Exists

The township's case for the park depends on parking that many drivers may not know about. In its October 7 announcement, Radnor says downtown Wayne has more than 300 municipal parking spaces. By that count, the 24 spaces in the park footprint are less than a tenth of the total. Patch reported that officials admitted the signs pointing drivers to those other spaces are lacking. The wayfinding instruction in the motion is meant to fix exactly that.

The two open lots use pay-by-plate and work with ParkMobile. The draft master plan describes the wayfinding system in some detail. It calls for Township-branded signs, clear names for each lot, directions, online maps, and real-time information on how full each lot is. If that work starts on the schedule the motion sets, you may see the parking changes downtown before you see the park.

What the Park Is Meant to Become

Downtown Wayne has been talking about this idea for more than twenty years. The draft plan traces it to the 2003 Comprehensive Plan, which called for public gathering places and introduced the idea of a North Wayne promenade and "town commons." Patch notes that the park was first proposed in 2003, never got built, and came back up during the outreach for the new plan.

The draft master plan, titled "A Vision for Wayne," describes a site of about 7,500 square feet that now holds 24 parking spaces. It pictures the space as an off-street gathering place for seasonal events, local markets, and live music, with shaded seating and outdoor dining on ordinary days. The plan says the space should support daily use and events without disrupting regional traffic on Lancaster Avenue.

The township's October 7 announcement still uses the two-phase language, even though the September 14 motion merged the phases into one spring installation. The announcement describes the spring installation as a level, renovated space with planters, public seating, entry signs, and retractable safety bollards. It also lists permanent fixtures, utility upgrades, stormwater management, and green infrastructure as a later "Phase 2." The minutes don't say how that longer-term work fits the combined schedule. Patch reported that the spring version is designed with easily removable fixtures, and that the timeline after that is uncertain.

What Happens Monday, and Afterward

The schedule from here is short:

1. Monday, October 12, 6:30 p.m.: the Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on adopting "A Vision for Wayne." It is also scheduled to vote on a resolution authorizing a study of the parklet's traffic impact, which would help decide the final design. Both votes are pending as of this writing.
2. This winter: staff are directed to start the parking and wayfinding improvements. The project goes out to bid, and the price comes back to the board for a vote.
3. Spring 2027: installation starts once it's warm enough to repave, with the music festival and Wheels of Wayne to work around.

Adopting the plan on Monday doesn't approve the projects in it. As Patch notes, each project still needs its own approval. It would be downtown Wayne's first new master plan in 20 years.

A New Reason to Try Louella Court

Louella Court is one of the blocks the master plan marks for more parking, and it has a new place to eat. Patch reported that Koren's Kitchen Café, run by Executive Chef Koren Draper, was set to open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, at 11 Louella Court. Updates on the park will be posted on the township's website and social media channels, and the plan itself is at avisionforwayne.com.

Changes to the public space around a home, like a new square, a merged parking lot, or a better-signed walk to the shops, change how a block feels and how it's used day to day. That's the kind of change Brent Lyle Erickson follows closely in downtown Wayne. If you'd like to talk through what the North Wayne Avenue plans could mean for your street, Let's Connect.