By Kim Siebert MacPhail
At their meeting on November 5, the Selectmen decided—after considerable debate—to narrow the scope of their approval for Article 9 on the Special Town Meeting warrant.
The article as written includes resurfacing the Town Hall parking lot, but the Selectmen agreed that the condition of the parking lot was less crucial than the more pressing safety concerns posed by the poor delineation or lack of sidewalks and the uneven surfaces of heavily-used School Way, Elm Street and Maple Street confluence of streets. Following the Selectmen’s discussion and vote, the Finance Committee (FinCom) members present indicated that FinCom might revisit its recommendation for disapproval and vote instead in favor of the project now that that safety is the focus and a lower dollar figure is on the table.
Currently, Article 9 in the Special Town Meeting warrant asks the town to approve $561,000 for “construction, reconstruction, or repairs to the municipal complex.” The full amount for the project is higher, but state Chapter 90 monies earmarked for road maintenance would make up the difference. The full scope of Article 9 seeks to address safety issues and lack of sidewalks in a heavily used pedestrian corridor, as well as repaving the Town Hall parking lot, which was last resurfaced 25 years ago, according Public Works Director Rich Warrington.
Concerns about School Way were originally brought forward several years ago by residents, who approached the town saying they were worried for not only for their own safety but also for that of anyone who used the street. A public meeting was held in 2010 to gather input from abutters and other interested citizens, following which parking spaces were delineated, a center line was painted, and a stop sign was installed [Where? e.g., “where the street intersects with Elm St.”
Vanasse Hangan and Bruslin, Inc (VHB), an infrastructure design consultant company well known to Bedford, incorporated comments from the public meeting into a plan for School Way that was presented to Annual Town Meeting last spring. There,the article failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote required for a project financed by bonding (borrowing).
Although he supports the project, Selectman Mark Siegenthaler expressed frustration at how the narrative has been lost over time.
“It started out to be an issue that was brought to us by the [First Parish] church and by the neighborhood. . . .By the time it got to Town Meeting, we had some add-ons—Mudge Way and the parking lots—and then we added on Elm and Maple. . . .I have yet to hear anything from the church or from the neighborhood. I’m not convinced that we have constructed the argument well enough. We don’t have the photos that we need to show the condition of the pavement; we don’t have the overall sense that the public is not being well served; we don’t have any indication from the neighborhood that they’re excited about the fact that we were going to transform that area back there.
“I just don’t know how we go to [Special] Town Meeting and say ‘We’re back with the same project six months later’ when somewhere we lost the people who told us it was huge problem in their lives and they wanted us to fix it for them.”
“I know they appreciated the stop sign,” replied Selectman Margot Fleischman.
“I’m very concerned about the safety along School Way,” said Finance Committee member Meredith McCulloch, who had voted for approval when FinCom’s original vote was taken, although her point of view did not prevail at the time.
“I walk a lot between Town Hall and the Common and it is very difficult underfoot. It’s impossible at night. I carry a flashlight on my key chain so I can make that passage safely. There are big pieces of asphalt raised; there’s a drain that’s sunk; there’s no curb. If you’re going around the corner to Town Hall, there’s no place to escape an oncoming car. . . .I was pleased to see the [VHB] plan includes sidewalks. If we’re going to make the downtown walkable, that’s a terrible place to walk, particularly next to the COA [Council on Aging.]
Fleischman agreed. “I second that from the perspective from the child-rearing end of the spectrum. I’ve nearly been hit several times coming around that corner. Particularly with children—it’s an access point to Kids’ Club, to the playground, and as kids get older they walk independently. On early release days, the kids are coming down there on foot and there’s really no good place for you to tell your kids to walk and be safe.”
After ascertaining that there would be no cost increase if the components of the project were addressed piece-by-piece, the Selectmen opted to recommend approval for $350,000 instead of $561,000 so that the School Way/Elm Street/Maple Street sidewalk and street safety portion could be given priority. Warrington agreed that the parking lot was a lower priority and could wait, although uniformity of the work would be sacrificed and access to the complex would be interrupted twice instead of only once.
The three members of FinCom who attended the meeting agreed with the Selectmen’s “safety first” approach to Article 9 and indicated a willingness to revisit their committee’s recommendation prior to Special Town Meeting.
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