From historic significance to small-town charm, the town square is a quintessential part of Manheim. Now the borough is hoping to make it safer for drivers and pedestrians. The Market Square Revitalization Project will make improvements to the center island, rework parking spaces and add aesthetic touches to the square.

The project will be funded through a variety of means, with the most significant contribution coming from a multi-modal transportation grant, said James Fisher, borough manager. As part of the project, the center island will be widened to allow for a pedestrian sidewalk, Fisher noted. "When people park in the middle, they can get right to the sidewalk and walk down to a crosswalk at either end," he stated. "We are proposing a crosswalk in the middle as well." The island will be extended down to the end crosswalks as well to provide a place to wait midway through crossing the street, he said.

Currently, people parking around the square have the option of using angle parking on the inside of the square or parallel parking around the outside. The project will flip those parking areas, with parallel parking moving inside and reverse angle parking on the outside. "Cars will back into the angled spaces," Fisher stated. "The idea is that this will be safer, because people won't have to back out blindly into traffic, and if they have things to load or unload into their trunk, they can do that on the sidewalk rather than in the street."

A variety of streetscape measures will also be included in the revitalization project, Fisher said, adding that details are still being finalized but will include replacing traffic signal posts with a more ornamental option, adding vegetation to the area and installing new sidewalks.

Fisher said construction could start as early as 2023, with the project possibly completed by the end of next year. At least two public meetings will be held to get input from the community on some of the streetscape options, he said.

The revitalization project began as an offshoot of a larger connection study completed by the borough that looked at improving traffic flow on a broader scale such as construction of a bypass. Eventually, the focus was narrowed down to the square as a more economic and shorter-term project.

The square serves many purposes in the town, Fisher said. "Historically, it's been there since day one of the borough or actually pre-day one, and you can tell that by the houses and buildings that are built there," he explained. "It's also unique. Not too many towns have squares like this, and it tends to be a focal point for activities. When people think about Manheim, they think of the square, and we're hoping people will think about it even more when they see how nice it is after everything is finished."

A rendering of the square project can be found on the borough's website, https://manheimboro.org.