Re-envision South Main Street
How do you re-envision South Main Street?
What is your vision for South Main Street? The Town is developing plans to improve South Main Street for all users. We have a design and the January 13, 2026, Presentation Video. This survey is intended to accompany the video presentation.
Please fill out this survey so that your comments and concerns can be taken into consideration as we continue to work toward developing a new design for South Main Street.
After the presentation we were informed that the diagonal parking we currently have is not up to modern engineering standards.
The Town is developing plans to improve South Main Street to make it better for pedestrians, cyclists, shoppers, downtown businesses, and we need your Help!! We have three design alternatives which have been compiled into an online presentation, which can be found below.
The South Main Street For Everyone project has five core goals:
South Main Street will be genuinely multimodal. South Main Street's new design will support people traveling by all modes, including people walking, biking, taking transit, and driving. The design will provide safe and comfortable spaces for walking and biking, interconnected and efficient transit systems, and efficient travel for people driving.
South Main Street will be open for business. The streetscape will preserve and enhance the elements that make our Downtown an attractive and vibrant place for businesses to thrive.
South Main Street will contribute to a healthy environment. More street trees and better drainage systems, plus pedestrian and cycling improvements will support improved ecological and environmental outcomes.
South Main Street will be inclusive and accessible for all. South Main Street will prioritize design that supports people with mobility, cognitive, or other disabilities. Regardless of ability, age, or background, South Main Street will be designed to welcome you.
South Main Street's design will reflect what we hear from the community. COVID has impacted our normal public outreach and feedback practices and also how we use South Main Street. We have learned lessons from our efforts to make South Main Street safe in a COVID environment and keep the downtown economy alive. Watching how people use the shared street, along with surveys of downtown users and public outreach efforts, replaced the traditional public engagement process envisioned before the pandemic struck. While our efforts were intended to keep South Main Street safe and vibrant during COVID, they provide great lessons for re-envisioning Main Street.
Community Vision: Community feedback gathered over the past several years supports the following reallocation of S. Main Street to include more space for people, walking, bicycling and scooting, dining, gathering, and events while maintaining on-street parallel parking, to create a vibrant downtown streetscape that serves all modes and all users.
January 05, 2026
Join us for a brief presentation and to give your feedback.
Date: January 13, 2026
Time: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: Howe Library, 13 South Street, Hanover
Previous Conceptual Work (2020)
August 3, 2020, South Main Street design alternatives, presented by Carolyn Radisch, GPI
Discussion on closing South Main Street to vehicles (creating a pedestrian mall)
Please watch the videos and participate in the process by completing the following survey
Read more about the GPI proposal and treatments.
Take the Survey - How do you re-envision South Main Street?
Did you know? Studies in the United States, England and France find that People who walk, ride bikes, or take public transport spend more money in local shops than people who drive.
Model Streets: Check out some walkable Main Streets from around the United States, that add to a sense of connection and community, thriving local businesses and improved health and well being.