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Date: 1/2/2024
AMHERST — With work paused for winter, town officials have said the renovation project on the North Common is making significant headway as it moves towards its target completion for the start of the summer.
The venture, designed to make that part of the common more attractive and user-friendly for the community, will include the addition and improvement for accessible walkways, small seating areas to promote social gatherings as well as large open spaces for community functions.
The section, between Main and Spring streets will be afforded new greenery, new walkways and a new bus stop on Main Street while Boltwood Avenue will see a large plaza in front of Town Hall for gatherings and events.
Inside the common will be 8-foot-wide walkways with circular and semi-circular sitting areas including benches and a larger table lined seating space. There will also be a new interpretive area for the relocated Woman’s Christian Temperance Union fountain.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said, “The North Common is the most prominent location in the town of Amherst, holding space at the main intersection downtown. For years, the space was used to park cars. The renovation will transform the downtown experience for residents and visitors alike.”
Additional planned site improvements include new benches, tables, trash receptacles, bus shelter, bike share station and site lighting while a variety of smaller gathering spaces will be spread throughout the common to encourage people to linger and enjoy downtown.
Plans for roadway work and parking adjustments include a reconstructed portion of Main Street, South Pleasant Street and Boltwood Avenue, and the abutting sidewalks. Boltwood Avenue will be redirected one-way heading south while the front of Town Hall will become a raised plaza that can be closed to traffic for events. Parallel parking on the east and west sides of the remaining section of Boltwood Avenue will be accompanied by new sidewalks on both sides.
The acre sized portion of the common will also see improved landscaping and storm water management as well as flowering trees and shrubs.
Bockelman offered praise for the North Common Improvement Project and its benefit for the town.
“Like the popular new playground in Kendrick Park, the new North Common will be a welcoming space in the center of Amherst. People will want to spend time downtown meeting up with friends, enjoying a treat from a restaurant, or relaxing with good read from one of our independent bookstores or the Jones Library.”
The project is funded by local Community Preservation Act dollars as well as a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant.
The North Common is managed by the Department of Public Works, with oversight by the Amherst Historical Commission, under the broad jurisdiction of the Town Council.