If you’re just beginning driver education, where is the ideal Bedford location to learn how to operate a moving vehicle without obstacles?
One obvious choice is the vast asphalt plateau at 210 Springs Road, just north of the VA hospital.
That five-acre landmark is the overflow parking area for the Middlesex Community College campus a mile-and-a-half further north. And it soon will be more environmentally friendly, with a different look.
The college wants to conduct a “full-depth pavement reclamation,” reducing impervious surface by more than an acre, and featuring landscaping and drainage upgrades. The plan calls for reduction of 111 parking spaces – from 502 to 391, with installation of green islands.
The Conservation Commission will hear the details during the continuation of a virtual public hearing Wednesday, because the site borders vegetated wetland areas as well as wetland buffer zones.
Middlesex last year marked its 50th anniversary, and for more than a decade the original college was located in Buildings 7 and 8 at the hospital. That explains the location of the parking area, now a vestige of those early days.
“The lot hasn’t been used for two years,” said Patrick Cook, executive director of government and public affairs at Middlesex. Now that some classes are in person, there may be more demand. But the college landscape has changed, he stressed; some classes will remain remote or hybrid, and the lot may never warrant original capacity.
Civil Design Consultants, Inc. of Andover, designing the project for Middlesex, has responded to several questions posed by the Department of Public Works at the hearing’s opening session last month.
“The parking lot layout has been revised to provide large landscaped islands to break up the pavement area,” the report said. “The landscaped islands include curb breaks to allow stormwater runoff storage prior to discharge off-site. These changes result in a net reduction of approximately 47,480 square feet of impervious surface.”
“Landscaped islands have been added to help alleviate offsite flooding issues along the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail,” the response continued. “The rail-trail connection path to the parking lot has been relocated approximately 160 feet south. The pavement area at the rail trail connection is now proposed to be striped.”
Bicycle racks have been added to the site plans. The report also noted that snow exceeding on-site storage capacity will be hauled away.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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