Brockport merchants plan for upcoming road reconstruction

The topic of discussion at a meeting February 12 in Brockport was the proposed reconstruction of Brockport's Main Street by the NYS Department of Transportation. Among those attending were (clockwise) Archie Kutz, Jo Matela, Pete Maxson, Carrie Maziarz, Ian Coyle, Chris Florence, Bob Ryan, Hal Legg, Marie Bell, Norm Frisch. Photograph by Rick Nicholson.

Brockport merchants plan for upcoming road reconstruction

With an eye on the future, members of the Marketing Sub-committee of the Main Street Reconstruction Committee (MSRC) in the Village of Brockport gathered for a brainstorming session on February 12.

"It was primarily to gather ideas and feedback on events to spur visitors and shoppers to the commercial businesses on Main Street, before, during and after the Department of Transportation project gets underway," Village Manager Ian Coyle said. "Many great ideas were presented."

At a meeting last June, merchants and residents heard from DOT personnel about the scope of the impending 2008 Main Street reconstruction project. At that meeting, DOT officials told those in attendance that it wasn't the DOT's job to come to a village and say "this is what you need and want - we ask village officials for direction."

The planned reconstruction has caused concern for many merchants as they wonder how severely their revenues will be impacted by the project which will involve lane closures. DOT officials assured merchants that one lane would be open at all times, on alternating schedules.

The village's infrastructure is also a problem, DOT officials said. DPW Superintendent Harry Donahue concurred saying that many of the utilities are from 1915 and are in danger of breaking down. If the road project commenced, the substructure work would be completed at that time.

Christine Florence, director of marketing communications at SUNY Brockport, who serves as the chair of the MSRC said, "The subcommittee feels that it is important to involve our community partners as we discuss ways to promote and increase business downtown before the reconstruction with the intent to mitigate the impact of the rehabilitation of Main Street - maybe even use the rehab project to drive commerce. So we invited BISCO, the Chamber, Greater Brockport Economic Development Corp., Village, College, Walk Bike (and Arts & Aesthetics) and Merchants Association for a brainstorming session. We will continue to seek input from the affected parties and will be inviting the building owners as well. We also plan to talk with other communities who have been in similar situations to see what worked for them."

The time frame and scope of the reconstruction project have not been determined yet.