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Date: 10/2/2023
EASTHAMPTON — In a recent video posted on Easthampton Media’s YouTube page, City Planner Jeff Bagg offered updates on future area improvements at Pleasant Street Mills.
According to Bagg and the city website, Easthampton received a $175,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Community One Stop for Growth for MassDevelopment to improve the entrances and exits to the mills area.
“The goal of the project is to enhance pedestrian and vehicle safety coming to the back of the mills,” Bagg said.
According to the city website, a separate multimillion-dollar MassWorks grant was completed in 2015 and included the installation of infrastructure and parking to activate the rear of the mill buildings.
The transformation allowed two breweries, a salon, a cannabis dispensary and other commercial tenants to open. Now, the city is currently developing 25% design plans so they can be eligible for grants to help construct area improvements for greater safety.
“As part of the project, we’ll be looking at signage, wayfinding, and other things we can do to continue to enhance and support the mill owners, the business growth and the economic development activity,” Bagg said.
Luke Mitchell, a land planning leader from VHB — the group collaborating with the city on the project — said his team has identified several challenges at the site that can be solved through a redesign. The western space of the location, for example, lacks clear markings and signage in the area.
“It’s really a large sea of asphalt right now that can be difficult to navigate if you’re in a car, if you’re in a truck dropping off a delivery, if you’re on a bicycle, or if you’re a pedestrian,” Mitchell said.
To alleviate this issue, Mitchell said his team is proposing a new sidewalk connecting up with Pleasant Street as well as better lighting and vegetation so cars and pedestrians have a better idea about where they are going.
“The western entrance is approximate to what we see as the best location for introducing a new pedestrian bridge to connect the Pleasant Street Mill district to New City,” he said.
Mitchell said his team is also proposing that the central entrance of the district be shut down to most vehicles since most vehicular travel usually occurs at the east and west entrance of the location. The goal is to turn the central entrance into a pedestrian entrance where new bike shelter accommodations and electric vehicle spaces can coexist.
“It can be redone in terms of the textures, the paving, the lighting, signage and wayfinding, and other design moves to make it both a pedestrian entrance as well as something of an event space,” Mitchell said.
The design team is also proposing electric vehicle charging stations and bicycle parking facilities at the eastern part of the district where Millside Park is, as well as wayfinding signage for those coming from the Manhan trail so people can see the types of buildings they are approaching.
The team is also looking at introducing a skate park and an expanded playground in Millside Park along with easier passage from the eastern entrance.