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Date: 4/17/2023
NORTHAMPTON — The Picture Main Street project is currently on its next steps, according to an announcement posted on the city’s website.
On Wednesday, April 26 from 6-8 p.m., the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is hosting a live virtual design public hearing to discuss the proposed Complete Streets corridor and intersection improvements on Main Street in downtown Northampton.
The hearing is the next step in Northampton’s process of providing a safer functioning downtown area with improved accessibility for all users.
“There can be no doubt that we all love downtown, and we all want to see downtown be successful in the future. The future redesign of downtown will be key to that. We also want to create a functioning, enduring and sustainable landscape making sure we can continue to support resident, business, tourist and city functions as we make major upgrades,” said former mayor David Narkewicz during a prior public meeting.
The city has conducted public meetings over the past few years to discuss some design alternatives for Main Street. The goal was to narrow the design possibilities down to one so 25% plans can be submitted to MassDOT to move the project forward.
“When submitting design plans to DOT for review, a municipality may only submit one [design proposal] to proceed forward,” said Carolyn Misch, the director of Northampton’s Office and Sustainability. “Getting to that one single design to submit for the 25% design review was preceded by 2.5 years of public process.”
Misch told Reminder Publishing that these past meetings included discussions about three alternatives to generally achieve safety improvements for all users of the network.
“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,” Misch said.
After public discussion and other city conversations, Northampton decided on one alternative to submit to MassDOT for the 25% design phase. The plan that is being presented on April 26 is the one the city decided on.
The proposed plan
According to the city’s website, 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 space for loading/deliveries are part of the proposed design.
Misch said the design proposal creates a balance between the desired safety improvements that include curb extensions and narrowing the street to reduce the crossing width for pedestrian traffic; expanding sidewalk space for merchants and restaurateurs; providing separated bike lanes to keep cyclists out of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and providing a more efficient location for a bus stop lane.
“It also balanced the concern of some business owners regarding loss of some diagonal parking spaces by keeping some of those spaces and converting others to parallel parking - to maximize safety and sidewalk space,” Misch said.
After taking comments during this meeting, Misch said the design team will evaluate them and discuss any modifications that need to be incorporated in the next design phase.
The next phase is more detailed, as it involves material selection, the exact extent of improvements, utility pole locations and more.
So far, the timeline for this project remains the same, as advertising and construction are expected to commence in 2025.
Readers can register for the April 26 meeting on the Mass.gov website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/highway-division/events?_page=1.