langley
second st

an artful local streetscape

Langley, Washington, is a waterfront town on Whidbey Island that takes pride in being a community centered on the arts. With the need for maintenance to 2nd Street, the City of Langley took the opportunity to reconsider the function and design of a major street in the town. Lesley Bain and Jeff Arango, then the Planning Director, set the stage for design with a parking study that supported removal of several parking spaces, neutralizing the contentious issue and creating space for a plaza as part of the street redesign.

Aided by intensive community collaboration, Framework and team produced a design strategy that integrates art, landscape, civic buildings, stores, and a web of narrow pedestrian routes that connect the town, strengthening community and business simultaneously. The plaza is regularly used for community events, dinners and street dances. The project won the APA Great Places Award in 2019 and was the subject of a national webinar by the National Complete Streets Coalition.