WACO, TX — A new walkway down 6th Street is being celebrated by downtown businesses for driving traffic from the Magnolia Silos to Waco's downtown area.
The colorful new pathway is four blocks long, stretching from the silos to Austin Ave. It comes as a part of City Center Waco's "Summer of Downtown" initiative to bring new life to downtown Waco.
Sarah Kraut, manager at Bru Coffee Works on 6th St. watched this weekend as tourists and locals alike made their way down the walkway.
"There was a lot of tourists in the morning, in the afternoon not so much because it was so hot, but yeah there was definitely quite a bit," Kraut said.
Many visitors to downtown businesses have been asking about the project.
"People are really intrigued to the colors, and so we find that they're walking by the store. And also a lot of locals and they're questioning, 'What's the colors about?' and so then it leads us right to our door," said Sue Damhesel, manager at Coming Home to Waco.
City Center Waco and their partner CivicBrand painted the walkway last week. They plan to leave it for at least the rest of the summer as a test run. If the walkway, along with other summer projects, such as the 7th St. Plaza, work well, permanent projects may be considered in the future.
Damhesel hopes the walkway will be a permanent fixture.
"I think that it's gonna bring a lot of business to a small, mom and pop stores like we have down here," Damhesel said.
Jacole Elliott and her friends, visiting from the Dallas area, were taking photos along the walkway on Tuesday morning.
"It's bright and colorful, it's inviting. I love--I think it's gonna be a great place to take pictures," Damhesel said. "I think people are gonna really enjoy it."
She also thinks the pedestrian path is a creative way to get people to explore other parts of the city.
"I think it's a great way to point towards where all the culture is really happening other than just one main attraction, so I love it," Elliott said.
The new walkway covers up several downtown parking spots, a concern of Kraut's. A free parking lot, however, was opened for the summer on 6th St. near Franklin Ave.
