Lebanon
Once a survey on the town’s website closes this week, planning staff and a steering committee will meet to discuss the public’s vision for downtown and create a single recommendation for development, street layout and possible improvements to make the area a better place to live and visit.
The survey, which ends on Friday, asks for the public to help narrow the best ideas from three alternative plans initially presented during a meeting in February, according to Planning and Zoning Director David Brooks. Although the city has received about 370 responses so far, Brooks is hoping more participation will help the committee with its decision.
“What’s depicted is an à la carte menu of sorts,” Brooks said of the alternatives. “Different pieces could fit together on different alternatives.”
Each alternative plan reflects one way to look at a possible future downtown in terms of traffic, development and walkability, he said. The plans also hope to solve different problems, such as how best to access the Mascoma River and what to do with the rail tunnel.
Use of a dilapidated rail tunnel downtown is part of what kicked off the visioning study. City officials discovered that the tunnel was in need of repairs in 2014, and the parking lot above was closed because of safety concerns shortly after.
That’s when the city hired the Massachusetts-based consulting firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin and signed a contract of more than $300,000 to investigate the future of downtown.
Brooks said each alternative — labeled A, B and C — has a possibility for the rail tunnel. Plan A would fix it and allow for cycling and pedestrian use as part of the future Mascoma River Greenway. It also would be shortened and more lights would go up to increase safety.
Plan A also could allow for a section of the tunnel to be opened on top, creating a skylight for better visibility.
In Plan B, the tunnel would be filled in and would no longer be used by bicyclists or pedestrians. That would force users on the greenway to share the road with city streets, Brooks said.
“I haven’t heard anyone who really likes that option,” he said.
Plan C shows the tunnel completely removed and replaced with a new street or street extension. There also would be a new greenway running along the edge of the river, like a boardwalk, connecting to a proposed pedestrian bridge that would take people to the High Street area. It’s possible in Plan C to design a greenway that hugs the river, so that cars and cyclists don’t have to share the road, Brooks said.
Brooks said each plan also looks at what to do with the pedestrian mall. He said Plan A and parts of Plan B would expand the mall toward Hanover Street into the area that currently houses parking.
Plan A also would add new buildings and green space along the river using a similar configuration of current day Taylor Street, while Plan B would reconfigure that street and more space for riverside development.
Plan C also would expand the mall west toward the river and along the pre-1964 alignment of Hanover Street, using a new pedestrian bridge to cross the river. Taylor Street also would effectively become a new road wrapping around and intersecting Hanover Street, creating the most green space and development along the river.
Because those new buildings and green space would replace existing parking lots, all three alternatives incorporate plans for a new parking lot behind City Hall, Brooks said.
Drivers who take Route 4 to downtown hoping to drive back toward Interstate 89 usually have one option: circle Park Street.
Each of the downtown visioning alternatives seeks to make that a thing of the past by making South Park Street a two-way street, Brooks said. Planners are still unsure of how to make that happen.
Plan A calls for a two-way road on South and East Park streets, and Plan B would place a roundabout at the intersection of Bank Street and East Park Street to allow cars to turn around.
Option C calls for two roundabouts, one at the intersection of South Park and School streets and another at East Park and Bank streets to help move traffic.
Each of the three plans are based on actual traffic counts compiled by the city’s consultants and could work, Brooks said. Placing two-way traffic onto South Park Street could also help add to the community feel of downtown, he said, and would allow for North Park Street to be closed during busy farmers markets or when other events are running.
The alternatives also tackle improvements elsewhere, such as providing safer plans for navigating Hanover Street and development along Spencer Street.
“Each alternative shows some improvement in street-scaping, new signage and maybe new lighting to make it attractive to downtown,” Brooks said.
At a question and answer session at Salt hill Pub earlier this month, people were pleased to see many of the proposals.
“I think it’s exciting to think about getting more residential spaces and especially more commercial spaces in Lebanon,” Lebanon resident Zachary Brock said. Other than the pedestrian mall, he said, there’s not much else in the way of shops downtown.
Brock also showed interest in making South Park Street a two-way road, adding that it would help tie the community together and make crossing a bit safer.
“A lot of times you feel like you’re risking your life going from the green to the rest of the roads around here,” he said.
Hanover resident Casey Murray said he would like to see something done about the rail tunnel, and liked the idea of adding more light in Plan A.
“I’ve been in there once or twice and it looks like a dangerous area,” he said.
Murray also approved of Plan C’s roundabouts on Park Street and said he often has to drive the whole way around Colburn Park to get back to the highway.
“That just doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “It’s a long way out of your way if you’re trying to go the one direction toward the interstate.”
Amber Hanna, a mother of two and Lebanon resident, said she’s looking forward to a proposal that would allow her family to walk to downtown’s stores, restaurants and riverfront, a characteristic that she considers downtown to be lacking now.
“I’m really excited. I hope that one of these plans ends up going through,” she said. “I think it could be really great for the downtown.”
People can find the downtown visioning survey by going to lebnh.net and clicking the link under “LebNews & Announcements.”
After the survey closes on Friday, Brooks said, the committee will talk to the city’s consultants to draft a preferred plan. The consultants will then spend a month putting together a presentation that includes recommendations on its implementation and the possible costs. There will also be a third public hearing that presents the preferred plan around Memorial Day, Brooks said.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.