The Worcester County Commissioners have voted to donate roughly 9,000 square feet of county property along Bank Street to the Town of Snow Hill for the development of a new promenade.
A rendering shows the proposed design of a new promenade in Snow Hill on Bank Street from the perspective of River Street.
Rendering courtesy Worcester County Government
Bethany Hooper, Associate Editor
A donation of county property will allow a promenade project to advance in downtown Snow Hill.
Last week, the Worcester County Commissioners voted unanimously to donate roughly 9,000 square feet of county property along Bank Street to the Town of Snow Hill for the development of a new promenade. Snow Hill Economic Development Director Lorissa McAllister said the revitalization project has been decades in the making.
“The Bank Street promenade project is the epitome of the downtown Snow Hill vision, dating back all the way to the 1980s,” she said.
With the county’s donation and the necessary funding in place, the Town of Snow is positioned to begin a streetscape project next fall, McAllister said. As proposed, the project will encompass two blocks of Bank Street between West Green and River streets.
Harrison Saunders, board president for the Snow Hill Area Chamber of Commerce and licensed landscape architect, told commissioners last week the street will be redesigned with traffic calming and pedestrian access in mind. Features will include a tree-lined, winding street with flexible seating and vegetative areas, a stepping stone path, benches and story walls, to name a few.
“A place you travel to, not through,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
McAllister said Bank Street, as it’s currently designed, functions more like a parking lot and deterred pedestrians from traversing between the river and the downtown business community. She said the proposed design would create walkability.
“It’s an overall inefficient use of space,” she said of the current roadway. “It creates a sterile environment and impedes pedestrian access between the downtown and the riverfront.”
While the project is expected to improve the streetscape, town officials acknowledged it would reduce the number of parking spaces from 54 to 49, with the bulk of the reduction occurring along Bank Street. However, they noted it would increase dedicated parking at the library and neighboring annex building, and that handicap parking would more than double.
McAllister also noted that the project would utilize roughly 9,000 square feet of county property on each side of Bank Street – more than 6,000 square feet to the side of the library and more than 2,000 square feet to the side of the annex building.
“This predominantly repurposes what is public parking currently, to public gathering space and pedestrian access,” she explained.
The Town of Snow Hill, with the help of its partnering agencies, has secured nearly $500,000 for the $776,000 project, and McAllister said a grant through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development could supply the remaining funds. To that end, town officials last Tuesday said they were hoping to work with the commissioners to use or acquire the county-owned land along Bank Street.
“We have maintained site control for the first block. We have buy-in from all the adjacent property owners. We also have buy-in from the Lower Shore Land Trust, as well as the private property owner at the very end of the second block,” she said. “So we’re just looking for buy-in approval from the county to move forward with this project, which could take shape as permission and engaging in an MOU, or, as was suggested as a possibility, the county donating the portion of the property that is included in the design to the Town of Snow Hill, thereby alleviating any responsibilities of maintenance or liability.”
Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said the proposed project reminded him of the Ocean City Development Corporation’s efforts to revitalize its downtown area. While acknowledging that it could take some time for Snow Hill to see revitalization in its downtown area, he said he believed the project was a great start. After further discussion, Mitrecic made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Ted Elder, to turn over the identified property to the Town of Snow Hill.
“I want to state I think this is a great step forward,” Elder added.
For his part, Commissioner Eric Fiori questioned how the town would address parking. He said the project could bring more people to Snow Hill.
“Obviously, the Town of Berlin is facing that now,” he explained. “They’ve made everything so pretty and grew their market. I just want to make sure that, that got included, so there’s parking spots so everybody can enjoy this.”
McAllister said a study is ongoing to evaluate parking and traffic flow. She said a redesign of existing parking would likely increase the number of parking spaces in town.
“I think this will really increase the traffic,” Fiori replied, “and having a spot for them to park is really important.”
At the end of the presentation, the commissioners voted 7-0 to donate county property along Bank Street to the Town of Snow Hill. Worcester County Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young said once the county receives the official land boundaries, it can advertise and hold a public hearing to declare the parcels as surplus property.
“It brings the county seat to the position it should be,” Commissioner Diana Purnell said of the project, “and I think this is a great job.”