News Briefs: GB water bottle bylaw update; Fatal motor vehicle crash in Pittsfield

Town updates status of plastic water bottle bylaw implementation

Great Barrington — Enforcement of the town’s ban on the sale of plastic water bottles of 1 liter or less will not begin until the town has installed three free public water stations throughout town, within several weeks. The town will give merchants at least 30 days’ notice before any enforcement begins.

Though a date is not yet confirmed for completion of fountain installations, merchants who are still selling plastic water bottles of 1 liter or less are urged to begin phasing out their supplies.

“We understand there is confusion and uncertainty at the moment regarding enforcement, and we are doing our best to clarify our expected timeline,” said town manager Mark Pruhenski. “Our sincere hope is that, once our fountains are in place, no enforcement will be needed as merchants join in our community’s effort to reduce the impact of plastic on our environment.”

Pruhenski said the town is grateful to the many merchants who have already phased out their supplies of plastic bottles, and to those who have joined the “GB on Tap” program, under which merchants agree to provide free water fill-ups to customers with reusable bottles.

In the coming weeks the town will share the following information:

• A specific date for requiring that all plastic water bottles of 1 liter or less be removed from store shelves;
• Signage for merchants who wish to post notices in their stores explaining to customers the town’s ban on single-use water bottles; and
• Publicity informing residents, visitors and others in town about the ban on smaller water bottle sales as well as locations of public water fountains.

The ban on the single-use water bottle sales can be lifted in the event of a municipal emergency. In addition, a small supply of single-use water bottles is available 24/7 at the Great Barrington Police Department and during normal business hours at Town Hall and the Great Barrington Libraries.

For more information, contact Rebecca Jurczyk at the Great Barrington Board of Health at (413) 528-0680.

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Fatal motor vehicle crash in Pittsfield

Pittsfield — Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office are investigating a fatal motor vehicle crash that claimed the life of a Pittsfield man early Tuesday.

A motorcycle operated by Michael Lanphear, 54, was traveling west on West Housatonic Street at around 7:48 a.m. Tuesday when it collided into a Jeep driven by Abigail Hunt, 25, that was pulling out of the intersection at Osceola Street. The collision occurred in the westbound travel lane of West Housatonic Street.

Lanphear, a resident of East Housatonic Street, died from injuries sustained in the crash. The driver of the Jeep was not injured.

Police shut down West Housatonic Street while they conducted the investigation. No citations or charges were issued at this time and the road has reopened.

An investigation into the collision continues. Responding to the scene of the crash was Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington, the state police detective unit assigned to the DA’s office, the state police collision analysis and reconstruction section, as well as the state police crime scene services section. The Pittsfield Police Department’s traffic and detective bureaus responded, as did the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.