Spotlight: All about Allen Street Placemaking Pilot!

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hi, everybody. This is your town manager, Alex Torpy, and I am here with a special spotlight episode about this summer's Allen street placemaking pilot. So if you have not heard, starting today, Wednesday, June 26 at 04:30 p.m. with an ice cream social, Allen street, between Main street and the parking lot will be closed for two months to vehicles and open to people. In this episode, I sit down with Hannah and Liz from Hanover Parks and recommendations, and we talk about all of the different cool programming, vending opportunities, nonprofit community group events, all sorts of stuff happening on Allen street over the summer provide a little bit of information about where the idea came from and how it aligns with the planning board and select board's goals, such as in the new master plan. And then I walk around and we hear from a handful of business owners what they and property owners what they think about the upcoming pilot and some of the things they're most looking forward to. So if you want to come down and hang out this summer, check out this episode and learn a little bit more about all of the different really cool activities and music and outdoor dining that is available to you in downtown Hanover this summer. And I am very happy to be joined by Liz and Hannah from Hanover Parks and Rec. If you would each introduce yourselves, please. [00:01:18] Speaker B: Sure. I'm Liz Burdett. I'm the assistant director here at Hanover Parks and Rec. [00:01:22] Speaker C: And I'm Hannafal Cohn. I do media and events. [00:01:27] Speaker A: Great. Excellent. And we have some great events happening this summer, so we wanted to talk to everybody a little bit about that before we talk a little bit about what's happening on the Allen street placemaking pilot. Just wanted to give a little bit of background about where some of this is coming from. And so, as many folks in town know, we have a newly adopted master plan. So thank you. A huge thank you to the master plan advisory committee and the planning board. There are two different places in the master plan. Chapter six that talks about creating more walking and biking accessibility in town. In chapter seven, that talks about creating more public gathering spaces in the downtown specifically. And then the select board also has a set of goals. In goal number three that was set last year was to expand the ability for people to move in and around the community safely and economically without having to rely on personal motor vehicles. So we had this great success with this block party program. And actually, maybe, Liz, do you want to talk a little bit about some of what we've done with the block parties in the past? [00:02:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's all started kind of during COVID Right. As an opportunity to try to get people to events again. So it started. Our first event was the snow much fun fair. And then we've kind of just grown from there. So that was an opportunity in December to get people outside and a little bit active and play some games and have some entertainment. And then from there, let's see. Then we went to our summer event, which actually was the summer block party, where there was, again, entertainment for kids, live music. And we worked with still north in Sawtooth to provide dining on the street for that as well. Then in October, we did a Halloween costume dance and trick or treating on the street for kids with all the local businesses, which was just really well received. And the kids were so happy and so cute in their costumes. It was great to just see families out on the street having fun. So we're excited to see where we're going moving forward. [00:03:37] Speaker A: Yeah. And kind of the idea is that we got so much positive feedback from the block parties, which was closing Allen Street, a section of Allen street between Main street and the parking lot behind town hall, over a weekend. And what we had got permission from the select board to do this summer is to expand that and close Allen street for two full months. That allows us to put nicer, kind of more permanent looking furniture out there, which was one of the pieces of feedback that we got from folks. It was that some of our use of orange barricades and such made it look like a construction zone, which is totally fair feedback. So we've got some kind of nicer stuff coming in that we can leave for two months at a time. And we want to understand how this change impacts vehicle traffic, how it impacts pedestrian traffic and foot traffic. You know, what works, what doesn't work as far as having events in the downtown. You know, we have a stage. We'll talk more about the summer block party in a bit. We have vending space. We have all these different things that we wanted to basically see how they work. And I think Hannah's going to talk a little bit more about those in a minute. But the goal of this pilot is to experiment and we want to infuse some vibrancy in the downtown. Two years ago, we started putting together businesses in town, sort of asking what more could the town do to support businesses in the downtown. And obviously, supporting business in the downtown supports everybody in the downtown. And nobody benefits from vacant storefronts or anything like that. And the last few years has been challenging during COVID for a lot of our downtown merchants. And so one of the points that folks raised two years ago was we'd like more gathering spaces in the downtown. So that's part of the genesis of just thinking through some more of these ideas, and we're excited to sort of see what happens this summer. So the downtown working group, which is comprised of a dozen or two business owners that meets monthly. Those meetings are open to the public. Anybody can join. They're the first Thursday of the month at 08:00 a.m. the location does move around and that group has, has planned a lot of this out. So that's a little bit of the backstory on where this idea has come from. Hannah, do you want to walk us through a little bit of what some of the plan is, how the street is going to be laid out and what's going to be happening on Allen street? [00:06:01] Speaker C: Sure. Yeah, I can do that. So there are going to be three outdoor dining areas for local restaurants on Allen street. So we'll have still north the bookstore bar. They also have some pastries. They will have an outdoor seating area right outside their store. Sawtooth will also have dining on the street, and they will also be hosting some of our live music events this summer. So if you've attended any of Sawtooths indoor live music events, it'll be similar to that, but this time just out on the street. So that's really exciting. And then my brigadero will also have an outdoor seating area. So those three outdoor seating areas take up a good portion of the street, but then we also will have some picnic tables, some shade features, we've got some umbrellas coming, and then we'll have some decorative barriers with some flowers in them. And we're adding a big, a nice big bike rack as well. And we will believe that's all the features. Did you want to talk about the vendor spaces at all? [00:07:01] Speaker B: Sure. So one of the things that we're also looking forward to this year or this summer is having opportunity to bring vendors to Allen street. So downtown businesses, community members and even outside organizations can reserve these spaces to spend on the street. And that can be done through the Hanover Parks and rec website. [00:07:23] Speaker A: And for any more information, we'll get this all at the end, too. But for any more information, if you're looking for anything about any of this, you can go to hanovernh.org Allenstreet, and that will take you to anywhere you need to go. Online registration forms, survey forms. So let us know what you think after you go. Check everything out. A map, calendar of events, business directory, all sorts of cool stuff. So we're looking at the. We got the calendar in front of us. Also right now we've got a couple cool things planned out. So what kind of activities can people expect over the summer on Allen street? [00:07:54] Speaker C: Oh yeah, of course. I would love to give a quick rundown of everything that will be happening on the street this summer. I also forgot to mention really exciting. We will have cornhole on the street as well. So that will be ongoing. But beginning on June 26, that is the first day of the Allen street pilot. That will be the Hanover Parks and Recreation annual ice cream social. So we will be serving chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream, a variety of toppings on Allen street from 430 to 06:00 p.m. so if you like ice cream or you just want to come check out the Allen street pilot, that's a really great day to come down and do that and talk to us. We'll be there and then moving into July on July 4. This doesn't super involve Allen street, but it will be the old fashioned 4 July celebration. So you should come to downtown Hanover and celebrate with us. We'll be having a parade that will be at 10:00 a.m. and then we will have activities and our usual events on the green after that. So you should come on down. That'll be a lot of fun. On July 13, that will be the proudies big race day. And after that, they will be hosting a cheers and beers event on Allen street. So if you want to hang out with folks who participated in the prouty or you just want to come to Allen street when you know something big, something large will be going on, that's a really great day to do that. The hop will be having their season launch party on July 25, I believe around 05:00 p.m. so that is another good day to come and see what's going on at the hop on Allen street. And then our block party, Hanover Parks and recreations annual block party on Allen street will be taking place on July 26 and 27th. That's a Friday and a Saturday. This will be really exciting. I'm really excited to be there personally. Why? [00:09:43] Speaker A: What's happening on the block party that's so exciting? Tell us. [00:09:45] Speaker C: I can break it down for you. Okay. So Friday, July 26, Sawtooth will be hosting a band on Allen street. It's gonna be like a bluegrassy, jazzy type beat of a band. And there will also be Sawtooth will be serving on the street. We'll have yard games out for everyone. To hang out and participate in. And then the upper Valley Young professionals will also be co hosting that event with us. So hopefully that group, we're really excited to see everyone come out for that. July 27, the Saturday, we will kick off that part of the block party with Big Joe, the storyteller. So if you know, if you have any young children in your life, that might be a great day for them to come visit Allen street and be a part of the block party. We will have family centric events from eleven to two, including mini golf on Allen street. We will have watermelon. And then we will also be doing a community art project that will be displayed at the RWB community center. So if you want to be a part of that community art project, come on down, make your mark, and then come and visit it later at the community center. And then the highlight of this event, we are having a live salsa band. And then also upper Valley salsa dancers teach a salsa lesson that evening on Allen street. We will have a dance floor. We are truly pulling out all the stops. So if you are even the slightest bit interested in salsa dancing or you you just want to come down and be a part of something big and exciting, you should definitely be experienced to. [00:11:26] Speaker B: Come to this lesson. [00:11:27] Speaker C: You do not need to be experienced. [00:11:29] Speaker A: Sounds like being not experienced might even be a benefit. [00:11:31] Speaker C: It might even be a benefit. Just might. So that should be really exciting. And I can't wait for that. [00:11:36] Speaker A: You're calling all unexperienced, inexperienced salsa dancers? [00:11:40] Speaker C: Yes. And then there's just one more live music event that is on August 23 that will be presented by Sawtooth. The band is high summer and so don't miss that. And then finally, throughout the summer, there's going to be a smattering of exercise classes on Allen Street. Mighty Yoga will be hosting a few. Our very own Liz Burdette will be hosting a Zumba class on August. [00:12:05] Speaker A: You have to be experienced for that. [00:12:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:12:06] Speaker C: Not everyone's welcome. It's going to be great. [00:12:09] Speaker A: It's a lot of beginner friendly activities. [00:12:12] Speaker C: Yes. Yep. Mighty Yoga will be hosting some yoga classes. And hopefully a few other events are going to pop up as well. If you have an idea for a community event, you should also reach out to us because we may be able to accommodate that and make it happen. That's a rundown. [00:12:27] Speaker B: And it's also worth mentioning that everything is free. [00:12:29] Speaker C: Yes. So come join us. [00:12:33] Speaker A: So what are Liz and Hannah, what are you each most excited about this summer on Allen street? If there's one thing that's like a. That you just can't miss. [00:12:44] Speaker B: Ooh, that's a tough one, Alex. Well, I mean, so I am very excited about the salsa lesson because, as you mentioned, I am a Zumba instructor, so I've never had, like, a formal salsa lesson. So I'm interested to see what that's like. But I mean, really, like, the parks and rec professional in me is just really excited to see, like, this place making project happen and to see what happens with it and how the community receives it. [00:13:05] Speaker A: It's great. [00:13:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I guess I would second that. I'm really excited to see how people use the space. I also really want to see, like, how people from different generations interact with the space and what ways it. It means a lot to people in different areas. And then I'm also just super excited for the block party. I'm pretty invested in that. [00:13:23] Speaker A: So it sounds like it's going to be a pretty packed and good weekend. [00:13:26] Speaker C: Yeah, it really should be. [00:13:28] Speaker A: Yeah, well, and so it's also, I mean, part of what Liz and Hannah each just mentioned was, you know, we're curious in how people use this space. So when you do come down, there will be, you'll see some posters and kiosks with information and QR codes that you can take a picture of and fill out a survey online to let us know how it went. So we really do encourage people to do that, because the point of doing all this is to provide these spaces for folks in the community, and we want to make sure that we're doing that. Well, I think one of my favorite things that I've seen with the block parties is that there are, you know, when there's music or activity happening on Allen street, I've seen people walking up and down Main street, and then they sort of do, like, a double take. Like they're not used to seeing stuff happening down there. And they, and I've seen a number of groups of people in the past where they do the double take and they're walking with someone and they kind of pull. They say, hey, look down Allen street. And it's fun to see the sort of smile on people's faces when they see all this activity and community, which I think all of us are kind of looking for to some degree. And we have an opportunity to provide some of that. So if you are a nonprofit and you want to use this space, there's opportunities for that. If you want to do exercise classes, there may be some opportunities for that. If you are a business in Hanover and you want to set up on Allen street. We do have two vendor spaces you can also rent out on a daily basis if you have any other. If you're out there listening and you want to participate in this in some way, you know, we've had dozens of conversations with business owners and community members over the last couple months as we've been putting this all together. So feel free to reach out to any of us, or you can reach out to Allenstreet, spelled out anovernh.org and someone can get back to you with a little more information when you're listening to this. If you want to find more information online, you can also go to hanovernh.org allenstreet, and that will be your kind of landing place for everything else. I think we covered a lot of stuff and there's a lot happening, but either of you feel like we missed anything or are you kind of ready to get out there and either do some salsa dancing or watch some beginners do some salsa dancing? [00:15:48] Speaker B: I definitely count as a beginner, right? No, I think that. Please just come out and join us for the ice cream social on the 26th. [00:15:56] Speaker C: Yeah, that sounds great. [00:15:57] Speaker A: So 26 at 430 on Allen street is the kickoff. We'll be serving ice cream. Great. So. And thank you, Liz and Hannah, you both have put in so much time. A number of staff have helped get things organized here, but especially you two have put in so much time getting a lot of this organized. So appreciate that from both of you. [00:16:15] Speaker B: Our pleasure. Thank you. [00:16:16] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:16:17] Speaker A: Yeah. And if you're listening, come on down. We'd love to have you. And again, if you have any ideas or want to participate in some way, please reach out to us. And if not, we hope to see you at 430 next Wednesday, the 26th, or any time over the next two months on Allen street. Okay, so we appreciate all the work that Hannah and Liz and all the other Hanover staff put into getting this two month pilot organized. Next, we hear from a handful of different property and business owners on and around Allen street who are participating in the project. We've had a lot of conversations with business owners and property owners where the town is tracking the impacts to parking, vehicle traffic, foot traffic, and a whole bunch of other things so that we can understand what did work or didn't work over the two months and use that to make decisions in the future. So let's hand it over to a couple of our great business owners in downtown Hanover. [00:17:14] Speaker D: Jim Rubens here. My wife and I, Susan, own Hanover park on three Lebanon street in Hanover. We've got three small businesses located in our building. We're Hanover residents and we're super proud about our downtown right here. We're working to make it even better. We do have 27 restaurants within a block. We got free parking after five. We got free parking on the weekends. Keep that in mind. Allen street is one of our signature products. We're making this town much more friendly for folks to place just to hang out. So this Allen street project is a fabulous idea. Shut it down so that people have a place without cars where they can hang out, walk, eat, small vendors. Great experiment and we're going to hopefully have this successful this summer and do more of it. [00:18:01] Speaker A: Well, appreciate that. And Jim, thanks for being involved with everything that we're working on. Some of your history and expertise and being involved in downtown for a while has been very helpful. So appreciate it. [00:18:11] Speaker E: Hi, my name is Jay Campion and I live in Aetna and I am a downtown retailer and I come from a family that has been in the retail business in downtown for a really long time, basically since 1887. And I'm really excited about the new revitalization and changes that are going on. And it's great to see new storefronts filling up, which is a great thing. And I'm interested in the process of creating more pedestrian spaces in downtown. We're very car driven now and I think that that could be changed and of course I hope we can find a place to park the cars once we get the people in. But when it comes to this, the project we're talking about here on Allen Street, I think it's going to be a great experiment to see if we can create some pedestrian space and some community space that can be utilized by the folks in the immediate area as well as other businesses and residents. We need good reasons for people to come into town and we're creating them. But it's also nice to have a space where you can enjoy being in town, just as a community space. [00:19:42] Speaker A: Well, that's great. And Jay, you know, I know your family's been involved in a lot of stuff in town for multi generations and so. And appreciate your involvement and participation in our downtown group over the last couple years. It's been really helpful having your experience in there. And we're excited about the experiment on Allen street this summer too. So thanks for participating in that. [00:20:03] Speaker E: You bet. Thanks for having me. [00:20:07] Speaker F: My name is Paula Fernandez and I am the owner of my brigadier chocolates. We are super excited this summer Allen street is going to be closed and we're doing a pilot to see how businesses are going to be involving for us. It's amazing because it will give us more tables, more customers outside and together with the other business, live meal, music. I think it's going to be a great addition to the town and create. [00:20:36] Speaker A: Some community here on Allen street. [00:20:38] Speaker F: Absolutely. I think it's going to be wonderful. [00:20:40] Speaker A: Well, thanks for participating in it. [00:20:41] Speaker F: Thank you very much. [00:20:45] Speaker G: Hey, everyone, this is David Barrett. My wife and I, Caitlin, are the owners of Main street kitchens in Hanover. And we both grew up in the upper valley in Hanover and Norwich, respectively. So we're really looking forward to this part pilot, because obviously we grew up here and we know the place Allen street used to be Eba's and where we would go and hang out and folk used to be there, and Stinson's, who is still there, which is wonderful. It's just, it brings back some really great memories. So seeing Allen street closed off, I think it's going to be a really fun thing. And what my mind first jumped to was that it's going to be our turn to kind of have a mini church street like they have up in Burlington to create a space where a community can really come together physically. And also with all the restaurants there and the retail shops, you know, we'll be able to have more of a space to get together and be a community and to create this sense of belonging. So I'm very excited. I'm a little pessimistic about the parking, obviously, but that's just been my view on the parking situation in Hanover in general over the past past 20 years. Something needs to improve there, but I don't think Allen street being closed is going to be catastrophic to parking. That's my personal opinion. But once again, this is a test for two months. I think it's going to be a real good opportunity for Hanover to see if this is a good thing. And I'm sure there's going to be a lot of feedback, but it's important that we collect the data to make sure that it's a good thing for our community. And it's of my opinion that I think it will be. Anytime the town of Hanover wants to do something to improve the situation in Hanover, I'm all for it. So cheers and I'm looking forward to a good test. [00:22:27] Speaker H: Hi, my name is Kieran Campion. I am the general manager of Sawtooth Kitchen, bar and stage and we're really excited about this Allen street pilot. This is something that we've been working on together with the downtown business group for, for almost two years now to try to brainstorm and affect some new outdoor spaces in town. One of the things, the common concerns amongst local business owners was how do we get new people into town, and how do we encourage them to stay downtown for more than, you know, stopping in and picking something up and getting out, giving people a real place to gather and spend time. And we came to the conclusion that Allen street was a great spot to try to create one of those public spaces. Personally, as a business owner on Allen Street, I think this is going to be a real boon to us. It's going to give us the opportunity to have outdoor tables and extend a hand to the rest of the community, work with the other Allen street businesses together to kind of create a great atmosphere outside on the street. And, yeah, I'm really excited about it. I think it's going to be a real success, and I hope people come down, check it out and spend some time with us. [00:23:55] Speaker A: Great. Well, thank you, Karen, and thanks for all the work that you've done with the downtown business group as well. We appreciate it. [00:23:59] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:24:00] Speaker H: It's been a pleasure. It's really been really satisfying to see the business community, the college, the town all come together with some common goals and really get things done. So I really have been pleasantly surprised by how well people have worked together and just want to keep moving things forward. [00:24:19] Speaker A: Well, cheers to a fun summer. [00:24:20] Speaker H: Yeah, thanks. [00:24:22] Speaker I: Okay, so my name is Jarrett Burke. I'm the owner of Lou's restaurant and bakery and a new member of the Hanover select board. And I'm excited to see this Allen street thing. I'd love to see how it affects the way people hang out in the town and navigate in the town and where they spend their time. And I'm really excited about it. I don't know that it's going to directly help my business, actually. It might hurt it, but I think it'll be good for the town. I'm kind of a rising tide lifts all ships type of guy. And so I think in the long run, this will be a really good project. [00:25:01] Speaker A: And when we had all of our business owners over the last couple of years together, there was a lot of feedback provided from businesses that people wanted more like gathering vibrant spaces. Just curious. You've been in town, you've been a resident for a while. Do you have any kind of reflections on that as well? Yeah. [00:25:18] Speaker I: So pre pandemic outdoor dining wasn't a thing in Hanover, and it wasn't even something that I don't think people would even consider. And then pandemic happened. And Julia, previous town manager, and Rob Hausman, really made a valiant effort to get it done so that way we could open up outside. And again, this was before we could even have guests dining inside. So it was huge for us. And it was one of these things that originally was just to see, just to, to kind of get us through the pandemic. But then everybody loved it and everyone loved seeing how vibrant town was and sitting outside on a beautiful day like today. And so it stuck. And I think, you know, now it's part of not only Hanover, but many cities and towns throughout the United States. And I think this is just an extension of that. And, you know, I'm super supportive of it. Again, I really want to see kind of what it does to the town and how people use it and see how it changes what people think about Hanover and what they're going to do when they come here because, yeah, pre pandemic, we had tons of benches, but benches don't really contribute to conversations and collaboration and people sitting together. It's more just a place to take a rest on a bench. But tables and chairs and things like that I think are going to be much better for people actually spending time together. [00:26:48] Speaker A: Great. Well, thanks, Jared, for your participation in all of that, and we'll see you out on Allen street. Sounds good. [00:26:53] Speaker I: Thank you. [00:26:54] Speaker A: Thanks, everybody, for checking out this special spotlight episode about the fun stuff happening with the Allen street place making pilot this summer on Allen street. If you want more information to find a calendar of events, to find the businesses that are open on Allen street during or any other information, such as applying for daily vending spaces or anything else, you can visit hanovernh.org Allenstreet or email us at [email protected]. see you out there.