See: City Plans 'Popup Plaza' at Downtown Crossing

BOSTON, MA — A possible plaza at Franklin and Arch Streets will be tested out Tuesday in Downtown Crossing, where the Boston Transportation Department will be on-hand to solicit resident feedback and showcase design ideas for a space designed to attract pedestrians.

Meanwhile, engineers will be on the lookout for any issues that arise from the temporary installation, and to monitor traffic flow.

The temporary space will consist of planters and fencing, filled with tables and chairs from 8-11 a.m. Tuesday. Coffee will be provided.

According to a mayor's office press release, the transportation department will be working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Public Works Department, the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District and Millennium Partners (the force behind nearby Millennium Tower) on the pilot project and future phases.

The architecture firm Höweler + Yoon has been commissioned by Millennium Partners to develop the designs for the next phase of the experiment, the mayor's office release said. You can see a rendering their proposed design idea above.

In the release, Mayor Marty Walsh said the plaza project is a recognition of the heavy pedestrian traffic in DTX.

"We want to create a better walking environment for them," he said.

Chief of Streets Chris Osgood, in the press release, outlined the idea of strategically improving pedestrian spaces, imagining a future "network of parks and plazas from Shopper's Plaza to Post Office Square and on to the Greenway."

According to the release, Franklin Street currently accommodates two lanes of westbound travel and a right turn lane at Arch between Devonshire and Hawley Streets as well as handicap and commercial parking. The pilot project at Franklin and Arch will look at the traffic capacity needs for both blocks and the opportunity spaces to create better pedestrian accommodations as well as seating and shade, the mayor's office said.

A little history of the space, courtesy the city:

The intersection of Franklin Street and Arch Street is particularly wide because it was once the location of architect Charles Bulfinch's Tontine Crescent. In the 1790s, a series of row houses was built on a curve, and the wider area in the middle of the street was a small park with trees. Though the buildings were demolished in the 1850s, the shape of the street remains.