HARMONY — The borough recently released the final road map for its downtown revitalization project, including 24 specific recommendations by the company tasked with developing the plan.

That company's recommendations range from creating a downtown mission statement and unifying signage to constructing a downtown gateway and a comprehensive streetscape enhancement, including the potential two-phase reimagining of the town's square.

The issue of revitalization came Friday when Harmony was awarded one-third of a $500,000 grant jointly issued to it and Zelienople. Since then, the borough has asked for community input on what they would like to see in downtown Harmony through a hands-on open house, surveys and one-on-one meetings.

The idea of gradually closing Main Street north and south of the square came during the final gathering of options, where Joe White, planning commission chairman, suggested blocking vehicles from entering that area.

The initial recommendations the company, Downtown Redevelopment Services, presented to Harmony were largely the same as these final recommendations, though the latter includes more detailed suggestions.

DRS identified issues residents had with Harmony's center, along with positive aspects of downtown, in creating its report. The largest area where the borough lacked, however, was in its streetscape, which the report called “unattractive and unkempt.”“A streetscape is the realm where pedestrians interact with downtown businesses and neighbors,” the report states. “The current streetscape conditions in Harmony are providing potential downtown users with a negative experience.”That negative experience, according to the report, is due to small sidewalks, the poor state of some sidewalks, a lack of vegetation and inadequate and mismatched lighting downtown.In its streetscape improvement recommendations, DRS again referred to a two-phase project focusing on Harmony's square that has become a source of some controversy to some commenting at borough meetings.The first phase of the enhancements would involve the installation of brick sidewalks and cobblestone in the street in the square, building or rebuilding sidewalks throughout the town, adding vegetation, creating civic spaces, installing signage, refreshing facades in the square and installing zero-grade elevation transitions in the square.“The rationale behind this streetscape phase is to create a multipurpose space for increased civic function,” the report states, adding that, in this phase, vehicular traffic would continue while the cobblestone increases pedestrian safety.

In the second phase, Harmony would add more vegetation, create outdoor market stalls on the west side of the square, install outdoor seating spaces and gradually close Main Street in that area to traffic while allowing Mercer Street traffic to continue.DRS recommends starting the second and final phase “several years” after the first, giving the borough time to examine how the latter would impact traffic.“The purpose of this second and final streetscape phase for the borough square is to finalize the transformation into a historic Germanic square, highlighting the unique architecture and creating an outstanding civic space,” the report states.Because that project would take a long span of time to fully realize, some, like Mayor Cathy Rape, have concerns about it.“I don't want to think about, 10 years from now, trying to complete something that we start now,” she said. “I would like to see (mail) cluster boxes, cleaning up the streets, better sidewalks and crosswalks, matching up the lights.”While the improvements to the square are the most radical of the proposed changes, DRS' report includes smaller additions to the borough it believes will make it more attractive to residents and visitors.When it comes to streetscape, the final report addresses some of Rape's desires, such as widening sidewalks where it is feasible — on streets like Mercer Street, they are fully extended to the right of way — and improving or replacing streetlights. It also suggests the erection of a gateway arch or entrance to historic Harmony, plus making existing signage more visible.

The report also includes the results from the online and print surveys. According to the presentation, 65 percent of responding residents feel there's not enough retail amenities downtown. Similarly, 54 percent want a small grocery store or a convenience store in the borough.Gathering information from the surveys and the meetings, DRS concluded residents wanted more German elements in the town, such as a butcher or general store, safer ways to travel on foot and more family-friendly dining or other downtown amenities.Regardless of how they want to see Harmony move forward, though, most survey-takers — 92 percent, — support the borough's downtown revitalization efforts.