I’d like to propose a solution to the issue of biking downtown. I see no reason for bike lanes through Main Street in Northampton; however, bikers do need to access downtown safely and with a convenient and secure place for their bikes. There are currently bike lanes or bike paths that approach the Main Street business district from most directions and more would need to be added for this to work. For example, the bike path that goes from Pleasant Street to Old South Street passes through the parking lot across from the Northampton Brewery. The existing bike path could have a spur that leads to a section of the parking lot that is separate from cars and with multiple bike racks. From there, bikers could easily walk up to Main Street.
The same could be true with bikers coming down from King Street with use of space in the parking lot off Merrick Lane, behind the old County Registry of Deeds. The access from the west using Elm or State streets might require some work to allow bikes to get safely to the lot on State Street, across from Fly By Night, but a dedicated path next to St. Mary’s Church could work or perhaps making Bedford Terrace a one-way street for cars with a lane for bikes only. In this way, bikers could get to the Main Street business district from adjacent bike parking lots and the proposed bike lane on Main Street could be reserved for other purposes, such as car parking, green spaces or pedestrians.
Joe Silverman
Florence