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Date: 1/2/2024
EASTHAMPTON — After months of planning and design, the city’s planning department unveiled the Pleasant Street Mills District Improvement Plan to the Easthampton City Council during its Dec. 20 meeting.
City Planner Jeff Bagg explained that the first vision for the mill district was put together back in 2002 and detailed some of the work that has been done since then.
“If you look at that plan, it’s quite amazing how many things have been accomplished to revitalize that whole area. In 2008 Millside Park began to get renovated and created into the current status that it’s in now. 2012, 2014 and 2015 were huge for the city in that area. During that time there was about $8 million in public infrastructure dollars that were given to the city to create the back of the mills that we see today,” he said.
Bagg added that the initial work had exceeded all expectations and some of the remaining work includes finishing the throughway in the back of the mills.
“Now it’s unsafe for pedestrians to get from Pleasant Street to the back, it’s actually unsafe for cars and it’s unsafe for the people who are in the back of the mills now more than ever,” he said.
He said that the mills were a targeted area for COVID-19 related rapid recovery funds through the state.
“That’s kind of what we see today is the state’s funding sources put projects on a continuum, so it’s planning work, coming up with a vision and a common goal, and it’s preparing information, plans and data to be ready, and then it’s implementation,” he said.
With the 25% design plan, Bagg said this allows the city to apply for the funding to build out the new entrances.
Luke Mitchell, an engineer with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Springfield, detailed some of the work proposed in the plan.
“It is unsafe currently; it is also quite confusing for people who don’t really know this area to know where they’re going and where they’re trying to get to, so wayfinding was a big piece of this. Helping visitors, anybody accessing this area, help them figure out where they are trying to go and make it more warm and attractive, and welcoming for people on bike or on foot,” he said.
Mitchell added that planning initially begin back in March before work with stakeholders and several public hearings. He said that some of the parts of the plan directly came from resident feedback.
Overall, Mitchell said that there were seven goals for the project, which include reimagining traffic flow, enhancing the pedestrian experience, encouraging gathering, enhancing connectivity, showcasing public art, upgrading wayfinding and improving internal coordination. Mitchell also provided some examples of the art that could be added to the area.
“I think this is really a great, great location for public art. There are so many different moments within this space that we think would be great for murals, large public sculpture, something to celebrate the site’s history and also make it more of a destination,” he said.
Looking at the issues at the entrances, Mitchell said that they have poor signage and wayfinding, no sidewalks and bike lines, poor lighting and other issues. To remediate these issues, the plan includes an updated western entrance, dubbed Putnam Court.
“The idea is let’s put a dedicated pedestrian lane coming from Pleasant Street all the way down back to this parking lot, currently there is none,” he said.
The plan would also include raised crosswalk connecting to the Manhan Rail Trail, as well as a pedestrian bridge connected to New City on Everett Street. For the central entrance, Mitchell explained that the plan is to introduce a pedestrian corridor in between Eastworks and Insa. For Millside Park, the plan is to include a new skatepark, a raised crosswalk, a new, kid-friendly playground and improved signage. At the eastern entrance, Mitchell said changes would include a reconfigured driveway for improved driver line of sight and perpendicular parking.
Mitchell added that the plans were not final.
Councilor Brad Riley said he was looking forward to seeing what the improved area looks like when it is done.
“I think one of the joys of being a city councilor in a city like Easthampton is to be able to watch dreamers and creators reimagine what our city can look like and how it comes to life, and I’ve been able to see that happen in just my short time on the council, so I am really excited to see where this goes,” he said.
During the meeting, a large public comment session was dedicated to longtime Precinct 5 Councilor Daniel Rist, who participated in his last meeting, after he previously announced he would not be running for reelection. Over an hour was dedicated to honoring Rist and his service to the city, with residents, former and current council members, and local legislators all speaking about their time spent with Rist.
Mayor Nicole LaChapelle unveiled an artificial intelligence-generated ode to his time to the city before inviting members of the public to sign the sheet and to leave messages to Rist.
The council also approved a routine transfer of $50,216.40 to the PEG Access Account for cable related purposes. Rist explained that this transfer happens once a quarter.
The Easthampton City Council next meets on Jan. 3.