Projects

Main Street Revitalization

Buzzards Bay, MA
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The village center of Main Street Buzzards Bay lacks a cohesive character, and needs to attract new visitors and businesses.  A high volume of summer traffic in the often bypasses the village without awareness of Buzzard Bay’s shops and restaurants, open space and recreational amenities, and nautical history.  In an effort to give the village a cohesive identity, to enhance the visual character and restore economic vitality, some of the revitalization goals include improvement of the streetscape and canal access, creation of public facilities, improvement of traffic signage, and greater pedestrian and cyclist usage and safety.

Brennan Consulting developed a streetscape that helped to identify and unify Main Street. Distinctive street furniture, bicycle racks, trash receptacles, street lighting, brick sidewalks, raised crosswalks, and signage  enhance the village atmosphere. Street trees and shrubs species were carefully selected not only for their suitability for salt air conditions and road pollutants, but additionally to help transform Main Street from its current ‘State Highway’ feel to the right sense of scale desired for a pedestrian village main street.  Integrating low impact design features into the landscaping, such as bio-retention areas (rain gardens) was another design element that was utilized for some of the planting strips. Such integration provided a unique opportunity to integrate ecological ‘green’ features which would distinguish the village locally as well as nationally.

Creating an additional easterly pedestrian and bicycle pathway to the canal, adjacent to the post office, with public facilities, benches and bike rack draw greater interest from canal users.  Reduction of curb cuts by increasing shared access drives increased safety for pedestrians, cyclist and motorists.

Stormwater runoff from Main Street discharges to Bourne Pond and the Cape Cod Canal.  The opportunity existed to remediate these discharges in association with the project, also making the project more environmentally friendly!  Brennan Consulting evaluated the existing drainage system in the project area for opportunities to achieve MDEP Stormwater Management goals for redevelopment.