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URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

erty would be required in front of most
properties to create sidewalks and a
planting zone. Buildings between Otter-
son and Hollis should be set back
approximately 15” the sidewalk to pre-
serve the residential/institutional fabric.
Buildings between Otterson and Salmon
Brook should be built to the sidewalk.
The streetscaping program will

improve the overall pedestrian and vehic-

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

ular experience of Main Street South. A 65
new streetscape program should locate

utilities underground in accessible

trenches. In addition, the streetscape

should provide generous street trees, low

level pedestrian scaled lighting, high level

street lighting, textured (possibly brick,

extended from Main Street North) side-

walks and crosswalks. The streetscape

should be designed to calm traffic by cre-

Street Sections
Existing Main Street
North, between Hollis
Street and the Nashua
River (top)

Proposed Section for
Main Street South
between Salmon Brook
and Otterson Street
(second)

Proposed Section for
Main Street South
between Hollis Street
and Otterson Street
{third}

Existing Section of
Main Street South
between Otterson and
Salmon Brook {bottom}

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Existing Condi- 66
tions of Main
Street South:
Sidewalks are located
directly adjacent to
moving lanes of traffic.
The lack of street trees
and presence of
overhead utilities creates
a dangerous and
unattractive pedestrian
environment.

(top two images}

Proposed Plan and
Section for Main
Street South:

The moving lanes of
traffic remain
unchanged. Parking
bays are created, street
trees are planted. A new
sidewalk is constructed
on private property. No
building demolition is
required.

(bottom two images)

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

ating visual interest and subtle cues to
drivers that Main Street is an environ-
ment that balances the needs of automo-
biles and pedestrians. All street
furnishings (benches, light poles, trash
receptacles) should be coordinated
through a carefully selected palate of

materials and colors.

Circulation and Parking

The Master Plan recommends improved
commercial circulation by creating rear
lanes to access most of the properties
along Main Street and installing traffic
signals at key cross streets. The rear lanes
will provide parallel access to Main
Street. Traffic destined for establish-
ments on Main Street South will access
the properties at controlled intersections
and rear lanes as opposed to via curb cuts
directly on Main Street. In addition, a

rear lane allows local traffic travelling

from one establishment to another on

Circulation and

Parking

Regional through traffic
on Main Street (shown
in yellow) will be aided
by the reduction of local
traffic and curb cuts
from Main Street. The
network of cross streets
(shown in magenta)

and parallel lanes
(shou in green)
provide local access to

parking and service.

UREAN

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Main Street South to avoid Main Street

altogether. By removing as much local
traffic and curb cut access from Main
Street as possible, Main Street can func-
tion more effectively as a regional

through route.

Salmon Brook Park

Located south of Main Street Market-
place, Salmon Brook Park is the southern
Gateway to Downtown. The park can
create a “green” gateway.

Studies and a public design charette
for Salmon Brook Park have explored the
possibility of daylighting the culverted
brook south of the Main Street Market-
place and creating a pedestrian underpass

under Main Street. Additionally, the

park would restore and stabilize remnant
historic industrial structures where a dam
and turbine once stood. Implementation

of this plan will require a partnership

with the private property owner.

Redevelopment Opportunities

Main Street South presents many oppor-
tunities for redevelopment. Most are
located between Otterson and Salmon
Brook. With the exception of a few of
the grand residences between Hollis and
Otterson, most of the buildings are
either disposable, obsolete, or of no his-
toric value. Over the next ten years, it is
likely that many of these properties will
be redeveloped. The Master Plan recom-

mends this redevelopment occur incre-

Salmon Brook Park 68
Section A:

Section across Salmon

Brook: dam and

turbine are restored as

an historic industrial
remnant and public

sculpture. (top left}

Section B

Section through Main
Street: a pedestrian
underpass under Main
Street is created
connecting Salmon
Brook Park to Main
Street Market Place.
(top right)

(section drawings from
Salmon Brook
Charette}

The reconfigured park
celebrates and preserved
this part of Nashua's
early heritage and
development (bottom)

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

mentally and be primarily driven by the

private sector. A public streetscape pro-

gram is recommended however whole-
sale public sector acquisition and
redevelopment is not necessary.

In sum, the Master Plan identifies
approximately 10 to 15 sites for private
redevelopment. Most of the sites on Man
Street South are located at the proposed
retail node between Otterson and
Salmon Brook Park. With the redevelop-
ment of the Main Street Marketplace,
this retail node will complement both the
form and types of retail on Main Street
North. Storefront buildings would define
the street and sidewalks. Overall, this
retail node can absorb between 50,000
and 75,000 additional square feet of
retail, further widening the array of
Downtown businesses.

Retail sites along Main Street South
should redevelop according to the fol-
lowing principles:

* a build-to line should be established
at the back of the sidewalk, and a
building's frontage must occupy at
least 60 percent of this frontage line

* parking must be located behind the
building; parking may be located in a
60° wide lot beside the building pro-

vided it is adequately screened from 69
the sidewalk and street.

buildings must have windows and
activities that animate the sidewalk;
at least 50 percent of a building’s
facade on Main Street must have
windows and ground floor glass
doors opening onto the sidewalk.
primary entrances must face Main
Street South

in order to minimize parking
requirements and encourage develop-
ment, parking should be shared
between adjoining properties; a park-
ing maximum of one space per 4000
square feet should be enforced
properties must be developed
between .25 FAR and .5 FAR (FAR
stands for “floor-area-ratio”, meaning
the ratio of the building's floor area
to the overall area of its site).
buildings must be a minimum of 2 to

3 stories in height

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Existing 70
Main Street South

(top)

Proposed
Main Street South
(bottom)

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Frameworks

I

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Streets:
Access and Connectivity

1N GREAT CITIES STREETS are more than a means of simply 7p
moving traffic. Streets are just one of the many components
creating the public realm.

This Master Plan proposes a new framework of streets and
blocks for Downtown Nashua. The framework includes con-
verting one-way streets to two-way streets, improved

streetscaping, and alignments of new streets.

Many of the streets in Downtown Nashua were converted to
one-way movement after World War II as a means of moving
higher volumes of traffic through Downtown. Typically streets
were converted in pairs, one in each direction (such as Kinsley
and Hollis or Pearl and Factory). However, some are
“orphans”--that is, they are not paired.

The public outreach process uncovered a variety of opin-
ions, both negative and positive, about one-way streets. While
they do move more traffic, there are several negative impacts:

* faster traffic, therefore a less pleasant pedestrian experience

* confusion and frustration for drivers who cannot move
through Downtown based on intuition

* needlessly additional vehicle miles due to restricted move-
ments and re-routing

+ — less desirable retail environment because businesses get
exposure to traffic during either the morning or afternoon
commute, but not both

+ diminished access to parking and other destinations
because of restricted movements

* reliance on wayfinding and signage because driving is no
longer intuitive.

For these reasons, the Master Plan recommends converting
as many one-way roads to two-way as possible. Doing so, how-
ever, is more complicated than simply removing the one-way
sign. Typically, slight reconstruction of the road and intersec-
tion, as well as new traffic signals are required. Because of the
complexity of converting streets from one-way to two, the
Master Plan recommends a phased sequence of conversions.

All streets have been categorized. A phased conversion is rec-

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

ommended beginning with those streets

that are the most simple to convert (the

“orphans”) because they are not paired

with another one-way street. Streets were

categorized as follows:

* streets that are less than 30' wide and
are too narrow to convert to two-way
movement with on-street parking

* — streets that can be easily converted
because they are wider than 30’ and
are not paired with a street in the
opposite direction

* — streets that are paired but can be con-
verted with signalization improve-
ments

+ — lowest priority streets whose conver-
sion is most complicated and there-
fore require most study.

A more detailed study of one way street

conversions is recommended as an early

action item in the Implementation Sec-
tion This study should examine street
widths, land uses, social / cultural con-
texts, impact of potential loss of on street

parking and costs.

One of the charges of the Master Plan
process was to examine the existing plans
for the Broad Street Parkway and make
recommendations for revisions if neces-
sary to better serve the Downtown and

the neighborhoods.

73

(op)
Unpaired streets greater
than 30 feet wide
shown in green
Remaining one-way

streets are shown in red.

{middle}

Paired streets with
sufficient width and
capacity shown in
green, Remaining one-
‘way streets are shown

in red.

(bottom)

Paired arterials that
require further study
shown in green.
Remaining one way

streets shown in red.

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

To this end, the planning team
reviewed and analyzed the current pro-
posal, interviewed the community devel-
opment staff, public works staff, and the
regional planning commission staff, con-
ducted a field examination, and applied
national experience from other similar
projects to the design of the Broad Street
Parkway.

The existing proposal for the Broad
Street Parkway calls for a four-lane arte-
rial highway, most of it divided by a cen-
ter median, extending a distance of 1.7
miles, from a northern terminus at Broad
Street to a southern terminus on Hollis
Street. In addition to its two terminus
intersections (Broad Street and Hollis
Street), the proposed parkway would
have three other intersections: at a con-
nection to a Sargent Avenue extension,
in the Millyard south of the Nashua
River, and at Ledge Street just to the
south of the Millyard. Auxiliary lanes
(left-turn lanes and, in some instances,
right turn lanes) would be present at all
intersections.

The design speed of the proposed
Broad Street Parkway is 40-50 miles per
hour, typical of a multi-lane suburban
arterial highway. The Parkway is a lim-
ited access roadway, with no fronting
properties having access to the road.
Access to adjacent properties is gained
through the three internal intersections

and the two terminus intersections.

The master plan team recognized the
two underlying strengths of the current
Broad Street proposal:

* It adds to the arterial street network.
Adding new street network is always
preferable to the alternate action of
widening the existing street network.

* It adds new street network in per-
haps the most useful alignment in
Nashua: i.e., north/south across the

Nashua River, thereby creating a par-

74

(tep}
Current inventory of
all one-way streets

shown in red

(bottom)

Through an
incremental process, 20
of the 47 one-way
streets can be converted.
Converted streets are
shown in red,
remaining one-way

streets are shown in red.