This is your Town Manager Alex Torpey here. Have you heard about the Allen Street Placemaking Pilot?

From June 26-August 26, 2024, the Hanover Selectboard has authorized a two-month pilot closure of Allen Street building off the success and positive feedback of the "Block Party" series. The purpose of the Allen Street Placemaking Pilot is to promote community engagement, enhance pedestrian safety, and support local businesses by temporarily closing Allen Street to vehicular traffic. This will allow for public use and activities, outdoor dining, and the creation of vendor spots to bring additional vibrancy to the area.

Throughout the pilot, we will measure various impact(s) such as traffic, parking, general activity, and more, and use that to inform any future decisions. This idea was generated through the inclusive collaboration of Town officials and local business owners through the Downtown Working Group and aligns with the goals in Chapters 6 and 7 of the new Master Plan and the Selectboard's FY25 Goals #3.

In this episode, I share a brief background, and then we hear from Hannah and Liz from Hanover Parks and Rec about all the great stuff happening this summer from concerns to events, to family/kid activities, outdoor dining, and much more.

After we hear from Hannah and Liz, we hear from six downtown business/property owners what they think.

We hear from:

• Jim Rubens, Hanover resident and owner of Hanover Park at 3 Lebanon Street
• Jay Campion, Hanover resident and downtown property owner
• Paula Fernandes, owner of My Brigadeiro
• David Barrette, Hanover resident and owner of Main Street Kitchens
• Kieran Campion, Hanover resident General Manager of Sawtooth Kitchen
• Jarett Berke, Hanover resident and owner of Lou's Restaurant (and Selectboard member)

Not all business/property owners we reached out provided comments, and of course, not everyone is entirely on board with the project, as there are some who have expressed concerned about impacts to parking and ability for vehicles and visitors to get to their spaces or tenants. The Town has been working diligently with all property and business owners to understand and make sure these concerns can be monitored, have provided survey forms for feedback, and are communicating with stakeholders every two weeks as well...