AMHERST — A preferred plan for renovating the North Common and the adjacent Main Street parking lot in front of Town Hall could get the go-ahead from the Select Board next week, though the business community is calling on the board not to reduce parking as part of the redesign.
Even though the board will not have the final say on the project, deferring that decision to the Town Council that will assume office in December, Town Manager Paul Bockelman said this week that he would like members to review and agree to a plan and estimated costs that will be presented at the board’s meeting, which begins a 6 p.m. Monday at Town Hall.
Bockelman said that an aggressive timeline calls for having the project done in 2019. The Town Council will be presented the plans in January, before permitting is undertaken and bids from companies are solicited.
“I’m really hoping we don’t have to delay this project another year,” Bockelman said.
Weston & Sampson Design Studio, an engineering firm from Rocky Hill, Connecticut, has put together the plans for the three-quarter-acre site, which is home to the Veterans Day ceremony, the annual Merry Maple celebration and the weekly peace vigil. These show new plazas in front of Town Hall, new seating and trees on the common area and a spot for public art. The western section of the Main Street parking lot would be grassed over.
But there is a net loss of just eight parking spaces in the current concept, a possible reaction to the business community’s worries about permanent loss of parking.
In a letter from Carol Johnson, executive director of the Amherst Cinema Arts Center, she calls parking criticial to the “momentum” that downtown Amherst has.
“Our vision for the future must include plans for adequate parking, so that when people come here, they can find a place to leave their cars,” she said.
Peter Grandonocio, whose Lincoln Real Estate properties have 15 tenants, also called on the Select Board to keep parking intact, and to possibly add public spaces.
“We receive continuous complaints regarding the lack of parking downtown and its detrimental effect on the business community,” Grandonico said.
And David Mazor, whose family owns the 39 South Pleasant St. building where Fresh Side Cafe is located, argues that people supporting removing parking did so when concept plans were presented on a warm summer evening.
“With a presentation on a summer night in August, it’s easy to forget that for much of the year Amherst is cold and snowy,” Mazor wrote. “On a windy, near zero night, in February, we need all the nearby parking we can get.”
Select Board member Alisa Brewer said even though many who provided input for the North Common project said they want to get rid of all parking, that isn’t a decisive opinion.
Board member Connie Kruger said she is pleased to see a net loss of just eight parking spaces in the latest plan.
If the project happens, it would start after the University of Massachusetts commencement in May, and likely continue through the summer months to November 2019. Events on the main common, such as Taste of Amherst, will not be impacted, but Bockelman said it’s uncertain if the Amherst Farmers Market, whose participants use the Spring Street lot, will have to change their set up.
The project is being funded by a combination of $550,000 from the town’s Community Preservation Act account and $400,000 from the transportation fund.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
