A plan for a Lincoln Town Green drawn by Sonja Johansson was a catalyst for a Town Center Master Planning effort by the Town of Lincoln, Massachusetts.

The existing downtown was little more than a large mall parking lot with a few shops on both sides of the main street. The Town’s Planning Board was faced with several difficult decisions regarding a proposed expansion of the Post Office and two other Lincoln retail buildings. The Board was in the process of reviewing plans on a piecemeal basis.

Johansson’s plan illustrated how the existing main street could be converted to a New England Town Green by splitting the traffic flow one way into the existing unattractive mall parking lot and widening an existing area of large trees. In addition to the aesthetic improvements, the plan resolved several of the towns problems: a Town Green would link the commercial areas, encourage pedestrian circulation, improve the sense of arrival to the downtown area, slow traffic through town and increase the retail curb appeal.