The design of Colleyville Boulevard transforms a state highway improvement project into a civic amenity and destination, announcing, branding and connecting the City of Colleyville to the natural environment, surrounding communities and the DFW Metroplex.
The boulevard is organized into the three gateway zones and the transition zones between them. The Pastoral Gateway emphasizes the openness of the Cross Timbers Prairie, and effectively uses the notion of “borrowed landscape”, taking advantage of views of the Little Bear Creek corridor and incorporating them into the experience of the boulevard as one enters Colleyville from the north. The Creekside Gateway is designed as a naturalistic extension of its riparian environment. It features wetland plantings, natural stone and subtle grading design. The Main Street Gateway is more urban in character, featuring tall tower elements that recall the architecture of the downtown core. These landmark elements are scaled to emphasize the significance of downtown but detailed to respond to the increased amount of pedestrian activity at this gateway.
The median design is a key unifying design element of the entire 3-mile-long extent of the boulevard corridor. Where the width of the median permits, large blocks of native Texas limestone are used to create a sinuous “ribbon” winding among plantings of large American elm shade trees and understory plantings of native and well adapted low shrubs, perennials, ground covers and native grasses. This native Texas limestone is also used on the Pastoral, Creekside and Main Street gateways.