Table Of Content* UMASS/AMHERST *
312Dbb 0570 3SMD M
REVITALIZING INNER LRRE
4-§
ASPECIALPROJECTPREPAREDBYTHEMETROPOLITANAREAPLANNINGCOUNCILFORTHEINNERCORE
Fall 1996
MetropolitanAreaPlanningCouncil
60TemplePlace
Boston,MA02108
ABOUT THIS REPORT
TheMetropohtanAreaPlanningCouncil(MAPC)istheofficiallydesignatedregional
planningagencyforthe 101 citiesandtownsofmetropolitanBoston. TheCouncil helps
It smembercommunitiesplanintheareasofeconomicdevelopment, landuse.housing
demographics,transportationandenvironmental quality'.
ThisreportisaspecialprojectoftheInnerCore,asubregionofMAPC. InnerCore
comniunitiesare: Arlington,Belmont,Boston,Braintree,Brooklme. Cambndce
Chelsea, Everett,Holbrook,Lymi,Maiden,Medford,Melrose,Newton, Qumc;-
Randolph,Revere, Saugus,Nahant, Somerville, Waltham,Watertown, Winthrop.
MAPC
thank' aprtohjneccotusrtaUf^fandImier•C.jo-reme•mberswork.edcloselyonthisp^rojjectand wishto
Credits
ProjectManager
KentStasiowski
Graphics MaraGeoghegan
InnerCoreCoordinator CarolKowalski
InnerCoreChair
JefferyLuxenberg
\UPC
Officers 1995-1996
President
WilliamG. Constable
Vice-President RichardA. Easier
Secretary
GraceS. Shepard
Treasurer Leland Wood
ExecutiveDirector DavidC. Soule
MetropolitanAreaPlanningCouncil
60TemplePlace
MA
Boston, 02111
(617)451-2770
1115113
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE THE BASICS
-
M
INTRODUCTION
ReportFormat 1-1
KeyFactorstoaSuccessfulMainStreet 1-2
PREPARINGAPLAN
II-
UnderstandingtheNeedforaPlan - II-
FormingtheSteeringComminee II-2
CommunityAssessment II-3
PreparingtheReport II-7
ExamplesofCommunityPlanningEfforts II-7
ForAdditionalInformation 11-12
PreparingaPlanAttachments II-A-
URBAN DESIGN
IH-l
DesignReviewProcess III-l
StandardsVersusGuidelines III-l
ExamplesofDesignGuidelines III-3
ReviewandEnforcementProcedures III-1
ForAdditionalInformation III-1
PUBLIC SAFETY
IV-1
Natural Surveillance IV-1
Territoriality IV-1
AccessControl IV-2
Howto ConductanEnvironmentalDesignAudit IV-3
ForAdditional Information IV-4
Public SafetyAttachments IV-A-1
PART TWO STRATEGY PACKET
-
COMMERCIAL DISTRICTMANAGEMENTPROGRAMS V-1
DowntownPartnership V-
Non-DowntownPartnershipAlternative V-2
BusinessImprovementDistricts V-3
National TrustForhistoric Preservation- Main Streets V-3
Attachments V-A-1
DowntownPartnership V-A-3
Non-DowntownPartnershipAlternative V-A-
1
BusinessImprovementDistrict V-A-14
PARKING NationalTrustforHistoricPreservation V-A-''*"1
Yj.j
Parking
Yl-1
ParkingAttachments VI-A-1
11
TableofContents continued
MARKETING
VII-l
Marketing VII-
MarketingAttachments VII-A-1
AMENITIES - VIII.1
Amenities VIII-
AmenitiesAttachments VIII-A-1
LANDUSE/ZONING
IX
LandUse/Zoning IX
PART ONE THE
BASICS
-
INTRODUCTION
PREPARING A PLAN
URBAN DESIGN
PUBLIC SAFETY
INTRODUCTION
TheInnerCorecommunitieswithintheBostonmetropolitanareaareadiverselot. witha
widerangeofdensities,incomesanddemographics. Thecommercialareaswithinthese
communitiesareequallydistinctive. Thecentersrangeinsizeandmarketbasefrom
largeregionalcenterssuchasdowntownBostonorEastCambridgetotheman>
mneaingyhbdoirffheoroedncceesnttehrescfeontuenrdsitnenaldlttoheshIanrneernuCmoerreocuosmmcuhanriatciteersi.stiHcosw:evsetorr,efirnonstpsilgeenoefrtahlelixr
line-upnexttothesidewalk,off-streetparkingislocatedattherearorsideofthe
ubsuielsdsinugcsh,amsuccihtyo/ftotwhnehpaalrlsk,insgchiososlhsaraenddroarthleirbrtahriaensrmesatyribcteedloscoalteeldvitnooorneadbjuaiclednitntgocthneic
center..
Turningaroundormaintainingavitalmainstreetrequirespublicandprivateactions
Therearethreebroadareasinwhichthelocal communitycanact: plamiing,regulations
andpublicftmdmg. Ineachoftheseareasthecommunitymustcareftillybalance
residentialandcommercialneeds. Whilethereisagreatdeal thatalocal communitvcan
dotoenhanceandsupportitsmainstreet, intheendmanyofthemostcrucial decisions
will bemadebyprivatepropertyandbusinessowners,decisionsthatarelargelybeyond
thecontroloflocalgovernment.
ReportFormat
Jreev™.t3aih?z.eHdTthh°ei^rhd'o'wntowns.'TIlti'e'r'e"p"o'rtwilPl™in"c"lu^de^e"x^aPmp'l"es°fofhosuwccceosmsmfuulnitiesliave
rfaecvtuorashz,0anaosnucacnedsslfeuslsomnsamleasrtnreeedt.aTnhdethreenpooruttwliilnlebtehegisntewpisthtoaadseuscccreispstfiuolnoplfatnhneikngey
pphyosciecsasltchoemcprounceanltsfirosfttsitfeepdiisntraicrtevsthtoaullizdatwioornkprtooggretahme.rtNoexmta,kweilalvbieabalefoccoumsmoenrchioaw"the
downtowr,andcommunitycenter. Thissectionwillconcemrateon urbandesTgnld
pubhcsafety issues. Thefinalsectionofthereportwill beastrategypacketh"i'gmhlglMtimngg
varioustoolsandtechniquesusefiil fordowntownredevelopment. ^
piamrreTeoagrrnrelfa,emmhkne-nsLespdlaomtZnoesoaatrshTeid-ndg"rbo.yw'nMttaheoiwnNnaStstiro.ene"atmlaisTiranulssstotrfteoheretsPHn"i™asamtn^oed^rioc-cifCtiPaytr/ycetsoaoemwnrmnvdearctteiconoiwtnaen.rlsc.IronemvAtmilhtelearlocMifiziAaattlhpineo2dntifsertrer—migscitosn
nth stet
strmegv p ke P™""^' managementsectionofthe
I-l
KeyFactorstoaSuccessfulMainStreet
Metro,thePortland,Oregonregionalplanningorganizationpreparedastudy.Regional
Mainstreets.withtheintentofdeteiminingthecriticalelementsofsuccessfulmain
streets. MetrostaffandconsultantsexaminedcitiesacrosstheU.S.andCanadaand
identifiedsomekeyingredients. Theseingredientspertainedto"landusepatterns,tothe
mainstreetbuiltenvironment,andtosocialandorganizationalissues."' Keyfactorstoa
successfulmainstreetinclude:
1. Population Density,onandadjacenttoMainStreetisakeyelementofmainstreet
success. TheLongBranchMainstreetProjectreport,"41 WaystoRevitalize
Mainstreet"(TorontoMetroPlanningDepartment)concludedinacomparisonof
successfulandlesssuccessfulmainstreets,thatthemostcriticaldifferencewasthe
populationdensitywithina.6mileradius. Thisstudyconcludesthatlargenumbers
ofresidentsthatcanwalkorbiketomainstreetbusinessesarenecessary. Portland
Metroresearchdeterminedthatthepopulationdensitydidnothavetobecomprised
solelyofmulti-familydwellings. OneofthemostsuccessfulPortlandmainstreets
wasinasinglefamilyneighborhoodof5,000squarefootlotsandlargeolder
apartmentbuildings.
2. Pedestrian Environmentisvery important. Astrongpedestrianenvironmentis
characterizedbywidesidewalksandsafeandfrequentcrosswalks. Pedestrianswill
notutilizeanareainwhichtheyfeelthatthewalkingenvironmentisnotsafeand
pleasant.
3. Streetscape isimportantforattractingpedestrians. TheMetrostudyfoundseveral
elementstobecrucialtoastrongstreetscape:
• Buildinglineisconsistentandisatthesidewalk. Ifthebuildinglineis
inconsistent,thereshouldbesubstantial landscapingatthestreetedge.
• Heightandmassingofbuildingsisimportant. Twotofourstorybuildingsare
ideal forenclosingthestreetandprovidingenoughfacadeforinteresting
architectural detail.
• Largeopendisplaywindowsatstreetlevel createpedestrian interest.
• Buffers forpedestrianssuchaswidesidewalks, streettreesandcarsparkedin
thecurb lane.
• Publicopenspacessuchasplazasorsmall outdoorseatingareascanprovide
destinationsforpedestriansandcreateanotherreasonforshoppinginthearea.
4. Demographicsareafactorinthesuccessofamainstreet. AccordingtothePortland
study. "Thoughhouseholdswithhigherincomemayseemmoreessential,younger
couplesandsinglesaremoreapttopatronizetherestaurants,coffeeshops, book
storesand local retail andserviceestablishmentsthatformthebackboneofmain
M'eRtergoi.onJaullyMa1i9n9s5t.rePeotrst:lanAd,nOIrmepgloenm.entationStrategytoPromoteMainStreet~andCorridorDevelnnmfnt'
1-2
