Newfield Hamlet Revitalization Plan to take center stage in January

Small towns across Tompkins County and the United States have been changing for the last few years, and the Newfield Planning Board is looking to kick off 2023 with a discussion with residents about how those changes could impact the hamlet of Newfield.

The forum will be held at the Newfield Fire Hall on Thursday Jan. 19 from 7-8:30 p.m. The fire hall is located at 77 Main Street.

According to a release from the Newfield Public Library, the forum will focus on planning aspects of key places in the town. Main Street, Bridge Street and the Shaffer Street intersection will be explored during the forum.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Newfield Town Board and will be facilitated by Braver Angles. Community members, business owners and property owners are invited to participate and share their thoughts on preserving and enhancing those areas of Newfield.

The forum is part of the Newfield Hamlet Revitalization Plan, which was put in place after the Newfield Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2013.

According to the town of Newfield’s website, the goal of the Newfield Hamlet Revitalization Plan is to: “Encourage a walkable, attractive, vital hamlet downtown. The Planning Board’s initial efforts have focused on a ‘Complete Streets’ design of the hamlet.”

Multiple efforts have been made to survey the hamlet and propose changes. In 2021, a student-led group from Cornell University’s Design Connect Program researched and proposed a design for consideration. That design has not been made into a proposal, but will be the jumping-off point for the forum in January.

For those looking to attend the forum, there are materials available at the Newfield Hamlet Revitalization Plan’s website. The website said there will be a Hamlet Planning Forum handout that will be presented soon, as well as a report and presentation from Cornell’s Design and Connect Program.

The design plan is 36 pages long, and features comments on preserving Newfield’s historical landmarks, such as The Covered Bridge, while making the Main/Bridge/Shaffer streets corner in downtown more accessible for walkers.

The design plan cited pedestrian mobility, traffic management and lack of pedestrian spaces as three concerns for the heart of Newfield’s downtown.

“Pedestrian infrastructure could be improved to create a better environment for walking to the library, the park and the school,” the design plan said. “There are no crosswalks, and the sidewalks are poorly connected; some sections, such as Main Street east of the Covered Bridge Market, have no sidewalks at all.

“For traffic management, the current intersection is a classic example of car-centric planning that was built for traffic before the realignment of Route 13 from Main Street to Elmira Road. Finally, the site does not have many public spaces for children to play or community-building initiatives.”

The design plan, which was completed in 2021, cited traffic data from the intersection when talking about problems and solutions for the hamlet’s busiest intersection.

The plan cited data from Tompkins County traffic reports, which said that Elmira Road averaged 7,928 cars per day when the design was formed in 2021. That road travels directly to Ithaca, while Main Street still had a high volume of cars with 2,114 cars per day.

Shaffer Road averaged 579 cars per day and Bridge Street came in at 223 cars per day.

“The intersection can be potentially dangerous for pedestrians as there are no crosswalks and cars speed down Main Street, it said. “The intersection is pretty wide, nearly 50 feet from one end to the other. Other than a stop sign at Shaffer Road, there is no other type of traffic control for the intersection.”

According to interviews held by the design plan, Newfield residents are ready for changes to the prominent intersection.

“Generally, the position has been to restore the past but with modern safety standards,” the design plan stated. “The themes and insights from the stakeholder interviews parallel the perspectives of the town’s residents. The alignment of community and stakeholder positions is a positive sign that signifies a strong potential for community engagement and satisfaction with a revitalization effort

The design interventions proposed by the plan call for a phase of temporary infrastructure, which would include a median to decrease speed on Main Street through the intersection. Stage two is more permanent infrastructure like a raised crosswalk, expanded sidewalks and street trees.

According to the design plan, costs for phase two could be between $1.2 Million and $1.6 Million. Costs for the intersection realignment and road resurfacing is expected to cost between $800,000-$1 Million.

If bad weather requires the event to be postponed, the make up date will be Thursday Feb. 16 at the fire hall.

Newfield Notes appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.

In Brief

Lions’ Club to host Chicken and Biscuit Dinner

After the hustle of the holiday season, the Newfield Lions’ Club will host a Chicken and Biscuit Dinner as a fundraiser.

On Saturday Jan. 14 from 5-7 p.m. at Newfield Fire Hall. The menu will consist of chicken and gravy biscuits, mashed potatoes, vegetables, coffee, tea, lemonade, water and multiple homemade desserts.

The price for the meal is $12 for seniors, $11 for senior citizens and children under 12-years-old will pay $5.50.