Sunday, March 13, 2016

Signs Of Spring & Coming Development

Electric Company will use Kendrick Park as a staging area

The DPW was out at Kendrick Park this week trimming trees to make way for the heavy equipment Eversource will be using to underground all the unsightly power lines and cables in the north end of downtown.

Amherst received a $1.5 million Mass Works grant for the project and Governor Patrick even came calling to deliver the good news in person.

 North end of downtown will benefit by burying utility lines

Of course conspiracy theorists will say it was all an inside job to assist Archipelago Investments with improving the street appeal of their new five-story mixed-use building with expensive apartments making up the lion's share of the facility.

A few years ago the town was twice turned down for a $4 million Mass Works grant to rehabilitate Pine Street in North Amherst.

Town Meeting had voted down a pro-development Form Based Zoning article leading the state to believe we did not deserve a significant infusion of money to assist with collateral development issues, i.e. infrastructure improvements.

   Kendrick Place was bitterly opposed by usual NIMBY/BANANA contingent

So in a sense Kendrick Place probably did lead to the acquisition of the grant.  Not to mention One East Pleasant now preparing for construction at the former Carriage Shops just down the road.

 Roundabout proposed for Triangle/East Pleasant intersection

On Monday night the Select Board will approve a roundabout design for Triangle/East Pleasant Streets in the shadow of Kendrick Place, and a gateway to our #1 employer, UMass.

 Hope will move to a safer pasture across the street
Realignment Park (bottom center/left)

The Select Board, as "keepers of the public way" will also approve the relocation of Hope the Cow from in front of the slated-for-destruction Carriage Shops to Realignment Park across the street.

Hold on to your hard hats, good things are happening.  Finally!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So essentially this is a post about how the people of Amherst and those that pay for their stuff (the people in the rest of the state), are all doing so well, have enough food, housing, education, health care, emergency money, retirement funds and a secure future to the point where they can justify taking money from people to buy tiny 60 something acre lots for "preservation".

Why the heck is Massachusetts not plastering this all over the news and ads to get people to understand how Massachusetts is a wealthy utopia as opposed to every other community on the planet?

Because surly those that would spend public funds on a small field and some trees where such is not needed or in demand with money they did not own and took against the real earner's will, surly would be shamed out of town, social circles...perhaps even their marriage for being immoral.

There are four ways to spend money.

You can spend your money on you and you will do it well, it obviously matters.

You can spend someone elses money on you and you will do ok, you get to benefit, you likely know the spender.

You can spend your money on someone else and you will do ok, you get some appreciation.

You can spend someone elses money on yet someone else and of course, you wont give a shit, you are likely in government or a middle management looser and the effects of how the money is spent do not effect you except the people you can win over by giving them someone elses money you took. This justifies doing a lot of it without much concern for the real money earner or the real benefits to the group of spending the money, they have no choice and you get the benefit.

Those in government, squarely in category 4, have little incentive to do a good job, as when they don't there is often little consequence. Also those with real moral skills in category 4 rarely end up in government, such skills are real, genuine and one would have sincere opportunity in a moral venue where people are not screwing over their neighbors as policy (aka government).

Unknown said...

You've eloquently described CPA fund usage.

Anonymous said...

Hear! Hear!

Scrooge McDuck said...

Great pictures, Larry. One thing the new buildings do, is show by contrast how dingy and run-down much of Amherst is getting. The ARA had it right a couple years ago, trying to designate gateway as blighted. It's time to break out the paint brushes people!!