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Date: 11/6/2023
NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton City Council is on the verge of approving a resolution that supports the Main Street redesign project.
During their meeting on Nov. 2, the City Council announced that they will officially vote on the resolution during their next meeting on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
The resolution presented by the City Council illustrates how the Picture Main Street project is consistent with the city’s adopted legislation over the past two decades to increase safety on the city’s public ways by making them more accessible, walkable and cyclable.
“The Northampton City Council recognizes and stands by the more than 20 years of planning by our elected and appointed officials that will lead to a safer, greener and more vibrant downtown, with their thorough planning reflected in Picture Main Street,” the resolution read.
Sponsored by Councilors Alex Jarrett, James Nash, Karen Foster and Marianne LaBarge, the resolution was officially introduced during the council’s Oct. 19 meeting and garnered overwhelming support from councilors who spoke during that meeting.
As the longest-tenured councilor, LaBarge noted how she has had a front row seat to a lot of the major plans developed by Northampton over the past three decades, including the development of the Sustainable Northampton Plan in 2008. She feels that the Picture Main Street project falls right in line.
“I’m happy that I was involved in all these years of making what’s happening right now in the city of Northampton something that I feel is change,” LaBarge said. “Change has to happen, and I do support the redesign of Main Street.”
Jarrett showed support for the resolution’s commitment to illustrating the history of Northampton’s major plans and how they all led up to Picture Main Street.
“I believe that [Picture Main Street’s] design is entirely consistent with these policies,” Jarrett said. “The details of this design are not done, but the broad plan is done, and what I am asking, and I think what other sponsors here are asking is for us to come together on that broad plan.”
Ward 4 City Councilor Garrick Perry also commended the redesign and called the project a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
On a personal note, Perry noted how this project is happening in his ward, where he has spent most of his adult life becoming the person he is today because of downtown Northampton.
“I am looking forward to my children experiencing a Northampton that I love but also something that is different and unique to them.”
The goal of the Picture Main Street project is to provide a safer functioning downtown area with improved accessibility for all users.
To prepare for these new improvements, the city has conducted several public meetings over the past few years to discuss design alternatives for Main Street and help narrow the design possibilities down to one so 25% plans can be submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to move the project forward.
“The primary reason for redesigning Main Street is to address deficiencies in safety that have resulted in Northampton’s Main Street being one of the more dangerous Main Streets in the commonwealth when comparing crash data and injuries,” Planning and Sustainability Director Carolyn Misch told Reminder Publishing back in the spring.
The project begins west of the intersection of Elm and West Streets and extends approximately 0.4 miles east to the intersection of Market and Hawley Streets.
The proposed design that is being presented provides one travel lane in each direction with a center running flush median that will afford space for turning vehicles at key locations.
Additionally, separated bike lanes are proposed on both sides of the roadway for the entire project, including as part of the proposed widened sidewalk facilities.
Other amenities like enhanced lighting, tree plantings, bus stop accommodations, reconfigured parking and dedicated spaces for loading and deliveries are part of the proposed design.
Readers can learn more about the details and conversations surrounding the project by visiting Reminder Publishing’s past coverage at thereminder.com/localnews/northampton/northampton-city-council-approves-resolution-on-pi/.