ADAMS, Mass. — The plans for Park Street are still the same as they were two years ago as the town again seeks funding to spruce up its downtown.

Designer David Loring of Tighe & Bond presented the plans again Tuesday that is intended to attract new retail business, slow traffic, improve ascetics, increase pedestrian safety and help continue the town's goal of becoming a regional destination.

"We want to breath life into downtown," Loring told about a dozen residents at Town Hall.

Loring recapped the history of the project which began in 2010. The area spans from the crosswalk just south of Town Hall to just short of McKinley Square.

Initially, the design featured large bumpouts, a reduction in the roadway to make for larger sidewalks, diagonal parking in front of Town Hall, raised sidewalks, new tree placement, new benches and new planters - both on the street level and hanging from light posts.

From there, there was a series of public input meetings that further tweaked the design. The bumpouts were eliminated and instead replaced with sidewalk extensions that only span the length of a parking spot, the raised sidewalks were removed and a bike lane was added in place of shortening the paved surface.

"A great deal of the talk was about the raised crosswalks," Loring said.
 

Now the design features three curb extensions at various intersections to raise pedestrians, repainting of streetlights, new meters and an array of amenities.

The roadway will still be 48-feet wide but will include two five-foot bike lane and two eight-foot parking spots.

"This project, to me, is very important," Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said, adding that it is more important now in the town's revitalization efforts than ever before. "We have momentum that has started to build."

Butler sees the project as the "tipping point" for the efforts. But before moving forward they'll need to secure some $700,000 for construction, which they hope to get from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

Last year the town did not receive funding through that project and this year are seeking $900,000 with the remainder to continue housing rehabilitation.

If awarded, Director of Community Development Donna Cesan said the contract would go to bid by the fall with construction beginning in the following construction season.

"We will have bid ready plans and specifications so we could put it to bid in the fall," Cesan said.

Loring said at that point, the engineers have designed full traffic plans but doesn't expect there to be much interruption since the majority of the work is on the sides of the street. He also doesn't expect the cost estimates from two years ago to have changed much.