TURNERS FALLS — The section of Avenue A’s sidewalk outside the Shea Theater Arts Center is planned to be rehabilitated, with construction work expected in the summer of 2021.
This project reflects a long-term vision to rehabilitate the Avenue A streetscape with more durable materials and with designs that meet modern standards of accessibility, while maintaining the look of the neighborhood, said Town Planner Walter Ramsey.
Except for the area outside Mystic Pinball, which was rehabilitated in 2015, Avenue A’s streetscape dates to the 1980s, Ramsey said. It has noticeably deteriorated in some places, like the concrete planter beds that are crumbling. And, these relatively old designs do not have the accessibility features seen in more modern sidewalks, like ramps.
“It’s done a remarkable job withstanding the test of time, but it’s starting to show its age, and it’s creating accessibility challenges,” Ramsey said.
Comparing the new designs to the old ones from the ’80s, the major change is from concrete to granite, which Ramsey said is much more durable.
The bricks will be replaced with new bricks. In neighboring Greenfield, the brick sidewalks were recently replaced with red paving stamped to look like brick. Ramsey emphasized that Montague is still using real brick.
“Brick is still very much a feature of the streetscape,” he said. “It’s still that nice, historic brick look.”
This upcoming project will replace the two planters on the sidewalk block from Third Street to the alley next to the Shea. Both presently have two trees in them. One of the planters will be reduced in size to fit only one, but it will not be an overall loss in trees, Ramsey said: a new tree will be planted in an underused planter up the street, outside Breakdown Records.
All four trees will be replaced with new ones. Ramsey said that the town’s priority is to save existing trees if possible as it rehabilitates the sidewalks, but that these trees were less healthy than others on Avenue A.
This project is worth $288,000, Ramsey said. To pay for it, the town is seeking money through the Community Development Block Grant, a federal program intended for urban development, housing projects and social services, which Montague has used to fund similar infrastructure projects in the past. The streetscape outside Mystic Pinball was funded by the Community Development Block Grant, as were the recently rehabilitated Rutter’s Park playground in Lake Pleasant and Peskeomskut Park in Turners Falls.
Montague’s plan is to rehabilitate the Avenue A streetscape by starting in the more central parts in downtown Turners Falls, working outward from there as funding allows, Ramsey said.
The town is now finalizing the grant application for this streetscape rehabilitation. The application is due March 6, and an answer on whether funding will be granted is expected in July or August, said Brian McHugh, the community development director of the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority. If funding is granted, Ramsey said construction is expected in the summer of 2021.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261,
ext. 261.