Downtown byway gets a new look
A major artery in downtown Lawrence is getting a double bypass.
Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said work will begin next week to change Essex Street from a one-way street to a two-way in an effort to draw in more traffic for downtown businesses. The city is also trying to make the area more attractive to businesses with a storefront improvement program and other beautification projects, he said.
Flanked by city councilors, state representatives, and US Representative Niki Tsongas, Sullivan made the announcement last week standing under new banners on Essex Street that proclaim the area as the city's "Historic Downtown District." The move comes as local leaders grapple with a spike in property foreclosures expected to reach more than 800 homes by the end of the year and an upcoming budget fight between the mayor and city councilors.
Sullivan said that despite those economic challenges, Lawrence's downtown "needed a spark" to encourage more investment and shoppers. "The timing for our downtown couldn't be better," he said of the projects. "We need to be a [more] friendly street for traffic flow."
Work to change Essex Street to a two-way will begin next week and is expected to end in July. New traffic lights and street and stop signs have to be installed, according to city officials, who are planning an educational campaign to remind residents and visitors about the two-way traffic.
"For the last 30 years, all we've been hearing is about the Essex Street of old," said Sullivan. "Every Tuesday and Friday, Essex Street was the place to be. There were literally thousands of people who spent their days buying products up and down this street. But something changed."
That change began when the street was turned into a one-way, and with the advent of shopping malls. Downtown Lawrence was never the same again.
But since 2003, area business and civic leaders have been discussing the idea of returning Essex to the two-way street of three decades ago. City officials recently conducted a survey and found that nearly 95 percent of local businesses were in favor of the idea, said Sullivan.
As a one-way street, Essex has seen more than its share of speeders, double parkers, and parking tickets. And some business owners felt those problems were hurting the area as a shopping destination, city officials were told.
City Councilor Grisel Silva, whose constituency includes Essex Street, said she is pleased it will become a two-way road again. She said allowing traffic to go both ways will slow traffic down and enable motorists to get a better view of what the street offers.
"Sometimes when you drive down Essex Street, you tend to miss or you tend to not recognize a store you were looking for," said Silva. "By turning Essex Street into [a two-way], people will realize that [they] never knew that was a store there."
The cost of transforming the street will be about $1.2 million. Most of it will be paid through federal grants, said Sullivan.
In addition to changing the traffic flow, city officials are also undertaking an aggressive campaign to attract more businesses and public projects to the street. The officials are also encouraging existing businesses to apply for improvement grants, which have already helped turn shabby storefronts into art deco facades.
The Essex Street project is expected to bring in at least a restaurant, cybercafe, and bookstore. Several loft apartment projects are also being planned along the street.
Later this year, work is scheduled to begin on a new Northern Essex Community College High Tech Center at the site of the abandoned In-Town Mall on Essex Street.
Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.
