With the future of State Street in limbo, city officials and residents will continue to debate controversial aspects of the design plan before the City Council makes a decision regarding the plan’s implementation March 5.
The Downtown Coordinating Committee will take up the issue at its next scheduled meeting, Feb. 21. The committee is expected to make final recommendations about the project to the City Council at that time.
Paul Haskew, member of the DCC, said he is concerned that issues addressed in the design proposal do not coincide with issues the public views as important.
“No one I talked to addressed any of the points the design considers salient,” Haskew said. “No one said, ‘We feel crowded and held up.’ No one said, ‘It’s hard to see shop windows,’ or, ‘The cafes need more room,’ or, ‘The vendors and merchants provided the real life of the street,’ or commented on the wonderful architecture, or said [they didn’t] like it because it looks dated.”
While she is concerned about certain aspects of the plan, DCC chair Mary Lang-Sollinger said the plan adequately addresses problems that need consideration.
“I think the city did a good outreach to the public with their meetings, design office and website,” she said. “I feel the plan does a good job at addressing the problems and elements that need to be considered, but it falls short on problem-solving and recommendations.”
Haskew said some of the design’s elements do not capture the romantic sentiment he thinks State Street visitors expect.
“They come to stroll, to sit, to watch other people, to listen to musicians, to spend time without spending money,” Haskew said. “The new, ‘low-profile’ design hands the street to the merchants to fabricate the romance. I don’t think that’s good enough for what has truly been the state’s street and the city’s family room.”
Despite ongoing criticism about design aspects like trees, bus shelters and the granite scroll, a final decision must be made.
Ted Crabb, member of the DCC, said he thinks committee members have enough information to tackle the upcoming decisions.
“I think the members of the committee have done their homework,” Crabb said. “I think they’ll give serious consideration to the plan and what is proposed.”
