City of Methuen Master Plan

Methuen Master Plan 2007
Methuen residents have long desired to have a downtown that serves as a community gathering
place. They would love to be able to fulfill errands, have a meal, and shop for gifts in a downtown that
is easily accessible by foot or by car. Solving issues such as parking supply, allowing for mixed-use in the
Zoning ordinance, and attracting a good variety of tenants for existing buildings are among the issues
that need to be addressed by the City.
Methuen’s outstanding school facilities are a mainstay of families and a primary attraction for those
looking to move into the community. On a related note, many people expressed a high degree of
satisfaction with the public services Methuen government offers – from reliable road maintenance and
trash removal to the exceptional Public Library and the ever-popular Senior Center. People conveyed a
sense of comfort with the relative stability in fiscal affairs, responsive public officials, and a feeling that
local government was well-managed. Identifying ways to maintain this level of public services and
facilities, while keeping property taxes manageable, is of high priority. Increasing economic
development activities is critical to keeping Methuen’s tax base stable.
Supporting a variety of housing options for residents of all ages, incomes, and ethnicities is also at the
forefront of the community’s mindset. “Decent, unpretentious folk” account for Methuen’s cherished
community spirit, and their housing needs must be addressed to preserve the heart of the City. Amid a
housing climate of increasingly unaffordable prices, residents stated their concerns for those whom the
typical new subdivision home was not a good fit. Seniors and young families in particular are not wellsuited
to the majority of Methuen’s housing options. Finding ways to provide affordable alternatives
to expensive single-family homes is essential to this future vision.
Traffic and congestion are byproducts of growth. Increases of any amount of traffic are noticeable to
long-term residents. Although a number of factors contribute to traffic growth, Methuen’s traffic is still
for the most part on the collector and arterial streets and not invading neighborhood streets, looking for
a cut-through street to avoid congestion.
Methuen’s changing demographics factor into transportation issues. Households have more vehicles per
person than in years past, and the number of cars traveling local roadways has likewise grown.
Commutes are longer, as are many weekend trips to popular destinations. Residents have expressed a
strong desire to both reduce the amount of time spent getting around town, and the amount of stress
involved in negotiating traffic. A key point for Methuen, however, is that traffic has not grown at the
same rate as household growth.
Many new developments employ cul de sacs in lieu of connecting to a larger street network, which
strains existing collector streets. Frequently, solutions that would improve traffic flow are difficult to
implement when multiple property owners are involved, and may prove expensive in the short term.
While some modifications have been made to increase capacity of existing streets and intersection
operations, there have been relatively few efforts made to provide for other ways of circulation.
Methuen’s future should involve a concerted effort to think about long term improvements to its
transportation network, including residents’ use of sidewalks, bikeways, and transit (buses, trains, car
pools) as a means towards this goal.
Page 4