Specific Proposals

  1. Upgrade the image of downtown
  2. Create a focal point/activity node in downtown to impart a clear sense of place
  3. Develop a tree-lined boulevard down the center of Main Street from Washington Street south to College Street
  4. Provide outdoor display areas, active public places and other recreational facilities within downtown to attract people
  5. Design a coherent system of signage and a distinct streetscape sensitive to the historic character to provide a cohesive visual quality to the downtown
  6. Preserve and restore the historic buildings and upgrade the sidewalks with sensitive landscaping
  7. Improve rear facades of buildings facing parking and pedestrian areas to be more attractive to pedestrians
  8. Preserve and strengthen views towards existing landmarks by appropriate zoning and by creating strong visual links and view corridors towards the land marks
  9. Impose façade controls and controls on new buildings through zoning regulations to preserve the character of Main Street and highlight the historic qualities of the area
  10. Establish and strengthen entries into downtown. Create gateways to establish a sense of entering downtown by undertaking physical improvements to streetscape such as landscaping, signage, building setbacks and appropriate land uses. At each gateway install a downtown map with the main attractions highlighted
  11. Emphasize views towards the riverfront by identifying, preserving and strengthening existing view corridors, ensuring that future new building activity does not block views towards the river and creating new ones by defining the view corridors by hard and soft edges
  12. Install textured cross walks at entries to Main Street and at key intersections to clearly identify pedestrian areas. This will reinforce a sense of district and encourage pedestrian movement across Main Street
  13. Highlight entries to activity nodes by pavement treatment, lighting, and streetscape elements. Enhance the appearance and visibility of entries to parking lots from Main Street and other activity nodes by appropriate urban design treatment
  14. Promote the inclusion of the Arrigoni Bridge on the National Historic Register and use lighting to promote it as an historic Middletown landmark
  15. Understanding that lighting is an attraction in of itself; lighting should be used along deKoven Drive and Harborpark to accentuate the City and its positive relationship with the river
  16. Promote increased use of outdoor dining and portable carts to bring more activity to the sidewalks
  17. Bury overhead wires within the downtown and provide for more landscaping and trees to soften the urban environment