With a 20.5-square-mile size and a hub of small business and family-friendly neighborhoods, the Town of Parker has plenty to offer residents.
When it comes to Mainstreet through downtown Parker, there’s a lot of work already in the books. The city has developed a working Master Plan to fully connect the east and west ends.
Check out our original #9Neighborhoods tour of Parker here.
Over the next 20 years, the city will add more parking, retail and restaurants. The goal, according to Parker’s Planning Manager, Bryce Matthews, is to create a downtown that people will spend a whole day at, a downtown that offers shopping, food, and entertainment.
If everything goes as planned, a new restaurant will soon begin construction: The Parker Tap House Restaurant and Distillery, bringing a rooftop patio environment to the heart of downtown.
One project already in progress is the addition of way-finding signage. These are signs to help people navigate downtown Parker and find off-Main Street parking.
Mainstreet
Mainstreet is the heart of Parker, a place where residents gather to shop, eat and play. At any given time, families can be found browsing through booths at farmer's markets, eating candy or playing games at fairs and festivals or even just walking along to check out the numerous shops there.
Mainstreet is also the target of a master plan the Town of Parker launched in September 2015. The plan focuses on a 1.15-mile stretch of the road, from Twenty Mile Road to Pine Drive, with Parker serving as the main intersection.
Town officials will use the plan as guidance for the next 20 years, referring to it for everything from future development, to urban design, to revitalization and more.
Examples include creating a bicycle facility at the Supher Gulch Trail, which parallels Mainstreet through an open space corridor; working with the Regional Transportation District to add additional routes; installing a continuous line of trees along the stretch; and promoting unique architecture with buildings no more than five floors high.
The plan also calls for more focus on pedestrian and bicycle-friendly roads through "traffic calming" (a term used to describe the installation of road signs or vehicle impediments like medians and curbs).
The plan also encourages attractions meant to enhance residents' social experience, including recommendations to enhance Twenty Mile Historic Park and Living Wheel Park, two areas on the west end of the Mainstreet stretch that the plan says are a "dead zone," when they "should be...vibrant areas."
Other recommendations include building a new park/plaza between the movie theater and Mainstreet that will allow outdoor dining.
At full build-out, town officials hope the street will become even more of a hub for residents to enjoy than it is today.
For now, visitors can enjoy a wide range of shopping and dining options, like Kneaders Bakery & Cafe, Yummy Pho Noodle House and Culver's on the west side of Parker Road — or Vines Wine Bar & Bistro, Parker Garage or the Fika Coffee House on the east side.
Discovery Park & Parker Ice Trail
On the east end of downtown Parker you’ll find Discovery Park, home of the Parker Ice Trail, and soon-to-be home of a performance stage (construction is already wrapping up).
Both can be found near the recently relocated library.
Discovery Park, with its interactive fountains, water jets, public art, playgrounds and performance stage, is already a special part of the town, especially in the summer.
But this year, the town wanted something to make it just as special in the winter, too. That's why last December it opened the Parker Ice Trail, a frozen path that snakes through the park and offers users a fun way to skate.
The Ice Trail is one of the only attractions of its kind in the country, offering a different alternative to the traditional ice rink.
In warmer months, the Ice Trail can be completely deconstructed, leaving an open space for the performance stage.
The hope, according to the director of Parker’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space, is once taken down, no one will notice the Ice Trail was even there.
The city also offers skate rentals and restroom facilities, as well as concessions. Three fire pits also sit adjacent to the trail.
The trail is open seven days a week, with limited hours. Admission is $6 for children 10 and under and $8 for adults. Skate rental is an additional $4 per person.
