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The sight of Northampton’s normally bustling Main Street was an unusual one Thursday afternoon.
Not a single car drove though the downtown area. Only a few dozen people were walking through the heart of the city’s business district around 2 p.m., some picking up lunch at Bueno Y Sano, others shopping in Thornes Marketplace. A few biked in the middle of the roadway toward New South Street.
The street was quiet, in large part due to a massive $200,000 redesign of Main Street that shut down traffic and parking on Main Street for the day. A long stretch of the road, from King Street to New South Street, was barricaded as crews worked.
Thursday marked the first day of the project, which was funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department fo Transportation’s Shared Streets and Spaces program.
It was launched in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with the aim of both supporting public safety and bolstering commerce in communities throughout the commonwealth.
“I’ve always wanted more outdoor seating in Northampton, so I’m excited we’re taking this opportunity,” said Christina White, a Florence resident who was scoping out the downtown area as she headed to Thornes with her friend. “It’s great.”
MassDOT’s program provides cities and towns with grants as small as $5,000 and as large as $300,000 to improve sidewalks, curbs, streets, on-street parking spaces and off-street lots. Grant applications will be accepted for the $5 million program until Sept. 29.
Personnel with the Toole Design Group, which was contracted to make the changes in Northampton, were out and about on the roadway Thursday, painting and taping lines to mark where barriers will be erected to separate parking spots and public walking space from regular traffic. Work will continue through Saturday.
Northampton Department of Public Works wooden barriers blocked cars from driving onto Main Street through side roads, and a policeman stood next to New South Street, directing traffic, as well as a confused passerby.
One worker spray-painted a white bicycle onto the ground across the street from Pulaski Park, indicating where people should bike. Another two individuals worked to make a crosswalk more visible by rolling bright green paint onto the road.
On both Friday and Saturday, various concrete barriers and 100 flower planters are expected to be put up, and four local artists will come in to beautify the new additions to the street. Among them are Andrae Green, Eben Kling, Kim Carlino and Sean Greene.
Not everyone was happy with the construction going on this week, though. Rick Paiva, a two-year resident of Florence, said he was frustrated with the suddenness of the project, though he recognized there are businesses that are struggling due to the pandemic.
A concern for him regarding the redesign was the visibility of crosswalks that were not being repainted Thursday, and handicap parking spots.
“It’s a concern, big time,” he said. “And it’s a concern because there are a lot of people who are in wheelchairs that I see and others in motor scooters.”
However, several more people, including Northampton City Councilor Jim Nash of Ward 3, who were venturing through the business district Thursday afternoon expressed their excitement about the project.
By the time the Main Street redesign is finished by the weekend’s end, there will be street murals, a designated bicycle lane and expanded space for walking, biking, shopping and dining. A new bus stop configuration will also be set Hampshire County Courthouse, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz said.
The project is expected to be finished Saturday, and the updates will remain in place until November, according to the mayor.
“It’s again an effort to create more public space, shared space for more outdoor seating. It also addresses some social distancing needs by creating more public space for pedestrians as well as for cyclists,” Narkewicz told MassLive last week. “That’s sort of the overall vision, but it all ties back to this idea of wanting to support downtown retailers.”
The remodeling of upper Main Street comes nearly three months after the city received a private $10,000 grant from the Lawrence & Lillian Solomon Foundation to facilitate easier outdoor dining and curbside purchases on Main Street in Northampton and Florence that abide by social distancing practices.
The funds enabled the city to redesign the lower half of Main Street to adapt to the so-called “new normal” of outdoor dining and social distancing amid the COVID-19 public health crisis. Barriers that were later colorfully decorated were set up, and parking spot were converted into outside restaurant space.
The money from the foundation made sidewalks and parking less congested, Narkewicz added.
The mayor noted residents liked the earlier redesign by and large, and the city now hopes to make similar changes to upper Main Street.
“I think [it] has been very well-received and has been, I would say, successful, just judging by the vibrancy of when you go down through that part of lower Main Street,” Narkewicz said.
Watch MassLive’s walkthrough of the changes going on in downtown Northampton.
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