Town details plans for Neponset St. improvements
By Mike Berger
Preliminary plans for Neponset Street showing proposed on-street parking outlined in white. The diversion channel is shown at the top and Concord Ave. is on the bottom left. (Source: BETA Group)
With the new traffic light at Neponset Street, Norfolk Street and Revolution Way now operational and the continued construction of the Paul Revere Heritage Site and housing complex, one can see the potential of the area as a new focal point of housing and recreational development.
Town Planner Laura Smead saw the tangible benefits of the resurfacing of Revere Street and began to look at how Neponset Street could also be improved.
Taking advantage of Canton’s designation as a Housing Choice community, Smead applied for and was awarded a $150,000 state Housing Choice Infrastructure Grant to study a section of Neponset Street from Washington to Chapman streets. The Housing Choice Initiative, developed under the Baker-Polito administration, provides funding and technical assistance for infrastructure improvements to those communities that have shown a commitment to advancing sustainable housing production.
Smead said the $150,000 grant, which was awarded in late 2019, has enabled the town to partner with BETA Group to perform a preliminary analysis and develop a conceptual design plan to identify and guide the implementation of roadway, bicycle and pedestrian improvements along that section of Neponset Street.
On March 25, Smead, Town Engineer Jay Mello and Bill McGrath of BETA Group unveiled preliminary plans for the corridor at a public information session conducted via Zoom. The improvements include pavement resurfacing, new sidewalks and curbing, safety improvements at the Viaduct intersection, and the development of a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists along the easterly side of Neponset Street closest to the Revere Heritage Site.
The proposal also calls for 47 new on-street parking spaces on Neponset Street to augment parking for the Revere Heritage Park.
The plan is preliminary and needs more public input and ultimately approval by the Select Board. The $150,000 grant will be used to draw up engineering plans and additional grants will be sought to fund the construction costs.
The multi-use path would begin at Church Street and continue onto Neponset Street, past the traffic light at Revolution Way and then narrowing to a sidewalk width as it approaches the Viaduct. Signage will be added to alert cyclists to walk their bike through the Viaduct.
Smead said the sidewalk under the Viaduct will be four feet wide. It will then become a six-foot sidewalk on the other side of the Viaduct and continue as a sidewalk to Chapman Street.
Smead said it would be ideal to eventually continue a sidewalk (and possibly multi-use path) even further down Neponset Street all the way to the Farnham-Connolly Park and beyond, but she said that is outside the scope of this project.
The project also considers safety improvements at the intersection of Neponset and Walpole streets. Smead said the intersection will have crosswalks added on either side to allow for safe crossing to the sidewalk under the Viaduct.
The geometry of the intersection is also proposed to shift slightly to allow for better turning for large trucks under the Viaduct. A gap in the sidewalk will be filled just past the Viaduct to connect with an existing sidewalk.
However, Smead said there is no proposal to widen the Viaduct opening or create a new opening, due to significant historical, financial, and logistical hurdles. Smead added that the MBTA owns the Viaduct and it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Approximately 20 participants took part in the Zoom session and they asked many questions, particularly on the feasibility of adding parking spaces and requests for more tree plantings.
It is expected that another public meeting will be scheduled to look at further plans prior to the completion of the grant in June. Copies of the design plan and links to the public workshop presentation can be found on the town website at town.canton.ma.us/886/Neponset-Street-Design-Improvements.
Mello said he hopes the multi-use path can be expanded throughout the town but added that the Neponset Street project will not result in any land takings by the town.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=73685
Posted by Mike Berger
on Apr 2 2021. Filed under News, Town Government.
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