Keeping downtown Apex accessible—and enjoyable—in a time of growth
BY SAMANTHA GRATTON
With what the town’s mayor calls “the best downtown in the Triangle,” Apex has a lot of people asking, “What’s next?”
The Town of Apex published its Downtown Master Plan & Parking Study in 2019. The almost-200-page plan outlines a number of opportunities for growth and revision in the downtown area. It contains visions of added walkability, outdoor seating, increased parking, gathering spaces and areas for revitalization.
Planning continued through the COVID-19 pandemic, during which temporary social distancing measures transformed parking spaces into patio seating and created other short-term outdoor spaces—temporary versions of some of the changes that had already been incorporated into Apex’s permanent downtown plan. People began to see what these changes might look like when the plan came to fruition.
So where does the downtown plan stand today? And how does Apex plan to move forward with it?
The Crown Jewel of Apex
The Salem Streetscape is the downtown vision that has captured many people’s imaginations. The heart of downtown, Salem Street has many stories to tell, having seen the town through 151 years of Apex’s history. Of the downtown today, Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert says, “We want every person—visitor, resident—to feel like they’re welcome here in The Peak of Good Living.”
With construction slated to start in 2026, the Salem Streetscape project will include a curbless design, making the street and sidewalk flat all the way across with pavers. Some of the street parking will be removed, but in its place the town will add more outdoor tables and furnishings, better lighting and trees lining the road to make Salem Street more pedestrian-friendly. The plan also adds a dedicated gathering space on Saunders Street featuring furniture, games and a pergola.
“The plan, the vision, the projects have a lot of support—they’re very exciting to people. People love the idea of improving downtown Apex, and they love downtown Apex already. Because [it’s] so well-loved, there’s a little bit of risk when you start to make changes, especially in a historic area,” says Shannon Cox, Long Range Planning Manager of Apex, who has worked with the town for eight years and plays a major part in managing the development of the plan. “Salem Street has changed many times over the years. It has not always looked the way that it has now. So being careful about it is important—but [we also don’t want to be] afraid to make improvements.”
This project will begin after a projected parking lot addition is completed to ease the transition, but plans are in place to ensure visitors keep coming and downtown businesses continue to flourish during construction. “A lot of people have uncertainty with the process,” says Mayor Gilbert. “When we do that streetscape and we start with construction, we don’t want anyone to think downtown is closed.”
The Parking Predicament
As exciting as many people find the new plans, this growth comes with growing pains. Providing more parking downtown is the first priority. The town currently has a population of just over 78,000 people, with projections to grow to over 100,000 residents by 2030.
Making downtown easier to access is essential, therefore, if the town wants it to remain a welcoming place for residents and visitors.
Currently, the main downtown parking lot, off Saunders Street and across from the police station, has 240 parking spaces. Starting in January 2025, construction will begin to expand that parking lot to hold 152 more spaces. The new layout will use the space more efficiently, add trees and address stormwater concerns. Some spaces in the new lot will most likely have time limits, allowing more people to use each parking spot throughout the day.
The new parking area has been in the works for some time, but the construction start date was strategically chosen after coordinating with downtown businesses owners, who voiced a preference for construction to begin after 2024’s quarter four and the holiday season.
“We take parking seriously, and we take the downtown business owners’ concerns about parking seriously,” says Cox. She explains that parking is probably the biggest hurdle facing the downtown development projects, but it is an important need to address. While some people argue that Apex needs a parking garage rather than a larger parking lot, the town has estimated that a parking garage costs roughly $25,000–$35,000 per parking space.
The Downtown Plan evaluated the cost of building a parking lot, the space and location available, other parking management strategies and the value the lot would provide. After conducting multiple studies, the town determined that Apex doesn’t need a parking garage—at least not yet—but that it will monitor the need for future planning.
More to Come
The Salem Streetscape and increased parking are not Apex’s only proposed projects. The town plans to make improvements to downtown Apex alleys, add landscaping and construct a downtown gathering space—construction for which is proposed to begin in 2027. Projects outlined in the master plan that aren’t being addressed yet will continue to be implemented in the future.
The downtown plan also hopes to add accessibility to the downtown area through accommodating multiple forms of transportation. The town is working on several sidewalk projects and designing more bike paths, including one from downtown Apex to Pleasant Park.
It is adding bus routes, and it is considering a “mobility hub” which includes a central location for bus, bike, pedestrian, rideshare, microtransit and passenger rail service in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation—but that plan depends on the town’s ability to fund it.
“These projects take a long time,” says Cox. “There was a lot of excitement when we did our downtown plan. So I just hope that people know we’re working on it. We’re working to make the vision happen. We’re excited about it, too.” She adds, “Incrementally, we’re going to get there. Hopefully people are enjoying the changes as they come.”
In the meantime, town officials hope citizens will encourage the projects along. “I just want community members to stay focused on it and stay open. Try to remain as positive as possible. Go back and look at the plan over and over and just visualize: This is it,” says Mayor Gilbert. “And hold leadership accountable. Ask questions. I think that’s important to keep communication going.”
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