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Date: 8/17/2021
CHICOPEE – Eileen Perez, owner of Eileen Cak’s Supplies and More, believes she will be out of business within a year due to the fact her customers can’t park in front of her Center Street bakery to pick up cakes.
Hers was not the only voice raised in concern about the pilot bike lane project which forms a loop in downtown Chicopee.
Mayor John Vieau met on Aug. 12 with downtown business owners to address their concerns about the new bike lane loop through the neighborhood.
At the heart of the concerns are the lost on-street parking spaces due to the creation of the bike lane.
In a presentation at City Hall that preceded the discussion, Patrick McKenna of the Planning Department noted the bike lane was paid for by a grant by MassDOT and said it was designed to create a safe outdoor activity as well as attract people to downtown.
He noted 65 on-street parking spaces were affected – about 27 percent of the available on-street parking.
McKenna explained the Commonwealth was looking for “quick launch/quick build projects” and the initial design for the bike lane was rejected by MassDot last September. That design included using plastic cones and planters to define the route and cost $133,638.40.
MassDOT funded a second proposal that had plastic “wave delineators” and lines painted on the pavement. McKenna said it was less expensive at $76,642.50 and involves less labors.
The delineators are removable and will be taken off the streets for winter and snow-plowing. They will return next spring and will be in place until July 2022. Planning Director Lee Pouliot noted that once the pilot period is concluded the city will re-evaluate the project.
Vieau expressed several how willing he was to work with the businesses. “The stakeholders in the center matter,” he said,
Marty Topor asked Vieau, “How are they going to clean the streets?” He said the city should have used the money to clean up the downtown from overgrown weeds to graffiti.
He said of the bike lane, “It’s crazy … it makes no sense at all.”
Vieau replied he has seen people using the bike lane and that it was “a small component” of revitalizing downtown. The mayor added the city is working with MassDevelopment through an urban design fellow assigned by the organization to the city to improve downtown, A group meets with the fellow monthly to discuss issues.
Julie Copoulos, the executive director of the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, said, “We all want the revitalization of downtown but one that will helps businesses.”
The owner of Center Cleaners sent a written statement that Topor read. In part he noted he was “exasperated and bewildered” by the bike lane.
Stanley A Szlachetka, the owner of 10 Center St., said the bike lane causes an assessbility issue for the disabled who wish to park in front of the building.
Vieau said the city has received a $200,000 streetscape grant by MGM Springfield and ValleyBike Share is finishing a bike facility on Front Street. The mayor added there is an app coming to be installed on phones that will give viewers information on routes for restaurants, art and history in the city.
He also said there will soon be an announcement soon about the re-use of the former library building.
Pouliot noted the walking and bike trail that starts in the center and goes to the former Uniroyal site “is still on the docket.” He explained the city is clearing up some rights of way issues.
State Rep. Joseph Wagner noted he has not seen people using the bike path and said, “It’s a well-intentioned attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t exist at this point.” Wagner believes such a project would have been more appropriate if the proposed apartments at the Cabotville complex were on-line and additional people lived downtown.
“It’s putting the cart before the horse and created more problems that it solved,” he said.
Vieau stressed his door is open for meetings with business people and said, “I don’t want to see any small business close because of a bike lane.”