A vibrant Main Street in Northampton with lots of trees, lots of bikes and few cars — wonderful! The trouble is, it’s based on fantasy. More trees can be planted, and should be, but making it easier for bikers will only marginally reduce the number of cars.
I haven’t seen anyone refute the reasons given by Steve Herrell some time ago [“Main Street redesign problematic,” column, July 29], so let me repeat them and add one of my own.
Here’s why and when it is difficult or impossible to take your bike to Main Street: It’s raining or snowing; you’re too old to bike; you’re physically impaired; you’re going down Main Street to get to Hadley or Amherst (many, many reasons for that!) and only a truly athletic biker would do that on a nice day; it’s just too hot.
In the Aug. 23 Gazette, letter writer Melissa Greenspan adds another: distance [“Can’t imagine walking or biking to downtown”].
No way someone who lives over 2 miles from the center of town (and there are many of us) is going to bike to a grocery store, for example, and haul those packages back, or eat out at night and bike back over a dark road.
I don’t know exactly how many more bikes and how many fewer cars there would be if the current redesign is carried out, but the answer can only be a very small percentage. On the other hand, one-lane traffic on Main Street means huge delays. And two years of disruption will surely cause some small businesses to close their doors for good.
Easthampton’s Cottage Street is already more vibrant than our Main Street, with thriving music venues, restaurants, bookstores and bars. Let’s not sink Main Street completely.
David Ball
Northampton