The Envision Needham Center Working Group released a timeline and three proposals for the reconstruction of Great Plain Avenue at its meeting Sept. 10. The project has created fissures between downtown business owners and the working group.
Barbara Jones, owner of the interior design store Hearthstone Home on Great Plain Avenue, nodded at a “Not Our Vision” placard in the window of her shop last week, saying she believes the road reconstruction would crimp her flow of customers and encourage buyers to shop online.
“Retail business is hard enough as it is,” she said. “I understand that it’s a long-term view that if it’s more walkable that people are more likely to come shopping, but that’s a matter of opinion.”
Sitting outside of the Shop Micki store on Chapel Street – which also displays a “Not Our Vision” sign – employee Jane Breslau soaked up the sun and watched cars drive by last week. “I’m out here all the time,” she said, noting concerns about the possible addition of bike lanes in the draft plans. “On the weekend you might see a family, you know, father and two kids. It’s not really a bicycling area. And if you’re bicycling, you’re not going to a store, you’re going towards a destination.”
The Envision Needham Project is being funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through its Safe Streets for All program, which has allocated $320,000 for the road modification. Federal funding began in 2009 with the first phase of the project, which focused on traffic flow on Great Plain Avenue. Those goals were achieved in 2017 when the current road configuration was completed.
But in the intervening years, town officials and others began questioning whether the road construction project had fulfilled its purpose.
“Following public input and a detailed traffic study, original plans have since been re-evaluated to better align with the community’s goals for Needham Center,” according to a statement on the Envision Needham Center website. The goal, according to the website, is to “create a safe, vibrant, and resilient destination for current and future Needham residents, visitors, and businesses.”
The first of six phases of the project was completed last week when the design firm for the project, Apex, presented three reimagined plans to the Envision Needham Center Working Group. The proposal offers options for a 4-Lane Alternative Roll Plot, a 2-Lane Hybrid Alternative Roll Plot, and a 2-Lane Alternative Roll Plot.
While each plan offered different solutions, they all proposed replacing the slip lane from Dedham Avenue to Great Plain Avenue with a new community space, removing the right turn option at the light.
The 4-Lane Alternative Roll Plot reflects the wishes of small business owners along Great Plain Avenue, who have voiced concerns about parking and traffic movement, and have lobbied to retain the road’s current 98 parking spots.
The 2-Lane Alternative Roll Plot adds seven parking spaces but eliminates one lane in each direction to increase sidewalk space and decrease distance between crosswalks.
The 2-Lane Hybrid Alternative Roll Plot consists of one lane in each direction, with turn only lanes onto Chestnut Street and Highland Avenue. It also adds seven parking spaces.
The committee released a flow chart that breaks the project into categories and assigns scores on safety, mobility/access, traffic impact, economic development, streetscape/urban design, sustainability/resilience, cost/implementation, and project/policy alignment.
The 4-Lane Alternative earned the lowest score with a total of seven, the 2-Lane Hybrid Alternative earned 18, and the 2-Lane Alternative earned the most with a score of 23.
Carys Lustig, director of public works, said, “during this month, the goal is to revive these designs so we can start a public engagement campaign, and get feedback on pros, cons, and preferences for these designs.”
The next step is the “public engagement” phase, which is expected to take place in October, including a presence at the Harvest Fair at Greene’s Field Oct. 5. Organizers said there will be surveys and opportunities for in-person feedback on the three drafted options.
In November, the Envision Needham Center Working Group plans to present a full report to the select board. By the end of the year, the committee hopes there will be a decision on whether or not to move forward with the project.
“I think the goal is really to try to find some happy medium between all of those visions and try to get something executed, because there are infrastructure needs that need to be addressed,” Lustig said. “If going forth with a pilot is decided on, then three potential plans for that pilot will be developed. Having three distinctive designs and two extremes and one in the middle gives people something more concrete to respond to.” Members of the Not Our Vision group have created a website that outlines their views.