Interesting Developments at Main Street Meeting

I thought this would be an easy blog post. I would copy my testimony from the Downtown Complete Streets Improvement Project Advisory Committe's meeting on Nov. 1, and post it here. But of course nothing goes as planned.

Two interesting developments. First a presentation by Gerry Carrier from Little River Oriental Rugs on Main Street and then a submission by the city’s planner from the Planning Board just as the committee was preparing to adjourn. 

The presentation by Carrier presented a parking option that has received very little attention. Two rows of head in diagonal parking in the center of Main Street. Carrier made some excellent points regarding this option. 

It would allow for a bike lane adjacent to the sidewalks and away from cars pulling in and out of parking spaces. It would remove parked cars from blocking storefronts, creating a more visually attractive streetscape. Back in diagonal parking along the sidewalks would create noxious fumes for those dining and congregating on Main Street. Carrier's center lane parking solves this issue.  

Carrier asked that city departments review this option to see how it would work in our downtown and to have a more precise count on how it would impact the number of parking spaces on Main Street.

What he got from Dick Lemieux and our city engineer was, we’ll look at it, but  there’s a good reason we didn’t recommend this.

The list of excuses went from snow would pileup in the middle of the road and eliminate parking in the winter, to pedestrians would jay walk and interfere with the traffic flow. And during deliveries there would be scant room to drive by a delivery truck parked in the bike lane.

Now, I don’t know if this is a good option or not, but I do know that all the excuses that were given are easily addressed. A snow melt system for the road eliminates all snow on Main Street. Pedestrians jay walking is an enforcement issue, not a safety issue. And delivery trucks blocking traffic? What would happen if we built in a number of delivery zones and cut the sidewalks back three feet in those areas. Now instead of only having seven feet to get by that delivery truck you have 10 feet.

Let’s all take a deep breath and remember that just because it is someone else’s idea doesn’t preclude it from being a good idea.

The second issue that came up was also quite interesting to me. Here’s item 1 from the agenda of the Planning Board’s Oct. 22, special meeting: 

1.  Discussion of the Downtown Complete Streets Improvement Project        

*Streetscape                                                                      

*Recommendations to the Project Advisory Committee

So while there were no members from the planning board present, the city planner, Gloria McPherson was at the meeting. The Complete Streets meeting agenda was set aside for the remaining 25 or so groups to offer testimony to the committee. Many did. Steve Duprey, the Complete Street Committee chairman, asked repeatedly, before taking public comment, if any more groups were present and wished to testify. During the public comment period, Duprey asked on numerous occasions who would be interested in testifying before the committee.

Not once did the city planner - the only representative from the Planning Board - indicate she had information from the board to present to the committee. Yet, as the committee was preparing to adjourn, McPherson presented the recommendations from the board to Carlos Baia for distribution to the committee.

Strange. Why wouldn’t the city planner present the board's recommendations in an open public forum?  In order to review the board's recommendations, you now have to go to the website address I list below and click on Meeting Documents.

It’s too bad that we didn’t have an opportunity to hear the board's recommendations at the Complete Street committee meeting. It’s too bad that there was no opportunity for public comment. It’s too bad that we had to wait for it to be posted on the city’s website to review this document. And it’s too bad that a much larger ConcordTV audience didn’t have a chance to hear the board's recommendations.

The city is maintaining an excellent website for the Complete Streets committee. Information, minutes, meeting times and places and agendas are all posted in a timely fashion. 

ci.concord.nh.us/cdadmin/MainStreetProject/concordv2.asp?siteindx=C50,96

This coming Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Grappone Conference Center, New Hampshire Listens will be hosting a charette like forum to gather public input. There will be a number of stations and everyone will rotate among those stations during the evening. Registration is on line on the city’s website or you can just show up.  6:30 is sign in, registration and light snacks; 7 to 9 p.m. is the meeting.

This will be the last time you will have a good opportunity to weigh in with your thoughts regarding the Main Street project before the Complete Streets committee starts work on their recommendations for the city council. Your next opportunity for extended comments will be at the Nov. 26, city council meeting when the council will decide to accept the recommendations of the committee.

Don’t miss the Nov. 7, meeting at the Grappone Conference Center if you want to be heard.

Previous posts by Herschlag on this subject can be read here: Allan Herschlag blog posts.