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Consultant unveils Pottstown downtown streetscape plan aimed at boosting business and mobility
Summary
Simone Collins project manager David Bender presented a 250‑page streetscape plan for downtown Pottstown that recommends gateways, street trees, parklets, murals, lighting and low‑cost façade work intended to make the borough more competitive for state grants and private investment.
David Bender, project manager and staff landscape architect for consultant Simone Collins, presented a funding‑ready streetscape plan to the Pottstown Committee of the Whole on May 6, outlining block‑by‑block recommendations to improve downtown, West High Street and the Circle of Progress.
The plan analyzes building “health” and identifies street‑tree gaps, mural opportunities, gateway signage and low‑cost façade improvements intended to increase business activity and foot traffic. "This is a plan and so everything in this plan may not happen just as it is but it's really important to have a plan to go forward so that when the funding opportunities present themselves we are ready to be able to apply to those funding opportunities," Bender said.
The consultant recommended a palette of sympathetic paint colors, new wayfinding and welcome signage at major entrances, and targeted lighting to highlight architecturally significant buildings. Bender also described ‘‘parklet’’‑style green spaces that would convert a small number of parking spaces to planted seating areas and suggested replacing missing street trees along several corridors as a high‑impact, lower‑cost step.
Council members pressed on how the borough would encourage private building owners to make façade changes. Bender said zoning tools, façade grants and incentive packages can help, and that some improvements can be kept deliberately low cost so building owners could undertake them without large capital expenditure. "There are funds out there for those green space enhancements... and building facade improvements," he added.
Council and staff discussed next steps for public outreach and grant targeting. The consultant said the full report — roughly 250 pages — is available on the borough website and on PAID’s site and is intended to serve as a framework for grant applications and private‑sector partnership. The council did not vote on the plan at the meeting; consultants and staff emphasized that specific projects would return for funding or permitting decisions.
