Urban planning students suggest
improvements for downtown Sealy

Master of Urban Planning students at Texas A&M proposed new sidewalks, signage, landscaping and vehicle, pedestrian and parking solutions to improve the historic downtown area of Sealy, a small Texas town 50 miles west of Houston.

Students, led by Elise Bright, professor of urban planning, also suggested downtown Sealy could benefit from a one- or two-screen specialty theater, a bar or pub with a dance floor and German or Czech restaurants, wrote Ashley Tompkins, managing editor of the Sealy News.

The recommendations came after working with the Sealy Economic Development Corporation during the Fall 2009 semester.

“I think it was important to get fresh ideas from people that don’t live here, who are trained in community planning and have a perspective of clarity that they can see our obvious needs,” said Sealy city manager Chris Coffman.

For more about the students' work in Sealy, see Tompkins' story at http://www.sealynews.com

- Posted: Jan. 12, 2010 -