It’s been about a year since the City sought public input on what Main Street should look like. Thanks to everyone’s comments, the City has developed plans and is ready to move forward with the project.
On Friday, July 19, the Goshen Redevelopment Commission approved a contract to rebuild Main Street. A bid for $989,657.60 was awarded to Niblock Excavating to work on the road.
Work will consist of repaving Main Street between Monroe and Pike streets and adding angled parking between Madison and Pike Streets to increase the number of parking spaces. The road also will be reduced to two lanes.
Four-way stops will be placed on the intersections of Clinton, Washington and Jefferson streets. The plan also adds a mid-block crossing between Jefferson and Washington streets. The reconfiguration will allow the road to slow vehicular traffic and to be more pedestrian-friendly.
To determine this reconfiguration, the Engineering Department sought public input beginning in May of 2018. Further communication was had with downtown business owners to gauge their needs. Public comments from businesses and residents included the need for more parking spaces, more handicapped parking, sidewalk ramps, reducing the speed limit and adding four-way stops.
A survey conducted with participation from 83 downtown business owners and workers found that 39 percent of the participants were in favor of angled parking, and 18 percent were against it.
Public comments were taken into account during the planning process; preliminary plans were presented at the redevelopment commission meeting in June.
The contractor will begin work in August, rebuilding portions of the sidewalks and adding sidewalk ramps.
You can see the preliminary plan presentation here. To see the final plan, click here.