Brattleboro Downtown Plan

Among the buildings in downtown Brattleboro is a network of public spaces – streets, parking lots, alleys, sidewalks, paths, riverfronts, parks, plazas. More than 30% of downtown Brattleboro is public space.

All kinds of people, at different times throughout the day, pass through those public spaces for many reasons. But good public spaces are characterized by the presence of people remaining when they have no pressing reason to stay.

This plan explores improvements to existing public spaces and the creation of new public spaces downtown to attract and retain businesses and residents. Its is a plan for making downtown Brattleboro's public spaces the kind of places that people want them to be, rather than just places people move through.

Brattleboro’s downtown was not built around a planned network of public spaces. Some parks were developed as a result of redevelopment, finding small spaces here and there as the opportunity presented itself, while other parks found their size and accessibility cut off as a result of transportation projects. Buildings were built along significant natural features – the Connecticut River and the Whetstone Brook leaving little room for trails and parks.

This describes and illustrates Brattleboro's vision for future placemaking and public space improvements downtown to:

• Improve routes, access and circulation for pedestrians and bicyclists;
• Enhance long-term economic stability for downtown businesses;
• Increase resiliency by incorporating green stormwater practices and landscaping into streets and public spaces; and
• Encourage creative placemaking that uses arts and cultural activities to enliven and revitalize public spaces.

These elements are all part of urban design. Urban design considers how different aspects of the landscape work together – especially buildings, streets, and open spaces – to define the experience of a place. Brattleboro is fortunate to have well preserved and visually interesting 19th and 20th century buildings. So, the Downtown Design Plan looks at the public realm. In addition to re-imagining public spaces to make them more accessible and active, past studies and/or surveys have indicated the need to address the following challenges in downtown:

• Vehicular movement is prioritized in downtown. The presence of on-street parking, truck traffic, narrow sidewalks and the topography can make it difficult to walk or bike through the downtown. Are there ways to improve the connections through downtown for pedestrians and bicyclists?
• The stormwater system in the downtown is designed to quickly convey stormwater into the closest river or brook. Stormwater carries sediment and nutrients with it that impact water quality, putting our waterbodies at risk. Contemporary stormwater management approaches recognize that you can use “green infrastructure” to treat stormwater before it flows into waterways. Can we find ways to incorporate green infrastructure into our public spaces?

This plan was drafted just prior to the pandemic in 2020. Rethinking the public realm seems even more pressing as we adapt to life with COVID-19.

Public spaces provide public health, environmental, and social benefits. They are areas of respite for people that needed to get outside and have space to socially distance. Biking and walking increased during the pandemic, exposing the fact that our streets have been overdesigned for cars, and demonstrating that they can be redesigned to provide more space for pedestrians, bikes, and public spaces. Parklets and sidewalks provide restaurants with more room for dining, helping them provide service during a public health emergency that has restricted indoor dining, but also helping enliven the streets with people, lighting, and art.

How can our downtown be reimagined to provide more equitable and safe opportunities to support our community members while providing essential connections between people and places? This Downtown Plan presents a starting point to help envision how to create an active, vibrant, and sustainable downtown.

People’s impressions of a downtown are formed mainly by the quality of its public spaces. People are drawn to public spaces where they find other people. Public spaces are favorite places to meet, talk, sit, relax, stroll, people-watch, read and sun. They can be the starting point for community, commerce and democracy.

Good public spaces have real and measurable economic benefits. They draw people and encourage them to linger, which helps sustain retail and service businesses. They enhance the desirability and value of surrounding properties. Good public spaces that incorporate distinctive local history, culture and art keep tourists and residents coming downtown.

Good public spaces attract more people – employers, customers, employees, residents, tourists – downtown. Placemaking and public space improvements collectively benefit all downtown businesses and residents.

• Welcome and accommodate all
• Are safe, comfortable and well-lit
• Promote social interaction
• Offer an array of activities
• Are visually interesting
• Express a local identity
• Relate well to their physical surroundings
• Are well maintained and managed
• Have places to sit, walk, stand and talk

Brattleboro encouraged community engagement in the planning process for the Downtown Design Plan by organizing a pop-up demonstration and a design charrette in September and October of 2019 focused on creating good public space. Residents also had the opportunity to take two community surveys during that period, which asked for their opinions about how the public spaces in downtown Brattleboro could be improved.

A  Better Block  Challenge was held September 20-22 in downtown. Three pop-up projects were installed to add life to underutilized or unwelcoming downtown spaces.

The Places for People Charrette was held on October 3, 4, 5 and 9. A charrette is an intensive planning session where community members and design professionals collaborate on a vision for an area. During the charrette, the design team and community members assessed the public spaces in downtown Brattleboro, identified challenges and proposed solutions.

More than 600 community members and downtown visitors responded to one of the public space surveys available during the Better Block Challenge and the Places for People Charrette and distributed throughout the community via multiple email and web-based channels. Summary reports of those results are provided below.

Downtown Brattleboro is located in the southeast corner of Vermont, overlooking the Connecticut River.

The intersection of U.S. Route 5 (Main Street) and Vermont Route 9 (High Street) occurs in the heart of downtown. Interstate 91 passes just to the west with Exit 2 providing a direct route to downtown.

A bridge links downtown Brattleboro to Hinsdale, New Hampshire across the Connecticut River. There has been a bridge at that location since 1804. The Hinsdale bridge is slated for replacement with a new bridge to be built south of the current location. The existing bridge will remain in place to be used by pedestrians and bicyclists. The anticipated changes to traffic flow downtown resulting from the bridge replacement project was a major impetus for preparing this Downtown Design Plan.

landform

Hilly was one of the more common responses to the question on the  2019 Public Space Survey  that asked for words to describe downtown Brattleboro. A walk from the Hinsdale Bridge to the Brattleboro Common is a climb of nearly 100 feet. The dramatic terrain has shaped the built form and footprint of downtown.

Retaining walls and other structures built into the slope are defining features of downtown Brattleboro. There is a 40-foot elevation change between Flat Street and Elliot Street – so buildings like the Emerson Block are 2 stories facing Elliot Street, but 5 stories facing Flat Street. The eastern side of Main Street is bounded by a cliff that drops nearly 50 feet down to the railroad tracks and the Connecticut River beyond. This combination of buildings and landform creates many locations that offer interesting views and vistas, but it also challenges mobility and access.

The Connecticut River forms the eastern boundary of downtown Brattleboro, and the northern and southern extents of downtown also respond to the presence of the West River (north) and Whetstone Brook (south). Once essential for transportation, as sources of power and as a way to dispose of waste, these water bodies are now valued primarily for their natural functions, scenic beauty, recreational potential and historical significance.

Physical access to the Connecticut River from downtown is constrained by the terrain and the rail line. Former industrial activities on the riverfront have left brownfields – polluted sites that even after being remediated may have some limitations on whether the site can be disturbed in the future or safely used to provide physical access to the water.

Visual access to the Connecticut River is possible from alleys and buildings (rear facades and roofs) on the east side of Main Street. In some locations, potential views are blocked by vegetation or impacted by the utility lines (which were relocated from Main Street to the rear of the buildings).

There is significant opportunity to redevelop the alleys and rear facades to take greater advantage of the river views. Burying the utility lines would be prohibitively expensive, but there may be opportunities to minimize the visual impact of this essential infrastructure. Trimming back overgrown vegetation and opening up view corridors through the trees is a simple first step to strengthen the connection between downtown and the river.

The Whetstone Brook, and its series of cascades, is also visible from many public vantage points in downtown Brattleboro.

The town has long planned for a pathway along the Whetstone Brook that would eventually link West Brattleboro to downtown Brattleboro and connect the neighborhoods in between. The Whetstone Pathway in downtown next to the Brattleboro Co-Op is the only segment of the pathway that exists today. Extending the pathway continues to be a widely supported community objective.

A 2017 study recommended options in the lower Whetstone corridor to minimize potential flood damage, manage stormwater runoff, facilitate infill development, and reconnect the brook to the surrounding neighborhoods as a recreational amenity. The pedestrian path following the brook is incorporated into that plan.

The rivers have been a focus for several recent public art, placemaking and educational projects in downtown Brattleboro.  From the River, To the River  has highlighted the unique relationship between Brattleboro and the Connecticut River. The  Confluence Project  used a creative place-making as part of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the community's rivers, land and watersheds.

The strategies below are recommended to create good public space in downtown Brattleboro. They are organized into three groups: the Way Around, Main Street and Other Strategies.

The Way Around is a network of public spaces that could be improved to create a connected walking and biking route through downtown Brattleboro off Main Street. People are already traveling on it.

Have you walked through High-Grove parking lot and then crossed High Street through the tunnel into Harmony lot? Maybe you've biked into Brattleboro over the Hinsdale Bridge, gone up Bridge Street, gotten onto the Whetstone Pathway and crossed the pedestrian bridge to the Preston parking lot? Then, you've been on the Way Around.

The Way Around provides an alternative to walking or biking on Main Street. It travels between Brattleboro Common and the Hinsdale Bridge through a series of public spaces – parks, parking lots and side streets. Let's travel the Way Around and see how improvements (some small, some large) to these existing public spaces could enhance the safety and enjoyment of walking and biking in downtown Brattleboro.

This Downtown Design Plan includes many ideas for good public space in downtown Brattleboro – both large and small. Some recommendations could be undertaken immediately with existing resources. Others are major projects that would take many years to complete and need multiple funding sources.

This plan is focused on public space and its direct implementation will largely be the responsibility of the Town of Brattleboro and its partner organization, the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance. Notwithstanding, the participation of downtown property owners, merchants and residents is essential. As described above, good public space can only be created and sustained when the public and private sectors collaborate.

Grant funding will be needed to help make implementation of the projects recommended in this plan possible. Below are some of the funding sources that should be considered:

•  Animating Infrastructure.  Vermont Arts Council program to support community projects that integrate art with infrastructure improvements.
•  Arts Impact Grants.  Vermont Arts Council program to support efforts to add vibrancy to Vermont communities by providing equal and abundant access to the arts.
•  Fruit Tree Planting Foundation Grant Program.  Funds to support the planting of fruitful trees and plants.
•  Land and Water Conservation Fund Program.  50% matching funds to create parks and open spaces, protect wilderness and forests, and provide outdoor recreation opportunities.
•  Northern Border Regional Commission.  Funding for economic and community development.
•  Public Art Design Grant.  Vermont Arts Council special grant opportunity to integrate works of public art into upcoming infrastructure projects.
•  Recreation Trails Program.  Grants for public recreational trail-related projects.
•  Transportation Alternatives Program.  Construction, planning, and design of on-road and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized forms of transportation.
•  USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program 
•  Vermont Community Development Block Grant Program.  Includes funding for public facilities.
•  Vermont Community Foundation Grant Program.  VCF manages multiple grant programs and funds.
•  Vermont Outdoor Recreation Communities Program.  Grant funding for a variety of purposes with the result being a community that can show measurable success supporting and growing their local economies through leveraging outdoor recreation.
•  Waste Management Charitable Giving.  Grant funding to promote parklands and green spaces.

Town of Brattleboro Planning Commission: Felicity Ratte (Chair), Kathy Urffer, Katharine Manthei Audin, Josh Steele, Tom Mosakowski, Jessica Gelter, Prudence Mackinney.

Town of Brattleboro Planning Services Department: Sue Fillion, Planning Director, and Andrew Graminski, Planning Technician.

Brattleboro Community TV filmed many of the events associated with this Downtown Design Plan and produced the Better Block Challenge video.

Downtown Brattleboro Alliance: Stephanie Bonin, Coordinator.

•  PlaceSense 
•  Park Architecture 
•  Stone Environmental 
•  MAKE Architects 

This Downtown Design Plan was partially funded with a 2019 Municipal Planning Grant from the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development.

The photos used in this plan were contributed by members of the consultant team and the following:

•  Brattleboro Reformer 
• Joshua Carnes, Brattleboro Department of Public Works
• Rod Francis