Mayor Driscoll Announces Derby Neighborhood Envision 2020

Mayor Driscoll Announces Derby Neighborhood Envision 2020

Task force of residents, businesses, and City officials to plan next five years of infrastructure improvements

SALEM, MA – At a meeting of the Historic Derby Street Neighborhood Association earlier this week Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll announced the formation of Derby Neighborhood Envision 2020.

The new initiative will convene a task force of neighborhood residents, businesses, and other stakeholders, along with City officials, to help plan and guide the nearly $2 million in private funds that will be directed to improve the neighborhood’s public infrastructure, streets, sidewalks, and open spaces, over the next several years.

The goal of the effort is to create a unified vision for upgrades to the network of roads, sidewalks, and public spaces in the Derby Street neighborhood, consistent with the City’s nationally recognized complete streets policy, the unique historic nature of the corridor, and the needs and preferences of the neighborhood’s residents, businesses, and institutions.

The task force will include two representatives from the neighborhood association, the Ward 1 Councillor, the City Engineer, Director of Public Services, and Director of Planning and Community Development, a representative from the Salem Police Department’s Traffic Division, and a representative each from Footprint, the National Park Service Maritime Historic Site, the House of the Seven Gables, and the Salem Chamber of Commerce. The group will first convene later this fall.

“This is an exciting opportunity for this historic neighborhood,” said Mayor Driscoll. “We are fortunate to have previously negotiated agreements with both Footprint and National Grid that will see each company investing nearly $2 million of their own money into making the neighborhood better after their projects are complete. This vision will be more than just new pavement. We have an opportunity to enhance circulation and parking, provide bike and pedestrian amenities, include public art, and so much more. This effort will be a multi-year, phased improvement to the entire roadway, sidewalk, and public space network throughout the Derby Street neighborhood.”

“I’m excited for this chance for a forward-looking partnership between neighbors and other stakeholders in the Derby Street neighborhood,” said Ward 1 City Councillor Robert McCarthy. “This is an opportunity to think carefully and critically about how we can bring about much needed improvements and enhancements through the entire area. I look forward to the start of this process.”

“We appreciate the fact that the administration is thinking holistically about improvements in the neighborhood and how these private projects can be leveraged to make much needed improvements to the streetscapes and traffic patterns,” said Kara McLaughlin, executive director of the House of the Seven Gables. “We are especially glad that the Mayor and her team are proactively seeking input from residents and businesses in the historic Derby Street area regarding this new initiative.”

Some of the funding includes direct expenditures by National Grid to repave curb-to-curb along the entire cable replacement project installation route. A memorandum of agreement signed between the City and the company last year additionally requires National Grid to provide nearly $845,000 to the City to fund curb-to-curb repaving along Derby Street from Lafayette Street to the power plant, as well as a reconstructed sidewalk from Daniels Street to Carlton Street.

Footprint, through their community benefits agreement (CBA) with the City, will construct a new public sidewalk on Derby Street along the entirety of their property and have committed to funding $750,000 over ten years for roadway repairs on neighborhood streets. The CBA also includes a commitment for way-finding signage to publically accessible parts of the newly opened waterfront, a maintenance plan for those same parts of the waterfront and the Derby Street edge of the site, $120,000 for public art on the waterfront, and annual contributions to the City’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) fund for open space, historic preservation, and more.

In all, the private investments in public infrastructure in the neighborhood come to nearly $2 million, with additional opportunities from the contributions to the CPA.