If further evidence were needed that the long-sought-after revitalization of White River Junction has firmly taken hold, consider that the Hartford Selectboard appears to be on the verge of approving metered parking to increase turnover of coveted spaces in the heart of the busy village.
As staff writer Jordan Cuddemi reported, the board voted 7-0 last week to seek proposals for the installation of meters or kiosks. That’s not a final determination, but things certainly appear headed in that direction.
Not all that long ago, when the renewal was still sputtering to life, there was a perceptible feeling in town that, well, let’s make sure this is the real deal before doing something that might deter people from visiting, such as installing parking meters. Some business owners may still have reservations about the meters, but the village now seems well established as a vibrant place to live and work, shop and dine, patronize the theater and art galleries, and savor other amenities of semi-urban life in a rural area. It is a cause for celebration.
It is also cause for concern for some who worry that with revitalization comes the possibility of gentrification, as correspondent EmmaJean Holley detailed last Sunday. That may seem a stretch to those who remember only too well the vacant storefronts and various unsavory activities that were all too prevalent on the village’s streets 20 years ago.
But undeniably, every Eden contains the potential for its own serpent. One downside could be that as White River Junction becomes a more and more desirable place to live or own a business, rents could be driven up and economic diversity lessened, as has happened in many big cities. And if wages don’t keep pace with rents, living and working in the same downtown could become more difficult.
Another concern is that the village could eventually lose touch with its roots as a gritty railroad town, although that seems less likely with tracks still stretching through the center of the village and the trains that run along them loudly announcing that they are far from an anachronism. And to our eye, virtually all of the new construction that has been done makes effective visual reference to the older brick buildings that line the streets, although they are not slavish imitations. That provides the downtown with a sense of compact unity that contributes to its vibrancy.
Of course, no one knows where White River Junction is headed. Neighborhoods and communities are not static. They are usually in transition from one thing to another, and much of the time, it’s hard to tell where they will end up. At the same time, town planners and residents should think about what might be lost in this renaissance and how to maintain diversity and affordability.
Matt Bucy, one of the handful of developers who have contributed heavily to the village’s transformation, told Holley: “White River Junction is for anyone who likes it. It’s never been my intention to attract any particular kind of person, per se. Just whoever it clicks with. It’s more like, build more living space downtown, see who shows up.”
There’s a lot of truth in that. Communities grow organically, usually as the result of many individual decisions that amount to a collective one. Still, being alert to possibilities and pitfalls is one way to keep this transformation on track.