NORTHAMPTON — A bicycle commuter from Northampton to Hadley for the past seven years, Jeremy Church of South Street views riding on the road near his home, before he gets on the bike path that takes him to his workplace, as the riskiest part of his journey.
“The thing I notice, whether here or in Hadley, is the speed of cars on the road,” Church said. “We may need more measures to reduce the speed of cars and to find ways to slow traffic down, within reason.”
Church was one of more than 100 residents who came to the Northampton Senior Center Monday night to offer comments about how the city can make its roads safer for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers.
The first Walk/Bike Northampton public forum, led by Cambridge-based consultant Alta Planning + Design, begins a process, ending in September, that will allow the city’s Office of Planning and Sustainability to update its nearly decade-old Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan.
This process should also lead to regulations and ordinances that will make streets more friendly for bicyclists and pedestrians said Wayne Feiden, the city’s director of planning and sustainability.
While safety concerns on South Street were among those expressed during the nearly two-hour session, with suggestions including adding shade trees along streets and bike lanes to slow traffic, other residents discussed the dangers posed by non-continuous sidewalks used by children near schools and missing pedestrian connections on Bridge Road between King and Jackson streets.
Many of the ideas discussed fit with the concept of so-called complete streets, which Phil Goff, manager of Alta’s Cambridge office, said are roads “safe, comfortable and convenient” for all users.
Goff said those advocating for planting more trees along roads could help reduce pavement and add green space, which fit with the complete streets philosophy. “Narrowing travel lanes is a way to do that,” Goff said.
Nick Horton of Prospect Street said he came to the forum to argue for Northampton to resume removing snow and ice from a portion of the bike path between Taco Bell and Union Station. That stopped being plowed when the Northampton Business Improvement District folded.
Ensuring that trails are maintained is another important element to promoting bicycling and walking, Goff said.
“There will be areas we want to improve connectivity between the trails and neighborhoods,” Goff said.
Susan Norton, a member of the Bay State Village Association, said getting around on bicycle has improved in the 42 years she has called Northampton home, with much of this coming from the creation of the bike trails.
But she said more can be done when riding on streets. “From my point of view, as a walker and bicyclist and elderly driver, calming measures would be more of my concern,” Norton said.
People who attended Monday’s session participated in breakout groups, with people making comments about what they would like to see done.
But Jasper Lapienski of West Street took issue with the format Monday, saying the groups were too big and the topics were too specifics. Instead, Lapienski said the process should have started with a more discussion, such as what are appropriate street widths and what is the right distance between parking lots and sidewalks.
“It was not a serious discussion,” Lapienski said.
Lapienski added that any physical improvements might not be maintained by the city. “We’re building an infrastructure we have no interest in maintaining,” Lapienski said.
Alta, which is being paid using a $108,000 grant from the state Department of Public Health, will study low-cost options, such as installing more pedestrian crossing signs and marking pavement for bicycles, to more expensive and long-term options, including sidewalks that form a citywide network, crosswalks with push buttons and countdown signals, refuge islands in the middle of streets, curb and sidewalk extensions, raised crosswalks, and even protected bike lanes.
City Council Vice President Ryan O’Donnell said Alta is already examining the more than 600 crosswalks in the city as part of its work.
Mayor David Narkewicz said he is proud of what has been accomplished in recent years, including adding bicycle lanes to all newly rebuilt streets, but understands that residents will offer a “shopping list” of ideas.
“We know there is more to be done,” Narkewicz said. “We hear about it from people every day.”
Feiden said Alta’s plans will only move forward with money from the city budget. “This plan doesn’t include new dollars,” Feiden said.
Two additional public meetings will be held in May, with a more specific focus on ways of calming traffic on Main Street, Goff said.
That will lead to what he calls a “tactical urbanism” during which for a day or a weekend Alta will present a different vision for a section of the street by temporarily installing planters and seats and painting new lines on the pavement.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
