Category Archives: Neighborhood Improvements

Posted on January 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Posted in Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements, Planning and Development; Community Issues; Lowell Connector

Lowell Neighborhood Innovation Grant Program

Posted on November 17, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Posted in Neighborhood Improvements

2011 Downtown Summit

Posted on November 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Posted in Community Issues, Community Problems, Downtown Economy, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements

Jackson St. Improvements

Posted on October 29, 2011 by | Leave a comment

An update from James Errickson, DPD

On November 11, 2011 (Veteran’s Day), the City’s contractors for this project will be “cold-planing” the street in preparation for the eventual paving of Jackson Street . This may cause traffic disruptions on Jackson Street during the day. Following this step, the final paving of Jackson Street will be scheduled, for which the City intends to complete prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (pending weather conditions and materials supply).

Leave a comment

Posted in Cobblestones, Downtown Lowell, JAM, Neighborhood Improvements, Street Construction, Traffic

DOWNTOWN SUMMIT

Posted on October 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The city is asking downtown residents, students, business owners, employees, and commercial property owners to please take a few minutes to fill out this brief survey. This survey will provide valuable information for discussion at the Summit.

Downtown Residents/ Students please fill out this survey
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e4ysi50bgt7lyf8w/a012cgtr1jjl9/questions
Downtown business owners, employees, and commerical property owners please fill out this survey:
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e4ysueuvgt7nz4pk/a012dgtr1k4zq/questions
For more information contact downtownsummit@lowellma.gov

Leave a comment

Posted in Community Issues, Downtown, Downtown Economy, Downtown Lowell, Events, Hamilton Canal District, JAMBRA, Neighborhood Improvements

CENTRAL STREET COBBLESTONE WORK

Posted on September 15, 2011 by | 1 comment

CENTRAL STREET COBBLESTONE WORK
The next phase of the long anticipated project to remove the cobblestones on Central Street from Market St. to Appleton St. is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 13th at 8:00 p.m. This will be an overnight project with a second night on Thursday September 15th (if necessary).

The work to be performed is the removal of the cobbles from the intersection of Central and Middlesex Streets. Work will be done in one travel lane and then switch to the other side. Police details will be on site to assist with traffic flow.

Since this phase involves working directly in the intersections, the decision was made to perform the work at night to minimize traffic disruptions. There will be some noise generated by this construction. While we will work to keep that to a minimum, it cannot be eliminated.
The Parking Dept. will be placing bags on the meters/space numbers. In order to shorten the duration of the project, the work will be conducted during the day and some nights. We will try to balance the work load to minimize the impact.
As with any construction project, there is the expectation that the short-term disruption and inconvenience will result in the long-term benefit of improved travel conditions for both vehicles and pedestrians.
We know how important a smooth driving surface is to all who use our downtown and this project is a big step towards providing that. We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this project.

Any questions can be directed to the City Engineer’s office at 978-970-3330

1 Comment

Posted in Cobblestones, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements, Traffic

Central St. work update

Posted on August 30, 2011 by | Leave a comment

CENTRAL STREET COBBLESTONE WORK

Lowell, MA (August 30, 2011) – The next phase of the long anticipated project to remove the cobblestones on Central Street from Market St. to Appleton St. is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 31st at 8:00 p.m. This overnight project will run for two consecutive nights.

The work to be performed is the removal of the cobbles from the intersections. Work will be done in one travel lane and then switch to the other side. Police details will be on site to assist with traffic flow.

Since this phase involves working directly in the intersections, the decision was made to perform the work at night to minimize traffic disruptions. There will be some noise generated by this construction. While we will work to keep that to a minimum, it cannot be eliminated.

The Parking Dept. will be placing bags on the meters/space numbers. In order to shorten the duration of the project, the work will be conducted during the day and some nights. We will try to balance the work load to minimize the impact.

As with any construction project, there is the expectation that the short-term disruption and inconvenience will result in the long-term benefit of improved travel conditions for both vehicles and pedestrians.

We know how important a smooth driving surface is to all who use our downtown and this project is a big step towards providing that. We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this project.

Any questions can be directed to the City Engineer’s office at 978-970-3330

Leave a comment

Posted in Cobblestones, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements, Traffic

CENTRAL STREET COBBLESTONE WORK

Posted on August 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The long anticipated cobblestone work to Central Street from Market St. to Appleton St. is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 24th at 5.30 a.m.

As with any construction project, there is the expectation that the short-term disruption and inconvenience will result in the long-term benefit of improved travel conditions for both vehicles and pedestrians.


The whole project involves removing cobbles at the intersections and along the gutter line. The first task will be the removal of cobbles along the curb line. The cobbles will be removed and replaced with asphalt. There can be no vehicles parked at the curb during this operation which should take about a week. Parking is available at both the Early Garage at 135 Middlesex St. and the Roy Garage at 100 Market St. The schedule of the next phase will be announced at the end of this phase.


The Parking Dept. will be placing bags on the meters/space numbers the night before. In order to shorten the duration of the project, the work will be conducted during the day and some nights. We will try to balance the work load to minimize the impact.


We know how important a smooth driving surface is to all who use our downtown and this project is a big step towards providing that. We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this project. Any questions can be directed to Lisa DeMeo, City EngineerPhone: 978-970-3330

Leave a comment

Posted in Cobblestones, Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements, Traffic

Jackson St. Improvements

Posted on May 13, 2011 by | Leave a comment

It’s difficult to believe that by fall you’ll be walking down a sidewalk on a tree lined Jackson St. How sweet is that!

NOTICE: Starting Monday, May 23, 2011, Jackson Street will be converted to one-way traffic from Marston Street to Central Street in order to complete the pedestrian and streetscape improvements along this stretch of roadway. Construction will last approximately 1-2 months.

As can be seen, the Jackson Street and Canal Street Bridge Improvement Project is underway! To date, work has included selective demolition, site preparation, and utility relocation/connection activities, among others. The next step in the project is to focus construction on the north side of Jackson Street from Marston Street to Central Street (in front of the Early Garage to Central Street ).

Because this work requires extensive excavation of a significant portion of the roadway, the City will be restricting Jackson Street to one-way traffic from Marston Street to Central Street to complete this portion of the project (approximately 1-2 months). This will allow the contractor to most efficiently and safely complete the improvements along this stretch of Jackson Street .

City Police, DPD, Traffic, and Engineering staff are currently working closely with the project’s contractor to ensure the traffic plan is properly and safely signed, marketed, and implemented.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your patience during the completion of this neighborhood improvement project!

James Errickson | Urban Renewal Project Manager
The City of Lowell
Department of Planning & Development
50 Arcand Drive | Lowell , MA 01852
t: 978.446.7200 | f: 978.970.4262 | www.Lowell.org

Leave a comment

Posted in Community Issues, Hamilton Canal District, JAM, JAMBRA, Neighborhood Improvements, Traffic

Where have all the barrels gone?

Posted on April 2, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Mr. Marchand explains…

You may have noticed that litter barrels are being removed from neighborhood business districts. Their removal is part of a spring “cleaning and consolidation” effort currently underway. Barrels are being taken to the Public Works department where they are power washed prior to being replaced. Broken receptacles will be discarded. Removing clusters of barrels all at once makes their cleaning and servicing more efficient. The goal is to reduce the overall number of litter barrels and to re-deploy them strategically to provide adequate coverage and to minimize staff time spent on servicing them. Over the years the number of barrels has grown to approximately 300. Some are underutilized and some are broken. A few have been used for the disposal of household and commercial trash. Based on DPW assessments of usage in various districts, we will identify best locations for replacement. We expect the total number to be reduced significantly and service times to be improved. We will also monitor them more closely as some have been being used for disposal of commercial and household trash. Interestingly, we have had a few businesses who have offered to maintain a barrel near their shop. While we got a jump on executing this program as soon as spring arrived, Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding this effort.

Henri B. Marchand Assistant to the City Manager

Leave a comment

Posted in Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements