Downtown Keene is home to a slurry of different attractions for students attending Keene State and other folks who live nearby. Food, retail, activities and community gatherings can all be found down the length of Main Street, but what happens when Central Square undergoes a three-year-long construction period?
The work being done to the Keene Central Square officially began on July 6. As with any construction work being done in a populated area, road closures are sure to cause issues for those trying to get from place to place, as well as the planned parking lot closures that tie into that. I sympathize with those trying to get from place to place as conveniently as they can, but imagining an improved Central Square seems to ease that frustration a bit.
The main plan is to replace the underground water systems, and according to KeeneNH.gov, the reasoning is that “much of Keene’s downtown underground infrastructure has aged beyond its useful life, including water, sanitary sewer, stormwater, electrical, telecommunications, and gas – some of which date back over 120 years.” They also state that, “the need for utility improvements is critical to meet the needs of downtown businesses and residents and is now a top priority.”
The local businesses we have downtown are a big way that people get themselves out of their rooms and out into the community with friends or other loved ones, and in order to keep these businesses around they need to have safe infrastructure. Keene also holds a handful of local events that draw in a significant amount of people–Keene Pride and Keene Pumpkin Festival are two that immediately come to mind. Without safer infrastructure, it poses a problem when you suddenly have large influxes of people coming into different establishments to use their utilities.
Another change being made is the slight expansion of the square itself, as well as things surrounding it. The things expected to change are slightly enlarging the Central Square park area, creating various raised crosswalks, constructing protected bike lanes and general aesthetic improvements. It is also stated that the gazebo, fountain and monument will all remain untouched. An estimated 63 trees will be taken down, but there will be approximately 145 trees planted to replace those that were removed.
When put into perspective like this, it does seem to me that this is a net positive for Keene. When things like disrupted traffic patterns and inconvenient parking locations arise, it is very easy to not care about what will come out of the construction. To me, though, hearing that Central Square and the surrounding businesses will be in a better spot gives me hope that things in Keene will start to get even better. It would be a shame if the town decided to ignore the issues within it and left everybody to figure it out on their own.
The construction is said to take about three years and take form in three different phases. Hopefully, these improvements will keep the town from needing them replaced again for another 120 years.
Nicholas Ackley can be contacted at
nackley@kscequinox.com
