Downtown Beautification

Lynn's downtown is a treasured neighborhood for both residents and visitors, boasting international food, incredible performance venues, and amazing public art. By working together, we know that we can make downtown Lynn cleaner, prettier, and even more pleasant place to be.

What We're Doing Already

• Street sweeping: The City's Department of Public Works (DPW) provides street sweeping every weekday in the downtown.
• Trash barrels: The City utilizes a mix of City-owned barrels, which are emptied up to four times a week, and bins managed by Creative Outdoor Advertising to try and keep litter off the ground.
  • See a bin that needs to be emptied? Report it at SeeClickFix.
• Clean ups: The City is working with ROCA, who supervises youth as they provide litter cleanup services throughout the downtown.
• Improved parking facilities: The City's Parking Department recently completed a Downtown Parking Strategy and is deploying new technology and kiosks to ensure that it's easy for visitors to park downtown.
• Wayfinding: The City's Planning Department, in conjunction with Lynn Main Streets and MassDevelopment and with financial support from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, completed designs for a wayfinding system. We hope to find funding to install these signs soon.
• Island Maintenance: The City's Community Development Department runs a program where private entities can "adopt" an island. Donors pay for a sign and then $1500 per year to keep an island beautifully landscaped.
  • Would you like to sponsor a traffic island? Email Lisa.Nerich@LynnMA.gov.
• Storefront Improvements: The City's Community Development Department manages a storefront improvement program. Currently, they are collaborating with MassDevelopment to improve several business facades along Union Street.
• Improved Lighting: Mayor Nicholson's Office implemented additional lighting under the Silsbee Street bridge, and other efforts are underway to repair underpass lighting elsewhere in the downtown.
• Infrastructure Improvements: Construction has begun on the Northern Strand Extension, which will bring a shared use path through downtown along Market Street. Additional work will be done on Market Street to improve sidewalks while preserving existing tree canopy.

What's Next?

We're assembling an action group to supercharge our downtown beautification efforts! Staff from DPW, Parking, Community Development, Public Health, ISD, and the Mayor's Office are working with MassDevelopment and Lynn Main Streets to improve the downtown. Some of our projects include fabricating and installing wayfinding signage throughout the downtown, putting up banners along Market Street and South Common Street, exploring creative placemaking techniques in Central Square, installing decorative lighting, improving signage around the temporary train platform, and placing decorative planters in front of businesses.

We are also planning a big downtown cleanup in the Spring - stay tuned on scheduling for that.

But we'd like to hear from you! Take a look at the ideas we've heard so far below and vote for ones you like or add your own.