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Planners are seeking input from across Austin as they take steps to support redevelopment along Austin’s historic Rainey Street neighborhood. The area took off a couple years ago, when a few business owners decided to bring new life to the bungalow homes that date back to the 1890s.

Lustre Pearl was the first project that sparked the redevelopment phase. The simplistic decor features rusty bars on windows and a crystal door knob, dating back more than a century.

When businesswoman Bridget Dunlap bought the home from a private family in 2009, it showed its age. She said she saw a jewel which sparked a new vision for the once-sleepy avenue.

"It was a little rocky from the beginning,” Scranton Twohey, Director of Operations for the four bars Dunlap owns in the area said. “Within the past year to year-and-a-half, it's been so much better. It gets better and better every day."

The unique culture Lustre Pearl and its sister businesses have created is perhaps what's attracting more people to the historic street in the shadows of Austin's skyline. It sits just southeast of Red River Street and East Cesar Chavez Street.

Businesses continue to pop up, and the city wants to make sure neighbors are behind the change. It reminds Twohey of his first days in Austin in the early nineties.

"This place--the lot, the feel, the vibe of the bar--brings me back to that time,” he said.

Ian Stonington is president of the newly created Rainey Street Neighbors Association. He wants to see the area continue to foster its unique vibe.

"Rather than just steam-rolling over what was once here, it has really kept with the vision of what makes Rainey great,” Stonington said.

He envisions art galleries, coffee shops and cafes in an area that was rezoned as commercial eight years ago.

"Honestly, right now, it is fairly disjointed,” Stonington said. “Over time, I hope that changes."

"There's nothing textbook perfect out here and there won't be," Austin’s Assistant Director of Transportation Gary Schatz said.

Schatz said one of his biggest challenges is parking. The road is narrow and its purpose is transforming with redevelopment.

"Really, streets are for people,” Schatz said. “People use a street based on their needs, based on their means and based on the context of the street. The context of Rainey Street is changing."

Schatz hopes the street’s context is changing for the better, but that's where hearing from other Austinites is key. The city wants to clarify its vision before moving forward, so it only enhances what's already happening organically.

If you'd like to make your voice heard, visit SpeakUpAustin.org and share your thoughts with city officials on how you think Rainey Street should progress.

The website was created by the city as a forum for citizen concerns. You can also vote for other ideas you feel are important.

The City of Austin is hosting a panel discussion on recommendations from the Rainey Street Neighborhood Working Group Monday, November 14, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Mexican American Cultural Center at 600 River Street. The panel will discuss parking, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and noise issues. The public is invited to attend and participate in the discussion.