Outdoor Dining Coming To Center Street In North Adams

From the Office of community development North Adams:

The City of North Adams is excited to announce that a pilot program for expanded outdoor dining will begin on Monday, July 6. To support this initiative, a section of Center Street will be closed to traffic beginning on July 6.

Over the past several weeks the North Adams Office of Community Development, the Mayor’s Office, Inspection Services, the Licensing Commission and other departments, along with the North Adams Chamber of Commerce, have been working with Grazie and other local restaurants to understand the needs and opportunities to increase outdoor dining options consistent with guidelines established in the Reopening Massachusetts plan, which provides for expedited approval of outdoor dining proposals through November 1.

The Center Street pilot will serve as the proof of concept for extending support for outdoor dining in other areas of downtown North Adams.

Mayor Bernard said,

When our great local restaurants were forced to close their seating areas to the public in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of them pivoted to a takeout and delivery model. Now that things are slowly reopening, it has been incredible to see the energy, enthusiasm, and creative thinking that people are bringing to imaging how the city and businesses can collaborate to support efforts to reignite our economy. This also gives us a chance to test some ideas we’ve been discussing for several years now on how to make North Adams more pedestrian-friendly and to improve circulation and engagement within the central business district.

Building on this pilot effort, The City, the Chamber of Commerce, and numerous downtown businesses, restaurants, and stakeholders are working together with the assistance of a consultant to develop an application to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Shared Streets and Spaces grant program to provide ADA accessible outdoor dining amenities on Eagle, Holden, and Main streets.

North Adams Chamber of Commerce president Glenn Maloney said,

This collaborative effort is intended to bring restaurants much needed relief by allowing them expanded and safe opportunities to return to service, and to provide North Adams residents the opportunity to enjoy a good meal in the open air.

Center Street modifications

The westernmost portion of Center Street will provide two-way vehicle access to the St. Anthony’s Drive parking lot and the private parking lots between the Mulcare Block and the Juvenile District Court.

The easternmost portion of Center Street will remain one-way traffic in the easterly direction to provide exit points from the Juvenile District Court parking area.

Despite this partial closure, all parking lots, including the private parking behind the Mulcare Block and the Juvenile District Court, and the St. Anthony’s lot, will remain accessible to vehicular traffic.