Hyannis Public Spaces Activation Overview Map from the Town of Barnstable
HYANNIS – The Town of Barnstable and MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative recently hosted a webinar for local stakeholders to share their opinions regarding public space in downtown Hyannis.
The town said that the goal of the project is to create stronger psychological connections between key points of interest in the area.
A public space activation survey was also hosted as part of the effort for residents to make their voices heard.
George Durante, TDI Senior Regional Fellow at MassDevelopment, said that the goal of the TDI program is to be a “business accelerator” in gateway cities, of which Barnstable is one.
“We’ll take a very small geographic area, usually about a five minute walking radius, and try and concentrate as many resources and empower as many stakeholders within that neighborhood as possible to try and catalyze the vision of what the community wants to see happen,” said Durante.
Durante said that in Hyannis, the community guiding that vision is made up of local businesses, developers, residents, artists, the CCRTA, and the town government.
“One of our primary goals is to create a better year-round economy, a stronger year-round economy. Tourism is wonderful, but we’re trying to leverage that and move to the next phase,” said Durante.
The project looks to link such places in Hyannis as the Transit Center, the Village Green and the harbor for both residents and tourists.
“They feel very separated in a lot of ways. You might not know that just two blocks up when you get off the bus, you’ve got this super vibrant main street or this bustling waterfront,” said Durante.
The project will look at different aesthetics and programming that could link the places and maximize space and town assets.
The survey had over 208 respondents, and gave options on how furniture, lighting, art installations, event programming, and food trucks could be used to better utilize the space.
According to the results, many respondents want to improve lighting and balance active space with open space, especially on the Village Green.
More furniture and interactive fixtures were also a common desire expressed in the survey.
At the waterfront harbor, respondents wanted to emphasize the view, but expressed concern over the nearby five-way intersection.
Durante said that the planning phase for the area is still ongoing.
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