Improving the infrastructure along Main Street in Northampton is a good idea, but turning it into an amusement park is not. Northampton is a working city, offering a wide variety of services and amenities, many of them located on or just off of Main Street.
Main Street is also a central corridor through the city. The Picture Main Street plan would not only create havoc during the 3-plus years of construction, it would make Main Street much less functional. Fewer lanes for traffic would mean more backups and congestion, as would parallel parking, which many people (including me) find difficult.
Parking lots in the immediate area are already pretty full, and more people having to drive around looking for parking spaces would only add to the congestion and safety concerns. The sidewalks are sufficiently wide for easy passage, and even for merchandise displays during sidewalk sales. There are plenty of bike paths around.
Picture Main Street seems like a solution in search of a problem. Surely there are more essential things to use money for than this vanity project.
Susan Grant
Easthampton