"I think they call them bistro tables. I call them teeny tiny tables."
Jackie Tober, a member of the Wylie Downtown Merchants Association, said that at a City Council work session on Sept. 10, 2024. She was describing the sidewalk outside Landon Winery, where people sit outside and, in her words, "it is very difficult to navigate around them." Her case to council was simple. If Ballard Avenue gave up some street to the sidewalk, Bold BBQ Pit and Villa Vinci could set tables out, boutique owners could hang merchandise by the door, and families walking side by side with a double stroller would have room. You can hear her full comment in the City of Wylie's archived video of that meeting.
Two years later, that argument is close to becoming pavement. In the meantime, the next four event weekends downtown are a good preview of it. For most of the year Ballard is a through street with head-in parking. Between Nov. 7 and Dec. 6 it works more like the plaza merchants described, with crowds and tables taking the place of traffic.
Four Weekends on Ballard
The holiday calendar runs from Olde City Park at the south end of downtown to the Brown House at the north end. Each event is listed on the Wylie Downtown Merchants Association calendar or the City of Wylie's event pages.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Wylie Farmers Market's 2nd Annual Holiday Market sets up at Olde City Park, 112 S. Ballard Ave.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, noon to 5 p.m. The Holiday Wine Stroll takes over Historic Downtown Wylie with more than 20 stops. Landon Winery at 103 N. Ballard Ave. organizes it.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 4 to 6 p.m. The Uncorked Artisan Market runs at Landon Winery on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 6, 6 p.m. On Saturday, two events overlap. The city's Wylie Arts Festival fills The Cross Church Event Center at 200 N. Ballard Ave. with free admission and free parking. A block north, the Victorian Christmas Market sets up on the lawn of the Welcome Center at the Brown House, 301 N. Ballard Ave., with no tickets required. On Sunday evening, the Festival of Lights Christmas Parade rolls down Ballard Avenue. The tree lighting follows right after at Olde City Park.
That last weekend matters most here. For about 30 hours, the length of Ballard from the Brown House down to Olde City Park works as one continuous pedestrian event. The parade only happens because the street is closed to cars. The city redesign is aimed at this setup, so it deserves a closer look.
The Pitch Was Built Around Days Like These
At that September 2024 work session, City Engineering Project Manager Jenneen Elkhalid presented two ways to rebuild Ballard, as The Wylie News reported that week. The first kept two 11-foot travel lanes with a two-foot buffer and parallel parking on each side, leaving 18 feet of pedestrian space on each side of the street. The second kept the original plan of a single 12-foot lane down the middle. With improved alleys behind the buildings, it would leave 23 feet of pedestrian space on each side.
At an Aug. 7 stakeholder meeting, downtown stakeholders unanimously preferred the single lane. The staff presentation spelled out their reasons. Improved alleys would move delivery trucks off Ballard and allow back patio seating, and the design would make it more practical to string lights across Ballard and to close the street "for events and activities." Those are holiday-weekend conditions written into a street design.
Jeremy Meyer, a member of the downtown stakeholder committee, described where the merchants agreed:
"Improving downtown to make it an environment suitable for pedestrian and outdoor dining and outdoor entertainment is something that every single merchant wants."
He also took on the parking question directly. He said the spaces lost would come only from the 100 block of North Ballard, and that restriping the side streets with diagonal parking would more than double them, leaving more visible parking downtown than before.
Council did not fully agree. Councilman Maliki said he favored two lanes, and he was concerned that parallel parking would back traffic up toward Highway 78. Another council member backed the stakeholders' single lane for the sidewalk space it would add. City staff suggested a "try before we buy" step. The city already had money to make Ballard one way, connect Birmingham through, and restripe. Staff also proposed testing a mid-block bump-out by giving up four or five parking spaces, so merchants could see tables in that space before the city spent millions on a permanent rebuild.
The 100 Block of North Ballard, Address by Address
The 100 block of North Ballard is where the parking debate centered and where the sidewalk would widen most. These are the addresses on it. They come from the Wylie Downtown Merchants Association's merchant directory, which was last updated in August 2025, so check hours with each business before a holiday visit.
- Fancy Plants, 100 N. Ballard Ave. Alicia Kam opened her houseplant shop downtown in mid-December. "Plants were always a hobby," she told The Wylie News in February 2025.
- Landon Winery, 103 N. Ballard Ave. The Wylie tasting room serves wine, beer, cocktails and food, and it organizes the Nov. 21 stroll and hosts the Nov. 28 market. These are the bistro tables Tober described.
- Ballard Street Café, 112 N. Ballard Ave.
- Bold BBQ Pit, 114 N. Ballard Ave. Its website is advertising a holiday buffet for November 2026.
- Villa Vinci, 117 N. Ballard Ave. A family-owned Italian restaurant and one of the two restaurants Tober named as ready to put seating outside.
The newest storefront downtown sits just south of that block. Melissa West opened The Sage Hippie in late August at 105 S. Ballard Ave., Suite A. According to The Wylie News, she sells mindfully sourced crystals, herbs and related goods, and West points out that visitors don't have to believe in the metaphysical properties of crystals to enjoy them. This will be the shop's first holiday season on Ballard.
What's Paid For, and What Went to Voters
The redesign has two phases with two separate funding sources, so they're worth keeping apart.
Phase 1 is funded. The 2021 bond pays for it. According to the City of Wylie's 2026 bond page, it includes engineering studies, converting Ballard Avenue to one way northbound and Birmingham Drive to one way southbound, and a new traffic signal at Highway 78. The city says the project "will go to bid in the fall of 2026." A state accessibility filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, registered June 17, 2026, lists Phase 1 at an estimated $3.7 million. Its scope covers pedestrian ramps, a signal at SH 78 and Birmingham Street, and sidewalk from Marble Street to Brown Street, with a scheduled window of Sept. 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Those are dates filed with the state. The city's own page still describes the bid as upcoming.
Phase 2 was Proposition A. Wylie voters decided the $25.5 million proposition on Tuesday, Nov. 3. It would fund the more visible changes, including underground drainage, expanded sidewalks and streetscapes, parallel parking, and 16-foot sidewalks with bump-outs on Ballard. Those details come from a 2025 Downtown Stakeholders Committee report by Kimley-Horn. The proposition also covers rebuilding Ballard Avenue and Sachse Road as a four-lane divided road with a bridge from Creek Crossing Lane to the city limit, coordinated with Sachse's own road project. The city's bond page is the place to check the outcome of all five propositions.
These phases matter for the holiday calendar because even the funded work changes how people get downtown. A northbound-only Ballard and a southbound-only Birmingham create a loop where there used to be a two-way main street. The new signal at Highway 78 and Birmingham changes how many people turn in from the highway. This season's events are the last ones planned around the old traffic pattern, and on Dec. 6 the parade will roll down Ballard while it is still a two-way street.
Clinton Asalu works across Collin County. For any of these four weekends, park on a side street, walk the 100 block of North Ballard, and judge the 23-foot-sidewalk plan for yourself. If your weekend plans downtown have you thinking about what your own home near Ballard is worth, or about finding one within walking distance of the parade route, Clinton Asalu can help. Let's connect. Get your instant home valuation or start your home search.
