Catherine Ryan Submits
News from Downtown Workplan
Hi Joey,
There has been a lot of interest in the Downtown Work Plan. There were 90+ people on site at City Hall for the City’s presentation with Utile, and good discussion. Cape Ann TV was filming. Ahead of time, individuals and organizations sent in a range of comments and concerns via email or testimonials. For example here was one (and a repeat one at that) muni wifi rant plea from Joey:
And have a read through the excellent detailed memo from the Downtown Development Commission.
No doubt the robust feedback was helped immeasurably by local media announcements. Thank you, GMG!
So, please come to the next meetings, and/or send along questions or comments to Tom TDaniel@gloucester-ma.gov
Tom Daniel, Community Development Director, writes:
“As promised, we have posted the presentation to the City’s website. You may find it link to the presentation here: http://www.gloucester-ma.gov/index.aspx?NID=760&ART=2142&ADMIN=1. It is a large file and may take a couple of minutes to load. We will post future presentations to the website as well.”
Here are the dates for the next two public meetings to be held in the Kyrouz Auditorium of City Hall, from 6-8pm:
– Tuesday, August 20
– Tuesday, September 17
For More info:
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x218352785/Downtowns-destiny

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
c/o City Clerk’s Office, 9 Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930
gloucesterinfo@gmail.com
July 9, 2013
Mr. Drew Kane, AICP
50 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02110
Dear Drew:
Last evening, the Downtown Development Commission discussed what it would like to see changed, added to or modified in the downtown in anticipation of the upcoming visioning meetings. I encouraged all members to attend but we also felt that we wanted to send you something in writing listing our thoughts.
The following are the items brought up by the Commission:
Parking Garage Many meetings were held about this idea a number of years ago. The idea was to build a deck on top of the current parking lot by the police station. DPW Director Mike Hale was involved in discussions and probably still has this information.
Development of I4C2 It is the hope of the DDC that this can be developed in some way that would benefit downtown and not just be kept as a parking lot.
Empire Building The continued blight of this building is a concern.
Police Station/Central Fire/YMCA Members hoped that there would soon be a plan for the fate of these buildings.
Police Station Steps The terrible condition of these steps roped off with police tape is not an attractive picture. The DDC wondered if there was a short-term solution since any garage or selling of the police station would be long term.
Ornamental Lights/Brick Sidewalks The only sections of Main Street without this streetscape are the middle sections, which were last renovated in the 1970’s. Members would like to see this area tied into the look of the East End and West End.
Trees The trees on Main Street have probably never been pruned. Many hold both decorative old lights that no longer work and some have an abbreviated version of new lights. We feel that there should be some work done on these trees.
West End Ornamental Lights These lights were installed many years ago and the DDC thinks they have never been cleaned. This is one of the reasons they appear to be so dark. The DDC would like to see them cleaned and repainted, if necessary.
Benches There are now a variety of styles of benches downtown. We would like to work towards the replacement of the benches, many of which are wood and splintered, to have one consistent look.
Trash Barrels The DDC bought a number of black trash barrels for downtown and they are showing their age. We would like to re-examine the type of barrels and work on eventually replacing them. Apparently a couple of them were done in by snowplows this past winter.
Preserve America Signs The Commission would like to continue this signage program. We also think there needs to be some type of protocol in place when one is damaged or disappears as has happened.
Gilham & Gander Study The DDC would like this study reintroduced as it had many worthwhile aspects.
Stacy Boulevard The conditions of the railings are in terrible shape and are to the point of being dangerous. Hundreds of people walk this area daily. We understand that this would be a long term and expensive project but it needs to be stated. Having new grass and a working sprinkler system on the Boulevard is a step in the right direction as it is a gateway into Gloucester for so many.
Drew, hope these are helpful. Looking forward to seeing you Wednesday night.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Silveira
Chair
DDC
cc: Tom Daniel
Good Morning Gloucester 