Articles about Picture Main Street have been in the Gazette several times throughout the past year. The most recent one, headlining the July 31 issue, attempts to reveal varying opinions among residents about the project.
As I recall, based on previous articles in the Gazette, very few business owners in the city of Northampton think this is a good idea. The mayor is pushing this hard, so I assume any opposition from residents, business owners and visitors to the city at this stage will have no impact on the outcome.
I offer an important fact to ponder: The Picture Main Street project, with a current price tag of $43.3 million, is a redesign of less than one mile of road. That cost breaks down to more than $8,000 per foot. These costs are likely to go up, with construction not set to start until spring of 2028. How can it not?
Business owners in Northampton, I would guess, could offer many productive and supportive ways to use $43.3 million to revitalize Main Street, without eliminating dozens of on-street parking spaces and making a mess of downtown for several months during construction.
After COVID, this will be the second disaster to hit businesses struggling to thrive in Northampton.
Wendy Weinberg
Pelham