City planning project draws skepticism from locals
Co-Written by: Adriana Belmonte and Sarah Gabrielli
Market Street Connect is a City of Poughkeepsie project used to test design changes that would create more usage for Market Street.
It was first implemented for the weekend of Oct. 7, featuring artistic crosswalks and curb extensions at Market Street and Main Street, interactive activities to gather public input about Market Street alternatives, and expanded sidewalk space throughout the study corridor to allow room for seating, music, and arts programming.
According to Paul Hesse, the coordinator for Market Street Connect, the project allows them to test certain ideas without spending large sums of money on something that is not guaranteed to be permanent. This allows the project sponsor, which in this case is the city, to engage with the public and receive on-the-ground feedback throughout the process.
“We didn’t want to miss the opportunity to engage people and test ideas,” Hesse said.
The project was originally developed by the Poughkeepsie City Center Revitalization Strategy (PCCRP), which was completed and endorsed by the Common Council in April 2016. One of the recommended transportation-related interventions was to make Market Street, Poughkeepsie’s primary civic corridor, a complete street.
Hesse defined a complete street as one “that’s designed to accommodate all users and not just prioritized for motorists.” Thus, he said, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and people with limited mobility can be given just as much consideration in terms of street design as motorists. One of his top priorities has been to make the crosswalks at both intersections and midblock crosswalks safe for pedestrians to cross.
In 2014, Poughkeepsie city officials applied for and were awarded a grant from the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) to support the Market Street project. The notion behind the grant proposal was to study how to reduce vehicle miles traveled and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, the project has been expanded to not only meet that goal but also make the streets safer to pedestrians.
Hesse spoke about the issues with Market Street’s current layout. According to him, the three lanes of the street are wide and encourage drivers to speed. This poses unsafe conditions for pedestrians and other motorists. From curb to curb, the street is very wide which creates a long distance for pedestrians to cross. He also cited limited visibility and exposure and how the streetscape is “utterly devoid of greenery,” which takes away environmental and economic benefits.
Sarah Kellerman, an employee involved in the project, handed out postcards on the street that will go back to the city planner to get an idea of what residents want Market Street to look like. “What you are seeing today is a demonstration project, a project installation,” she said about the Market Street project. “What we have done is essentially taken one lane of traffic away from cars and have used that space to increase the width of the sidewalk to create ancillary spaces. From there, we can activate and create new opportunities of public seating and sort of create more space for public life.”
The larger project is a study looking at the future design of Market Street as well as how it works within the network of streets around it. “One of the cool things that we’re doing today is having sensors set up and collecting traffic data, counting the cars as they go by,” Kellerman said. “We are collecting data in real time which will also inform whether this was a success. Without a pop-up installation project like this, it is hard to gauge that. It becomes like a public outreach event. And sometimes, these changes are hard to imagine so this gives people sort of a tangible idea of what change might feel like.”
Throughout the month of September, Hesse and the rest of those on the project held “mobile office hours,” when they would roam around on a cargo bike asking Market Street users why they used the street and what could be done to improve it, if anything. “That was our first foray into public engagement, sort of a soft opening,” Hesse explained.
Hesse stated that the changes needs to happen incrementally, mostly due to cost considerations. The ideal final product, he said, is a downtown street network and streetscape that is walkable, bike-able, and eminently livable. “We’re really looking to improve the quality of life in the city, particularly with this project downtown,” he said.
Shelby Tompkins, an employee for Dutchess County in the Transportation Council, is involved in transportation planning and spoke about her thoughts on the Market Street project. “It is really interesting because the elements of public art are pretty cool and so are the plans to create a smaller crosswalk,” she said. She drove through the street when the project was occurring and stated that “it wasn’t impeding functionality of the road at all.”
She uses the street every day to get to work and said that she would “love” to see a two-way road. “The whole concept of a complete street is its functionality for users of all abilities,” she added. “So it is really invigorating to see this space and make it so people want to be there. The city of Poughkeepsie is actually a really vibrant community. It could become a hub for college students if it tried.”
Tompkins continued explaining why she believes the Market Street project will have a positive impact. “There’s a really big community outreach component to it, because just speaking with residents here, a lot of them feel that it is difficult to change the existing status quo,” she said. “You look at the street and think that is where the curb has to be. But what we are trying to show is that it does not have to be that way.” She pointed towards tables and chairs on what used to be a street. “I guess we just wanted to show the community that it is possible for positive change.”
The makers behind the Market Street Project worked with the city to meet with the Department of Public Works early in the morning of Oct. 7. They began putting cones out and gathered hay bales and cardboard hexagons for the street. Kellerman explained that the hexagons were meant to be reminiscent of the bumblebee so it was a “thematic tie” back there for them.
Kellerman felt that the feedback was positive. “I think change is hard, especially for people that use this segment of street for their morning commute,” she said. “People don’t usually want to disrupt their daily routine.”
However, she stated that everyone she spoke to “shares the general consensus” that cars are moving too fast on Market Street. She also speculated that anything that slows cars down will make them happy. “Things like public seating and a more active streetscape is also a desire that a lot of people have that we have spoken with,” Kellerman said. “So this is a step in the right direction.”
“In general, there’s been a lot of excitement,” Mike Flynn, a member of the development team for the project, said. “People are curious. I think it’s not often that you see something dramatic like this happening. Some people want more information, some are confused.”
While Hesse believes that this project is a way to revitalize the city, others feel differently.
An employee for the Poughkeepsie court system, who wished to remain anonymous, had several words about the issue. “You want to know my honest opinion?” she said. “You have got to get rid of the homeless first; they take up half the seats. Nobody is going to come to this city if there’s nothing to come to. Once 5 o’clock hits, you need to leave because it’s a dangerous place to be.” According to the employee, homeless people wander the streets when the shelters close in the morning and fall asleep on the benches, deterring many from spending time in the city.
Anna Hermann, who works with a housing non-profit organization in Poughkeepsie and was observing the Market Street project, explains why she thinks so many homeless people are near Main Street and Market Street. “The Family Partnership Center is right around the corner,” she said. The Center provides free lunch and transportation to the homeless center. Based on her experience, Hermann said that most people who do not have homes are over and around the Family Partnership Center because that is where they have more services. “The point of these revitalization efforts is to support, to help out, and to hear,” she said.
Another city employee, who wished to remain anonymous because she does not have authority to speak to the press, does not believe that Poughkeepsie is a lost cause. However, he does believe that city officials need to focus more on Main Street rather than Market Street, since it is a business district. “With the Market Street project, we lose the road and as you can see, it already has a traffic backup,” he said. And, with the homeless population, “they would be sleeping on more things out there.”
A Dutchess County court security guard, who requested to stay anonymous because of fear of retaliation from the city, does not think that the project is a good idea “at all,” especially if it just creates more places to sit. “The homeless are here,” he said.
Melinda Diecidue, who owns Market Street Pizza, had similar feelings about the homeless. “They’re not just homeless,” she said. “They make messes in a lot of the area and I spend time everyday cleaning my property. I’m out there cleaning up needles, bottles, cigarettes, and stuff. I just want my area to be clean.” She explained that it is hard for people to come into the downtown area because of the amount of homeless people.
“I always have mixed feelings when they want to make these changes because I have to hear the complaints and stuff,” Diecidue said. “It has been one direction for so long that I think people might get agitated and upset and not want to come back here because it is a change in their normality.”
Her business is located right by a mural, a potted garden, and a cluster of colored benches, made by local students. She used to water the flowers in their pots until the dirt and plants were removed by homeless people occupying the area. She also cited instances of certain homeless individuals urinating on the mural, which she scrubs with soap and water day after day. “It’s a shame,” Diecidue said. “How can I run a business if people are too scared or annoyed by the homeless to come here?” She explained how the groups of homeless people move the benches up against the wall to lean against, since the benches have no back, making it even more difficult to appreciate the mural behind them.
Diecidue admires the efforts of the people behind the Market Street project but admitted that they “don’t see the bigger picture.” She said that this is because the people who are making these programs don’t actually live in the city. “They hear an earful but they don’t really understand what we are seeing and how it looks nutty,” she said. “I think the funds can go somewhere else. I know it’s coming from a good place and I think they always want to beautify and better, but I feel like they need to bring more people into the area. They should work on that.”
