Are Hallowell residents and downtown businesses ready for Water Street to be a people-first main street?
After a $5.89 million project, completed in the spring of 2019, to completely excavate and replace downtown Water Street infrastructure, including removal of the mid-road crown, new curbing, new sidewalks, additional street lamps, and additional parking spaces, I believe the city is. I support Vision Hallowell’s efforts to gauge interest for a people-focused park at the corner of Water and Central streets in lieu of parking space. The temporary, two-week mini-park installation is a colorful catalyst to start the conversation.
Vision Hallowell is a downtown business-friendly organization affiliated with a statewide program to build strong Maine main streets. That includes balancing many objectives: promoting business activities, including arts, music, and cultural events; striving for attractive main streets; accommodating all-ages of pedestrians; supporting economic growth; and learning best practices that work in other vibrant downtowns. That’s a hard and necessary job, especially when coordinating with city governments on tight budgets with no formal economic development functions.
A small downtown park is not about creating green, recreational space. A pocket park is about keeping visitors of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities where the businesses are. They are spaces for people to connect, engage, and support the local economy. When people stay longer on main streets, they spend more dollars in a variety of businesses.
Residents and business owners should review the proposed permanent park concepts, mostly handsome granite hardscapes, in conjunction with the larger Central Street parking lot. How can the area be improved as an attractive gateway to downtown businesses? How can the large parking lot and a small pocket park be scaled and integrated to be a safe and inviting community front porch to Water Street?
Opposition to using the corner of Water and Central streets as a people-friendly park point to the lack of parking in Hallowell. Does downtown Hallowell need 200 parking spaces or 300 or somewhere in between or higher? No one knows. If you cannot find an open spot where and when you want it, the answer is always more. It doesn’t matter how many parking spaces there are, they will be full at peak times or during a special event. That is an excellent problem to have. But when do you stop paving and figure out how to best use what we have?
Prime Water Street parking spots, especially up to 6 p.m., used by restaurant and bar patrons or downtown employees or downtown residents for hours at a time, do not support the small businesses that provide much quicker transactions. Every business block should have designated 15-minute or 30-minute spaces at the beginning and end of the parking lanes on both sides of Water Street and smartly placed handicap spaces as required. Many great ideas have been voiced to support parking changes for Hallowell’s downtown, I hope the above along with a permanent Central Street pocket park can be added to the conversation.
In the 1960s when Hallowellians challenged Maine Department of Transportation and saved the river-side historic buildings of Water Street and the Hallowell Improvement Association started Old Hallowell Day, their visions were a people friendly, vibrant, economic viable, and in favor of an interesting downtown, not more pavement. We can be just as forward thinking in 2020.
Conversation and consensus have been strengths in Hallowell. The temporary mini-park installation is targeted to be a catalyst for conversations towards consensus. Residents and business owners need to converse with their elected city officials.
In addition, comments and ideas should be voiced to Vision Hallowell on how to balance economic development, a business-friendly environment, and an attractive Maine main street. And please, thank all for their time invested in improving Hallowell.
Thank you, Vision Hallowell, on taking the big step to start the conversation.
Rosemary Presnar is a resident of Hallowell.
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