Residents, businesses and POP outline mitigation plans and concerns for Picture Main Street project

Northampton City Councilors and residents debated the Picture Main Street redesign at the Community Resources Committee meeting on March 17, as a volunteer coalition called POP (Protecting Our Plaza/Project Organizing Partners) presented its outreach and business-support plans and members of the public raised safety, transparency and economic-concern questions.

The discussion matters because the project would reshape Main Street’s curbline, sidewalks and drainage and is tied to multi-million-dollar state and municipal investments; residents and business owners asked the city and POP to spell out construction phasing, business mitigation, accessibility during work and who will pay cost overruns.

POP volunteers described a multi-pronged approach to keep downtown viable during construction. Randy Kratoski, a POP volunteer and member of the Downtown Northampton Association board, said the coalition has committees for funding, business assistance, construction mitigation and marketing and is working with a consultant, Emily Ennis. Kratoski said POP’s goals include securing grants and coordinating existing organizations to sustain foot traffic and support businesses during construction.

Andrea Munson, a POP volunteer on Zoom, said POP is launching a business survey and will hold focus groups so downtown businesses can co-create mitigation strategies. Munson said the city has received a $25,000 Massachusetts Downtown Initiative grant and that POP has pursued other funding, including ARPA and a casino-mitigation grant to support marketing and business-assistance programs. She said construction will be phased so not all sections of Main Street are torn up at once and that the first phase will focus on water and sewer reconstruction.

Several residents urged additional transparency and a trial run before permanent changes. James Winston, a Ward 2 resident, urged a “trial run” lasting about six months during winter to test whether the city could handle changes such as narrowed curblines and new bike infrastructure. Anne Tesher of Ward 5 said inconsistent public figures and timelines have confused residents: “This lack of accountability and transparency, frankly, is disturbing.” Tesher cited widely varying cost estimates she has heard — $21 million and $29 million — and asked for clearer information about the city’s financial exposure and timelines.

Some downtown business owners warned of lost parking and delivery impacts. Bob McGovern, who identified himself as a restaurant owner of 48 years in Northampton, said losing roughly 60 parking spaces and relocating delivery loading would harm businesses. POP and city staff said specific loading-zone locations and times will require a City Council vote and that, when not used for loading, such spaces will function as parking.

POP and city presenters outlined several operational details POP is working to confirm: phased construction starting with underground utilities (water/sewer) then staged curb and sidewalk improvements; an outreach database and text-alert system on the city website for weekly construction notices; coordination with MassDOT for a designated community liaison during construction; and plans to secure and protect roughly 17 underground vaults on Main Street that could be affected by work.

Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg publicly retracted her support for the Picture Main Street project on behalf of Ward 3, saying her constituents are “hugely concerned” about impacts on the local economy and businesses. Benjamin Spencer and other speakers described the project as a long-term safety and economic investment; Spencer said, “This project is about safety for everybody, first and foremost.”

Committee members and POP representatives repeatedly distinguished POP’s role from the Picture Main Street design and construction: POP is a coordinating and business-support coalition focused on outreach, mitigation and marketing, while the Picture Main Street project is the design-and-construction effort led by the city and MassDOT.

Questions remained at the meeting. Councilors and residents asked for clearer, up-to-date cost estimates, which funding sources will cover overruns, more specific construction phasing and a formal forum (or series of forums) for wider resident input. POP volunteers said consultant work will wrap up in May and that they will roll out broader community communications thereafter.

Votes at a glance Minutes approval — Motion to approve committee minutes for 05/20/2024, 06/17/2024 and 07/15/2024: approved by roll call (Councilor Clemmer: yes; Councilor Perry: yes; Councilor Dobbs: yes; Councilor Rothenberg: yes). Mover/second: not specified in record. Adjourn — Motion to adjourn: approved by roll call (Councilor Dobbs: yes; Councilor Rothenberg: yes; Councilor Clemmer: yes). Mover/second: not specified in record.

The committee asked POP to return with updates and said it expects further community engagement as consultant analyses and grant applications proceed. POP volunteers said they will publish a business survey and convene focus groups and that the city will use signups on its website to push text-message construction updates.