About 40 years ago, the Northampton city planner announced a plan to make downtown a pedestrian walkway with vehicular traffic to be rerouted around downtown.
I can’t remember the rationalization for the plan, but I’m sure that it sounded logical and was well-meaning. Unfortunately, it would have murdered downtown business. The business community spoke up, the city listened and the idea was ditched.
Downtown traffic is already congested on Main Street, Pleasant Street and King Street. People go out of their way to avoid it, which means that people avoid doing business downtown.
Narrow Main Street, and it can only get worse. E-commerce has already put a dent into retail business. In time, downtown business will mainly be those businesses that can compete with the internet, like restaurants, entertainment and personal services.
Congest Main Street and even those businesses will suffer. In the decades since the 1970s, I’ve seen a growing anti-business attitude in Northampton city government.
When people born and raised here and whose families had been here for generations, ran city government and saw downtown being killed by the malls, they encouraged the development and growth of business.
Unfortunately, the successful development of downtown has brought with it an influx of people for whom “business” is a negative word — and the current city government reflects this attitude. People who have invested millions of dollars downtown are treated like dirt, and the city has considered ideas to narrow Main Street.
In time, downtown will be absolutely safe for pedestrians and bicyclists because with less business, there will be less reason to drive here. Then people will move elsewhere and residential property will feel the squeeze.
Planners feel compelled to plan even when it isn’t necessary or even when it’s economic suicide. They’re planners, not business people.
Alan Scheinman
Holyoke