News

February 19

Plymouth to decide on Main Street plans

IAN CAMPBELL Times Leader Correspondent

PLYMOUTH – Members of the Downtown Revitalization Steering Committee got a first glimpse of two proposed plans for Main Street redevelopment projects and now needs to work out which if either of the two it will support.

In a meeting Thursday night at the Plymouth Borough building, the dozen or so members heard in a conference call with the designers of the plan, Mullin and Lonergan Associates of Pittsburgh, that the projects are generally meant to remove buildings rather than create new ones and tenants to fill them.

Larry Newman of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce told the members of the committee that the most important thing to try to achieve in any sort of revitalization project is to take care of the existing residents and businesses first because it is easier to keep a business than it is to bring in new ones. As a result, any redevelopment work should not harm the borough’s existing strengths.

One of the core aims from both plans, and a target of several members of the steering committee, was the clear need for better parking on Main Street.

Not only did the parking have to be available, one member noted, but it also needed to be visible. The borough’s current parking facility located off Main Street is unwelcoming for a number of users, the designers noted.

The designers also saw a need to convert some of the more blighted locations in the target zone into recreational areas tied in to existing recreation sites.

The steering committee will serve as a conduit to the wider community and bring information and responses to the plan back to the designers so that they can create a master map of the proposed development before holding a public meeting tentatively scheduled for late March or early May.

The committee will conduct a walking tour of the Main Street locations under consideration before meeting again and passing its recommendations on to the designers. After those meetings, a public meeting will be held so that people can view the proposals and make comments.

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