The Brattleboro Planning Commission announces the release of the Downtown Plan. This Plan outlines a vision for placemaking and public space improvements to attract and retain businesses and residents. It looks at pedestrian and bicycle improvements, stormwater and landscaping, and how arts and cultural activities can enliven and revitalize public spaces.
In mid- to late 2019, a series of activities were held to engage the public. Surveys, walking tours, demonstration projects, and open studios were all used to allow the public to share ideas and aspirations for downtown. The Downtown Plan presents a starting point to help envision how to create an active, vibrant, and sustainable downtown.
“We’re excited to present the Downtown Plan to the public for feedback and for help in building momentum behind the Plan’s strategies best suited to meet our community’s needs, to address unresolved challenges in our downtown, and put simply, to create good public spaces,” said Tom Mosakowski, Planning Commission Chair. “The Planning Commission, from its vantage point of setting the town’s overall policy and goals for land development & use and from considering past community input, has decided to preliminarily emphasize the Plan’s following strategies: enhancing Bridge Street and the greenspace on Depot Street to coincide with the upcoming conversion of the current Hinsdale Bridge, enlivening Harmony Lot by shifting away from automobile dominance in this protected space well-suited for people, increasing public displays of art such as large-scale installations at Plaza Park, redesigning the library’s outside spaces, establishing a safe and sanitary permanent public restroom, and restoring part of Preston Lot to be recreational green space along the Whetstone Brook.”
Throughout the summer, the Planning Commission and Planning Services Department will be seeking public input on the Plan. Stay tuned for opportunities to hear more about the it and provide feedback.
The Downtown Plan, a brochure and poster are available on the Planning Services Department page of www.brattleboro.org. You can access them directly at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/68e5f8b5d6504c808db00854bbd8e2cb, https://tinyurl.com/uwdxyrmr, and https://tinyurl.com/p67zfk32. The Downtown Plan is in a ESRI Story Map. This is a web-based format that is informative and interactive, using maps, text, photos, and video to let users explore the Plan.
For more information, please contact Sue Fillion, Planning Director at sfillion@brattleboro.org or 802-251-8112.
