By Dennis Shaughnessey, dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- The famed cobblestone streets of downtown Lowell, which harken back to the days of 19th-century gaslights, are undergoing a face-lift.
But while their aesthetic beauty cannot be denied, the project, which calls for cobblestone repairs, new crosswalks and handicapped ramps and more, is taking its toll on some of the businesses along Middle and Palmer streets.
"It's killing us," said Meghan Harrah, owner of Eyeful Beauty salon at 33 Middle St. "Our clients are running late because there's no place to park, or else they're just not showing up because they don't want to walk. It's going to make it nicer. It is, but it's costing me. I'm still losing money."
In addition to the cobblestone repairs, the project includes the removal of the decorative cobblestone design at the intersection of Market, Central and Prescott streets, and new pavement and concrete curbs on those streets. Money for the project is coming from a private donation through the Lowell Plan.
"It's the intent of the donor to remain anonymous," said City Manager Bernie Lynch. "And the amount of the donation is also undisclosed. But their intentions were made known to us and we are trying to target those efforts."
Adam Baacke, the city's director of the Department of Planning and Development, said several city departments -- Planning and Development, Public Works and city engineers -- were involved in approving the plans that are being used by R & S Construction of Lowell.
"The process is essentially the same as when National Grid, Verizon or another private utility company does work on public streets," Baacke said.
Lowell Plan Executive Director James Cook said the project, while funded privately, has the city's full consent.
"Somebody stepped up and gave us a generous and sizable donation to get this done and told us it had to be confidential," Cook said. "I'm thrilled that it's getting done. We are retaining the flavor of the downtown by having the cobblestone streets and we are getting them restored. That's very positive."
The work began Sept. 28 and is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
At the Village Smokehouse at 98 Middle St., co-owner Tim Kelleher said the work being done outside his front door hasn't affected his business too much.
"But we're closed during the day," he said. "We don't open until four in the afternoon, just about the time they're all packing up. It's not a problem for people to park along the street at night when nothing else is going on. It's going to improve the downtown, no doubt about it. Yeah, it's a little inconvenient for a lot of the businesses along here, but what are you going to do? You just have to grin and bear it."
The last time the cobblestone streets had a makeover was in the late 1980s. Since then, potholes and loose stones have been filled with black patch, especially at the crosswalks, giving the streets a schizophrenic appearance. The new crosswalks will be outlined with reused granite slabs that are 16 inches wide with an 8-foot interior made of smooth concrete with a scoring pattern similar to sidewalks.
The project will not extend to the intersection of Central and Middlesex streets, which is paved with cobblestones.
"In the long term, we'd like to do that," Lynch said. "We've already done other improvements through other funding sources, and other projects are on the board."
This article appeared in the Lowell Sun on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.