Norwich – Walking from parking areas to the Otis Library on Main Street will be more colorful later this spring, and when the weather warms, patrons can bring their books to a seat in the new pocket park in front of the library.

The Norwich Community Development Corp. will use the crosswalks on Main and Cliff streets and Railroad Avenue, traversed by library patrons who park and walk to the library, as a demonstration of tactical urbanism – incremental, low-cost improvements to public access and safety in the urban area. An overview of the project is available on the city’s Envision 360 interactive platform.

The design, created by Lucas Kaiser, community development specialist at NCDC, features colorful book bindings in place of the usual white painted bars for four crosswalks at the busy intersections on Main, Cliff and Railroad Avenue. Blue and white cloud images will be painted close to the sidewalks, and a new pocket park will be placed directly in front of the library, with railings and seats for patrons.

New signs will direct people to parking areas and local restaurants.

A public forum will be held at 5 p.m. Monday at NCDC’s Foundry 66 headquarters, 66 Franklin St., to present the design plan and discuss the project. Bobbie Braboy, director of Global City Norwich, said the public will be invited to offer ideas and suggestions on the Otis Library design as well as ideas for future tactical urbanism projects downtown.

NCDC is funding the crosswalk project, which is expected to cost about $3,000 for paint and labor, with volunteers doing the crosswalk painting. Norwich Public Works staff will create the outlines for the crosswalks and NCDC staff will lay down tape before the book bindings are painted.

While most of the painted book bindings will not have book titles, those just off the curbs will represent specific book titles.

The first binding will honor Norwich author, activist and longtime Norwich resident and advocate Lottie B. Scott. The title of Scott’s book: “Deep South Deep North, A Family’s Journey,” a memoir that relays her family roots and moves north.

Braboy said the recent downtown mobility study, done by VHB Engineers, recommended tactical urbanism projects in downtown Norwich. The concept uses temporary, low-cost measures to improve safety, accessibility and aesthetics in the urban center. If the changes do not achieve results, they can be removed.

Braboy said work on the Otis Library project is expected to begin within the next two weeks and be completed by June.

c.bessette@theday.com