Pleasant St. braces for parking ban, repaving

By Mike Berger

Pleasant Street is about to undergo many changes, with a major paving project in the works and a new parking ban around Reservoir Pond taking effect this week.

If DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta has his way, the entirety of Pleasant Street will be repaved from Washington Street to the Stoughton town line by the end of the fall.

DPW workers will also be erecting “no parking” signs this week from 92 Pleasant Street to the intersection with Oak Road. Selectmen approved the parking ban, which took effect June 1, after hearing nothing but safety concerns from Pleasant Street residents at a public hearing on April 29.

Both Selectman John Connolly, who lived on Pleasant Street for many years, and Selectman Sal Salvatori, who has been in constant contact with the Pleasant Street residents and the newly formed Reservoir Pond Advisory Board, feel that safety outweighs any past practices or added convenience for fishermen and boaters.

Connolly said he visited the area on Sunday and found a line of cars parked on the street. “Things will change when the signs go up,” he said. “They have to. Safety is number one for us. The pedestrians walking along the road, the boaters and fishermen themselves, the neighbors and motorists. We know people aren’t going to be happy, but safety is number one.”

Salvatori, who helped negotiate the town takeover of the Reservoir Pond from the Napleton Company, understands the concerns of the neighborhood.

“The [Board of Selectmen] received numerous comments and complaints about safety at the Reservoir dam,” he said. “Cars parked along the wall make it difficult for pedestrians (particularly those with baby strollers, children on tricycles, and those with mobility challenges) to safely pass. Often pedestrians are forced to walk along the street, getting very close to moving traffic. Also, it just isn’t safe for boaters to launch from on or around the wall.”

“Folks are encouraged to visit the Rez and fish and boat until their hearts are content,” added Salvatori. “Users are invited to park across the street at the Tilden house or at the Armando Center. Further launching is encouraged at the Earl Newhouse Waterfront behind the Armando Center.”

Police Chief Ken Berkowitz, who shares the safety concerns of the neighborhood, said police enforcement of the new ordinance will be vigorous once the signs are posted by the DPW.

“The people fishing at the reservoir frequently park on the sidewalk,” Berkowitz said. “This creates a hazard to the people walking, running, pushing carriages, or riding bicycles on Pleasant Street. As you know, it’s at a curve in the road, so it’s also dangerous for vehicles traveling on the roadway, especially with people opening their doors into traffic. Hopefully people will obey the new signs. If they don’t we will enforce the parking ban.”

Sandra Whelan is a member of both the Reservoir Pond Advisory Board and the Reservoir Pond Preservation Association, a 14-year-old group. Although she did not attend the public hearing, she has heard comments from area residents about the road condition and the need for replacement paving and the dangers of pedestrians having to walk around parked cars at the dam.

“Pleasant Street is a main route and particularly narrow at the dam area,” Whelan said. “Residents walking to Pequitside with young children and baby carriages oftentimes had to walk around trailers and cars, putting them in the street to pass to get to fields, walking trails, or summer camp. The large trucks using this street increase the hazard, and parked cars at the dam obstruct the view of vehicles exiting Oak Road onto Pleasant Street near the dam.”

Whelan said the town has ample free parking on either side of Pleasant Street at the Williams Estate and at Pequitside. She believes better signage directing fishermen and boaters there will help.

As for the paving plans, Trotta said the town already has the funding to pave Pleasant Street from Washington Street to Pleasant Garden Road. The question, he said, is when the contractor can begin. The contractor was the winner of a cooperative road bid with other towns and Trotta hopes the contractor can start very soon on that end of Pleasant Street, which will take five weeks to complete.

Although voters authorized an additional $500,000 in roadway money at the recent town meeting, that money is not available until July 1 at the earliest, and the brunt of the money to finish Pleasant Street is tied up in Chapter 90 funds and subject to disbursement by the state legislature.

The second phase of the paving project is from Pleasant Garden Road to Devoll Field and would take an estimated four weeks to finish. The third part is from Devoll Field (Lincolnshire Drive) to the Stoughton town line.

The challenging part of the project is reconfiguring the roundabout intersection. Selectmen plan to discus the roundabout design and the rest of the town roadway projects at their next meeting on Tuesday, June 10.

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