Take a stroll down Main Street in Bethel, and it's easy to see that the town has fallen on hard times. Empty storefronts gaze out at blighted lots and rundown buildings. Pedestrians are scarce. But it wasn't always this way. For decades, Bethel was a prosperous mill town with factories, hotels and restaurants. In the late 1960s and early '70s, it housed many of the workers building Interstate 89 — an era locally known as the "Dodge City days" because of its Wild West feel. Then came the recessions of the late '70s and early '80s, and Bethel never fully recovered. Last weekend, the Windsor County town — pop. 2,030 — got a chance to try out a different fate. A ribbon of Main Street was spray-painted blue and became a multiuse lane for human-powered travel. The once-vacant stores were filled with pop-up shops selling books, candy and on-the-spot tailoring. The Bethel Depot, a bar tucked inside the old train station, set up an outdoor beer garden with giant lawn games. An old phone booth was transformed into a Little Free Library. All this was part of Vermont's first Better Block project. The Better Block movement began in southern Dallas, Texas, in 2010, when community organizer Jason Roberts gave a blighted area a temporary makeover with many of the same features that sprang up recently in Bethel. Since then, the Better Block phenomenon has spread internationally. Roberts' Better Block Foundation offers free materials and fee-based consulting to towns and cities looking to make their neighborhoods more inviting, if only temporarily, as a way to spur longer-term change. Better Block came to Vermont by way of the state's chapter of AARP. As an advocate for older residents, AARP Vermont focuses on fostering changes in communities that enable members to "age in place," or stay in their homes as long as possible. For Vermont's growing population of seniors, being able to get around independently and connect with the community is often the biggest challenge. "Transportation and mobility are cornerstones for us," said Kelly Stoddard Poor, AARP Vermont's director of outreach. "What comes along with the Better Block project is an opportunity to reenvision the downtown with more vibrancy." Last spring, AARP Vermont began looking for a town that could use the Better Block treatment. A number of towns applied, but Bethel stood out for its combination of community support…
Take a stroll down Main Street in Bethel, and it's easy to see that the town has fallen on hard times. Empty storefronts gaze out at blighted lots and rundown buildings. Pedestrians are scarce. But it wasn't always this way. For decades, Bethel was a prosperous mill town with factories, hotels and restaurants. In the late 1960s and early '70s, it housed many of the workers building Interstate 89 — an era locally known as the "Dodge City days" because of its Wild West feel. Then came the recessions of the late '70s and early '80s, and Bethel never fully recovered. Last weekend, the Windsor County town — pop. 2,030 — got a chance to try out a different fate. A ribbon of Main Street was spray-painted blue and became a multiuse lane for human-powered travel. The once-vacant stores were filled with pop-up shops selling books, candy and on-the-spot tailoring. The Bethel Depot, a bar tucked inside the old train station, set up an outdoor beer garden with giant lawn games. An old phone booth was transformed into a Little Free Library. All this was part of Vermont's first Better Block project. The Better Block movement began in southern Dallas, Texas, in 2010, when community organizer Jason Roberts gave a blighted area a temporary makeover with many of the same features that sprang up recently in Bethel. Since then, the Better Block phenomenon has spread internationally. Roberts' Better Block Foundation offers free materials and fee-based consulting to towns and cities looking to make their neighborhoods more inviting, if only temporarily, as a way to spur longer-term change. Better Block came to Vermont by way of the state's chapter of AARP. As an advocate for older residents, AARP Vermont focuses on fostering changes in communities that enable members to "age in place," or stay in their homes as long as possible. For Vermont's growing population of seniors, being able to get around independently and connect with the community is often the biggest challenge. "Transportation and mobility are cornerstones for us," said Kelly Stoddard Poor, AARP Vermont's director of outreach. "What comes along with the Better Block project is an opportunity to reenvision the downtown with more vibrancy." Last spring, AARP Vermont began looking for a town that could use the Better Block treatment. A number of towns applied, but Bethel stood out for its combination of community support…