KEENE, NH – Keene City Council’s Municipal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure Committee has begun the process of making a recommendation on the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement and Reconstruction project.

In a special meeting Monday, the committee gathered to begin their discussion and hear continued feedback from the community. Committee Chair Mitch Greenwald gave a brief overview and broke the project into smaller sections.

Starting with the infrastructure portion of the project, each committee member said their peace on the matter, and a few residents spoke, but all were in agreement that that part of the project should, and needs to move forward.

Moving on to the issue of raised sidewalks, Councilors Bobby Williams and Randy Filiault said they were in favor of the raised crosswalks, and said it will improve safety and visibility for pedestrians using the crosswalks. Councilor Kris Roberts pointed out that raised sidewalks do pose a hazard for people with disabilities or mobility issues. Councilor Catherine Workman said she is typically a proponent of flashing lights at crosswalks, but does agree with city staff that that could become overwhelming and confusing along the strip. She did note, however, that lighting at the crosswalks needs to be improved to make pedestrians more visible.

Workman also questioned if raised sidewalks would damage Public Works Equipment. Public Works Director Kort Blomquist said that shouldn’t be an issue. Assistant City Manager Rebecca Landry also mentioned the potential hazard to emergency response vehicles. Those questions will be answered more in depth at the next MSFI meeting.

The major point of contention with the project has been the proposed redesign portion concerning Central Square. As far as councilor’s are concerned, Filiault said he prefers the current design of the square, but there could be improvements to the flow of traffic with the traffic lights. On the other hand, Williams wants to see Central Square and Downtown Keene become more walkable. To accomplish that, he’d like to see parking be moved further away, but add some spaces to the proposed green space at the head of the square. Later, he said he doesn’t believe the traffic flow in the square can be fixed by updating and changing traffic lights, he believes it’s more of a structural issue.

Councilor Workman is looking at the project’s price tag as she considers the options. She said in the interest of finances, as little changes as possible should be made to the square. She said expanding the square is more of a want than a need, and while it is a big want for some groups, she believes a conservative approach is best with Central Square.

This portion of the meeting drew quite a bit of public comment, with a mixed bag of people for and against the redesign. Dorrie Masten, owner of The Pour House on Central Square and spearhead of the Save the Square movement on Facebook, said that the majority of downtown businesses are against the redesign. Other business owners did note that it’s not all of the businesses that are against it. Keene Downtown Group board member and owner of Good Fortune downtown Roger Weinrich is working on fundraising to bring author and urban designer Jeff Speck to the city to host a presentation on how the city can attract more tourists.

Next up was a discussion on bike lanes downtown. Councilor Williams said he is for bike lanes downtown as it makes it more accessible for cyclists. Filiault said he’s fine with bike lanes, but wonders about how safe they are on Main Street. Workman said she believes in making Keene and walkable and bike-able city, but she thinks bike lanes would be safer being a block or so off Main Street.

The majority of community members who spoke were in favor of bike lanes, many reminding the committee that cycling isn’t just for recreation, it’s a mode of transportation as well, that brings customers to downtown businesses. A few citizens spoke about safety concerns on Main Street, while others said it felt rude to bicyclists to suggest that they should not be welcome on Main Street. Workman pointed out that she hasn’t heard anyone against protected bike lanes downtown, she just wants to ensure it’s done safely.

The final piece of the discussion Monday night focused on Gilbo Avenue. Greenwald said he didn’t want to focus too much on design for Gilbo Avenue as it will take time and focus away Main Street. Filiault noted that there should be infrastructure included now on Gilbo Avenue to plan for the future of electric cars, Williams agreed and said there should be plumbing put in place for residential development as well. Only one community member had a comment on the subject, suggesting that a vacant space in the transportation center be used for public restrooms and a visitors center.

The five committee members recapped what they had heard during the meeting and took some unofficial vote tally’s. Greenwald said based on what he had heard from the committee, the majority consensus for Central Square was that the configuration should be left as is with some improvements, the committee agreed with Councilor Williams opposed. Greenwald said updating the traffic flow would be a task for city departments and the design team.

On the topic of bike lanes, Williams said he would like to hear from city staff on grant opportunities that including protected bike lanes would open up. Greenwald said he has a concern with bike lanes adding to the “chaos” of downtown Keene, and said he’s in favor of the perimeter option, taking bike lanes just off Main Street, because he feels it’s the safest option. There wasn’t a consensus among the committee on bike lanes just yet, it’ll get taken up again at the next MSFI committee.

Next week at the regularly scheduled MSFI meeting, the committee will hear from Stantec, the consultant on the project, and City Staff on a number of topics, including maximizing parking spaces, improvements to downtown events, cost, and bathrooms. Landry did note that the committee can hold another special meeting on May 30th if necessary to give staff a bit more time to gather information.

MSFI meets again on Wednesday May 24th at 6 pm, and the project will be among its regular agenda.