Synopsis: The Sturbridge Commercial Tourist District Improvement Plan, a two-mile corridor along Route 20, includes one of central Massachusetts’ largest tourism attractions, Old Sturbridge Village. The improvement plan team, led by Pare Corporation (traffic engineering), includes PLA, McCabe Enterprises (economic development), and Shadley Associates (landscape architecture).
Detailed Description: The Sturbridge Commercial Tourist District Improvement Plan, a two-mile corridor along Route 20, includes one of central Massachusetts’ largest tourism attractions, Old Sturbridge Village. Many of Sturbridge’s most prominent businesses, serving tourists and locals alike, are along the corridor. It also includes access points to rivers, lakes, and other recreational activities, as well as vital connections to residential neighborhoods, while serving as a major thoroughfare from I-84 to towns to the west.
The team was tasked to create a conceptual design to improve the district’s safety, connections, aesthetics, multimodal access, and walkability. To these ends, the team analyzed the corridor and facilitated a public process to develop conceptual elements based on public input. After iterative rounds of design and feedback from both the CTD Working Group and the public, the team prepared recommendations for future improvements according to town goals and priorities.
The proposal includes multimodal access and markings, continuous and widened sidewalks, better pedestrian connections across the corridor and intersections, improved ADA access, landscaped medians, new street trees, lighting, and street furniture along both sides of Route 20, and a 225-foot, two-lane roundabout serving as a gateway to the Sturbridge CTD at the intersection of Routes 20 and 131.
The team analyzed the corridor and facilitated a public process to develop conceptual elements based on public input.
