NORTHAMPTON — When construction gets under way on Northampton’s Main Street redesign next year, businesses may find themselves assuaging customers noticing the disruption with a certain three-word phrase: Pardon Our Progress.

“Pardon Our Progress” was selected by the city as part of a competition to name an upcoming campaign to support businesses on Main Street during the construction phase of the Picture Main Street project, which will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction while adding a bike lane and expanding sidewalk space for Northampton’s downtown.

According to the city, the name was one of 132 submissions the city received during the competition, with local residents, business owners and students all sending in potential ideas. The winning name was submitted by Daymen Toussaint, a Hampshire County musician.

“We are thrilled with the creativity and enthusiasm our community has brought to this initiative,” said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra in a statement announcing the winner of the contest. She added that the campaign name “will highlight our shared commitment to supporting Main Street businesses during the Picture Main Street project.”

As the winner of the contest, Toussaint will receive a $50 gift card to Thornes Marketplace, with a celebration ceremony planned for next Thursday at Thornes.

Jillian Duclos, the executive director of the Downtown Northampton Association, said that the Pardon Our Progress name captured the “very soul” of the planned campaign to support downtown business.

“Downtown will not just be open for business, but we’ll be moving and shaking during construction,” Duclos said in a statement. “We’ll be driving unique events to engage communities far and wide in the process and make it a fun and unique experience to continue to come out to shop, eat, explore local art and enjoy great music.”

The proposed redesign of Main Street has drawn controversy over the last several years, with most of the concerns coming from downtown businesses, many still wary from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, worried about how the change will affect their bottom line.

City officials have cited redesigns in other similar-sized cities, such as Concord, New Hampshire, as successful models that the city wishes to emulate. In Concord, the redesign of the city’s main street was also accompanied with a public relations campaign aimed at promoting downtown businesses during the construction phase.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.