Neighbors voice concerns with Pleasant St. project

Selectmen were met with a firestorm of criticism from residents of Pleasant and Bolivar streets Tuesday night as residents claimed that they were not properly notified about the recently approved roundabout (rotary) project.

A group of six residents, speaking during the public comment period of Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting, said the project would not solve traffic problems but instead would cause pedestrian safety issues, truck pollution, vehicle backups, and would prevent two residents from backing out of their driveways. Many said that painted lines would solve the problems at the intersection, while some said that there are no problems at all and that selectmen would be better off spending the $200,000 to $300,000 on the Randolph Street intersection.

Some residents said they learned of the project only recently after members of the Canton Garden Club began to remove plantings from the island in the middle of the intersection.

Over the past two months, selectmen legally advertised the project and put notices on the town website, and the project received extensive coverage in the local newspapers. Selectmen also held public hearings on the matter and unanimously backed the recommendations of DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta and Town Engineer Jim Donovan. However, about 10 residents who attended the meeting told selectmen that they were unaware of the project and wished that selectmen had sent notices through the mail.

The project is slated to begin soon, after a section of Pleasant Street is paved from Meyer Terrace to the Stoughton town line. Originally, the DPW was set to pave Pleasant Street from Sherman Street to Devoll Field, but Columbia Gas notified the town that it needed six weeks to dig up that portion of Pleasant Street. The DPW then accelerated plans to pave Meyer Terrace to the Stoughton line and moved the start of the roundabout project to later this summer or early fall.

Selectmen Chairman Victor Del Vecchio said he would ask both Trotta and Donovan to review the cable coverage of Tuesday night’s meeting. Selectmen Bob Burr and Sal Salvatori were absent from the meeting, and Del Vecchio said he would not ask for any kind of reconsideration vote without a full board present.

Del Vecchio said all the suggestions made by the residents would be reviewed, in particular the complaint made by Robert Ryan of Bolivar Street that he could not safely back out of his driveway with the new configuration. Ryan said he currently uses a strip of land off his driveway to back out. “It’s not a question of if, but when I get hit under this plan,” he said. Another resident, Donna Smith of Pleasant Street, said that she too would not be able to safely get out of her driveway.

Steve Ryan, who lives adjacent to Devoll Field, said he was concerned about truck pollution causing asthma problems for his wife as well as crosswalk safety for his children. He said the ability for drivers to see the crosswalks would be diminished under the new configuration. “It will be a significant safety issue,” he said.

Rebutting some of the criticism, selectmen said the board properly notified the town about the project and they believe that the entire project will improve public safety. Selectman John Connolly said, “You can’t stop speed with paint,” while Selectman Avril Elkort noted that many Lincolnshire Drive residents supported the project.

See this week’s Canton Citizen for additional highlights from the August 12 selectmen’s meeting.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Aug 13 2014. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.